Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman said his statistics differed little in the game against Kenny Minchey and he had to “believe my intuition” to become Miami's 10th Miami opener's starting quarterback.
Carr, the grandson of former Michigan coach Lloyd Carr, will start his career for the first time after he only played one game last season and did not record any statistics. Third-year player Minchey has played in only four games.
“Statistically close to any quarterback game I've ever played,” Freeman said Tuesday. “I've been looking for reasons why this is made, but it's not clear.”
Carr, who grew up near the Michigan campus in Michigan Salt, is ESPN's second pocket passer, and is No. 36 in the 2024 class. Last September, he suffered an elbow throwing injury during practice, which limited him for most of the season, but did not require surgery.
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Carr, Mitchey and Steve Angeli, Notre Dame have competed in spring practice for the main backups in the past two seasons. Angeli then moved to Syracuse, where he won the starting job at the camp. Carl only briefly saw the field in a blowout victory at Notre Dame in Purdue last September.
“He’s smart about the football players you’ll meet and working very hard in his preparations,” Freeman said. “He’s a very confident person – at some point you might be a little overconfident – but you want to be in the quarterback. You want the quarterback to say, ‘I want every game in every game when I play and I’m sure I’ll make the right decision.’”
Freeman said Carl's decision will be crucial in Miami's tough road environment, noting that Notre Dame has other advantages, such as running games and defense, which should help young quarterbacks.
“Every game is not a bomb,” Freeman said. “Believe in the game plan, believe in what you see, be who you are and win this game. I don't want to put digital expectations on him. It's the best version of CJ Carr that makes those guys around you better. That's what he does really do well.”
Freeman also said it was very free to Mitchey, noting that players without Notre Dame have gained more trust since the spring practice. Mitchey is disappointed with Freeman's decision, but he has shown his maturity in his practice over the past week.
“He’s good enough to be the starting quarterback at Notre Dame,” Freeman said. “I didn’t expect him to be happy with my decision, but for a day or so, I do want to see Kenny Minchey’s maturity as being able to get back to work, understand and delay gratification.”
Notre Dame defensive end Jordan Botelho will miss three games in training in June due to a knee injury and suffer a torn chest tear during training. Botelho started in 2023, with the first three games before her knee injury last fall.