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ESPN analyst ranks Notre Dame's CJ Carr No. 1 quarterback in college football | Newsstand

IMG_7504by: Jack Soble03/06/26jacksoble56

On Thursday morning, ESPN analyst Bill Connelly ranked all 68 projected Power Four starting quarterbacks. At No. 1: Notre Dame redshirt sophomore CJ Carr.

Carr’s place in the media’s various top quarterback list has varied, falling as low as No. 10 and as high as No. 1. But Connelly, a very data-driven analyst, believes the Saline, Mich. native is the best in the sport.

“He sort of looked like a redshirt freshman against Miami in Week 1 of last season, but that was about it,” Connelly wrote. “He fell just short of leading a comeback win against the Hurricanes, then pretty much torched all other opposition.

“Sure, he had a spectacular run game at his disposal — Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price combined for 2,046 yards and 29 touchdowns (and are both gone now) — but Notre Dame ranked first nationally in third-and-long success rate (7 or more yards to go). When Carr had to make a throw, he did so.”

That note about third-and-long success rate is significant, because the knock on Carr is that he didn’t headline the scouting report for Fighting Irish opponents (because everyone geared up to stop Love and Price). But when defenses had to stop the pass in 2025, Carr beat them anyway.

“Carr isn’t exactly your modern dual-threat guy; he doesn’t scramble much, and he’s not a threat to punish defenses for turning their backs on the QB in man coverage,” Connelly wrote. “But he also doesn’t take sacks, both because of quick decision-making and the fact that he might have the best offensive line in the country protecting him. He’s accurate, he has a big arm, and by the end of 2025 he was one of the most reliable passers in the sport.”

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“Listen, when you think of his career, you think of greatness. You think of excellence. I still hear the year of 1988, the national championship year, every day around here. But I think you think about his teams as a whole, his tenure as a whole at Notre Dame. The impact he made on this university. Like, everybody loved Coach Holtz. Everybody talks about him in a way that as a current head coach, you say, ‘You know what, when I’m done coaching or when my time is up, I hope I can make an impact the way Coach Holtz did. At Notre Dame, but also in college football. So, his legacy will live on, and his impact will still be felt in South Bend.”

— Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman

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