In the year In the spring of 1968, when Lloyd Carr graduated from Northern Michigan University, his mother gave him a card containing two things: a $20 bill and a piece of poetry she had written – a text that can still be read from the memorial 60 years later.
Borrowing from Rudyard Kipling’s “If,” she wrote, “If you can keep your head when they blame you while losing theirs for you.” “If you can believe in yourself when everyone doubts you, but be willing to accept their doubts, you’ll be a man, my boy.”
Rule #1 about being a quarterback: Mental toughness is not optional. CJ Carr, Lloyd’s grandson and Notre Dame’s junior signal caller, has it in spades. And it’s one of the reasons he could be a first-round NFL draft pick as early as next spring.
Why Notre Dame is the staff prediction to win the national title
David Ubben
CJ Carr grew up in a football family. His father Jason Le Lloyd (also a college QB) and Gary Moeller played at Michigan. His other grandfather, College Football Hall of Famer Tom Curtis, is still Michigan’s all-time interception leader. In the year After the family tragically lost CJ’s younger brother, Chad, to an inoperable brain tumor in 2014, his mother, Tammy, and his father founded the Charitable Research Foundation – “Chad’s Tow” – now world-renowned for curing Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma.
No one is born without fear. But Carr, who turned 21 in May, has mastered the art of walking through them.
With Notre Dame moving into the world without Jeremy Love and running back Jadrian Price, Carr could be poised for a big season. Let’s break down where he needs to improve and why he might be a special prospect…
What makes Carr an exciting prospect?
When people talk about a player’s “feel,” they’re describing the ease with which he takes on the most difficult tasks. A natural-feeling quarterback is one who – among other things – knows how to execute, can play with time on his feet, feel and escape pressure, is confident under center and understands how to create wins before he’s lost.
As a redshirt freshman last season, Carr’s consistency along with all of those traits continued to grow. But make no mistake: it’s all owned, and more. Some kids, like Carr (and his younger brother Tommy, currently Michigan’s backup and underrated prospect), are just born to be quarterbacks.
The first thing you’ll notice about Carr’s 2025 season is how quickly he’s improved from week to week. Notre Dame faced off against a very talented Miami defense in the opener, but they could see better footwork early in Week 2 against Texas A&M. Offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock and QBs coach Gino Guidugli have done a good job of gradually putting more on them as time goes on.
One thing Notre Dame has done time and time again is press a certain shot in practice and have Carr do it early in the game. Against Purdue, it was the first game that Notre Dame ran offensively.
CJ Carr vs. Purdue
Nick Baumgardner
The Irish are running their biggest back post out of play, and Carr will run like he did 50 times last week — because he might.
Last season, Karl didn’t seem fazed by the workload or anything at play. He was wise beyond his years before reading cover and structures.
Another easy one here at Purdue.
CJ Carr vs. Purdue, clip #2
Nick Baumgardner
Notre Dame is running a 10-yard return to the boundary and down the field. Based on the preponderance of the defensive lineup—two deep safeties and an out-of-coverage cornerback playing up front—Carr’s best move is to just make his drop and snap right away. No matter what Purdue does with coverage (and it will morph), that outside will be open.
That’s exactly what we see. Quarterbacks never break for a gain, and when they get one, they hit the ball before you touch it. We also see Carr’s ability to anticipate here, as he calmly strikes outside and allows for solid yards after the catch.
This is the next QB coach’s dream. NC State is very close to the line of scrimmage in a one-high look with three linebackers. Watch what happens to the linebacker to Carr’s right as he claps his first hand.
CJ Carr vs. NC State
Nick Baumgardner
We see a flicker, which probably means it’s flashing. We also see slot corners and cornerbacks playing and bailing, which means they probably don’t have help.
Carr sees all this in real time and adjusts the game immediately. It expands the formation and attacks a huge open grass. Again, Carr delivers this football on the receiver’s break. If he is too late, the receiver’s momentum puts him out of bounds; If it is too early, it will probably be missed. But he’s on the clock, and the receiver has all the room to generate more yards.
All of this is due to a young QB reading and adjusting to the defense. That’s not common for most college starters, let alone players Carr’s age.
Areas that can grow
Carr is a talented athlete, but maybe not an elite one. He’s a good-sized quarterback, but he’s not. Big. He has above average but educated arm skills. Therefore, some physical limitations may limit Carr’s potential as an NFL starter in the long run.
For starters, he needs to be more careful with the kicks he takes and some aimless brawls. Even if Carr is already reading good defenses, he still needs to stick to road developments or cross over and improve. As a first-year college starter last season, Carr still showed a lot of the habits he put out in high school, like bailing out early and trying to pass everyone to the corner or re-directing receivers on the move.
Like he was in the NC State game, for example, he had a really bad choice in the end zone on a YOLO throw, relying on his arm more than he should have in heavy coverage.
Another area where Carr needs work is how his mechanical consistency and accuracy is affected. Carr has a tendency to go numb in his legs or body after being thrown. Instead of catching a follower or swinging his leg while throwing, he disappears.
Jeremiah Love TD catch
Nick Baumgardner
When he maintains a steady throwing motion and keeps his feet on the ground, he throws a very nice ball. When he swings his feet or does a Steph Curry crash (as we see above), the ball bounces. If that love isn’t on the receiving end, it’s probably an opportunity missed rather than explored.
Bottom line
Carr is in an amazing position at the moment, though it’s very enviable.
If he improves significantly on his impressive 2025 season (2,741 yards, 24 touchdowns, 6 interceptions, 66.6 completion rate), he will have a first-round buzz for the 2027 NFL Draft. But, unlike Arch Manning or Dante Moore, there’s no reason to rush anything.
By all accounts, Carr — who is studying philosophy at Notre Dame — is enjoying life as a first quarterback at one of America’s most elite programs. I see him putting together a great season like we saw with Moore at Oregon and still choosing to play another year with the Irish.
Long term, as a prospect, Carr reminds me a lot of the athletic Bo Nix, both in his ability to receive and process information quickly, and the speed that allows him to play.
He will begin his 2026 season Sunday night against Wisconsin. We’ll see if he can build on his progress last season.
