TL;DR
- CJ Carr, Notre Dame's new starting quarterback, is a redshirt freshman from Saline, Mich.
- Carr is a semifinalist for The Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award and on the Manning Award Watch List.
- He comes from a Michigan football family; his grandfather Lloyd Carr is a Hall of Fame coach.
- Carr was the 48th-ranked high school prospect and chose Notre Dame over several top programs.
In 2024, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish were just one victory away from securing a national championship, and their pursuit of that title continues in 2025. This season, the team will have a different quarterback at the helm, as redshirt freshman CJ Carr takes the lead.
Having served as Riley Leonard's backup last season, Carr's outstanding play in his first year as a starter has drawn the attention of prominent college football award committees, leading to several significant nominations and accolades. He's now a semifinalist for The Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award, given to the country's top college quarterback. Furthermore, Carr was added to the Manning Award Watch List midseason and was previously honored as part of the Davey O'Brien Great 8, indicating his strong candidacy for the sport's most esteemed individual awards.
He may be fresh on the scene as a starter, but Carr is very familiar with the college football landscape. Get to know Notre Dame's QB1, and learn more about the rich football history in his background.
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Who is CJ Carr?
Carr is a redshirt freshman quarterback at Notre Dame.
He hails from Saline, Mich., and was the 48th-ranked prospect in the high school class of 2024, per 247Sports. Carr chose Notre Dame over scholarship offers from Alabama, Georgia, Michigan, and Penn State, among other notable programs.
Carr made his first appearance on the field for his college debut in Notre Dame's overwhelming victory against Purdue in Week 3 of the 2024 season. Despite it being his college debut, Carr recorded no statistics during the 59-point triumph.
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CJ Carr family
Carr comes from one of Michigan football's royal families.
CJ's paternal grandfather, Lloyd, is a Hall of Fame head coach who led the Wolverines for 13 seasons, including the national championship season in 1997. He also led Michigan to five Big Ten championships.
Tom Curtis, CJ's grandfather on his mother's side, was a varsity football player for Michigan between 1967 and 1969. A safety, Curtis earned All-Big Ten honors twice and was a unanimous All-American in 1969. He set the school's interception record with 25 and is also inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.
CJ's father, Jason, played football at Michigan from 1992-95. He never started bu appeared in 20 games over four seasons, including 11 appearances during his sophomore campaign.
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CJ Carr age
Carr is 20 years old. He was born on May 26, 2005.