Notre Dame’s offseason message has a simple edge to it: don’t give anyone a reason to decide your fate again.
That was the tone Marcus Freeman and CJ Carr brought to ESPN’s Get Up, where the head coach and returning starting quarterback spoke about the Irish’s 2026 mindset after being left out of the College Football Playoffs in 2025. The exclusion has become fuel, and Notre Dame is leaning into it with the kind of reminder that sticks.
Freeman said the video of Notre Dame watching the selection show still carries weight for the program.
"I look at that clip and you get that pain, that sting and that reminder," Freeman said after watching the video of Notre Dame watching the selection show. "That's how we've used it.
It's not to blame somebody else or blame a committee that we should have been in the playoffs. But we use it during the days we do need a reminder.
These guys are as motivated as anybody when they wake up. They want to be the best versions of themselves.
"But everybody needs a reminder every once and a while," Freeman continued about using the right for of offseason motivation. "That's when you have to keep the pain. You have to look back and say 'hey, we have to leave no doubt' and that's what that video reminded me of."
That phrase - “Leave No Doubt” - has become part of the team’s daily language, and Carr said it’s tied directly to what happened last season. Notre Dame doesn’t want its postseason hopes hanging in someone else’s hands again.
"I think 'leave no doubt' means to us, like coach said, is keeping the pain and remembering those struggles that we had last season," Carr shared. "We need to take those lessons into this next year so that we're not back in that situation where we have to watch another video where we're getting disappointing news.
We want to go out and dominate and be the best version of ourselves. We do that by leaving no doubt."
The Irish will also have to do that while replacing key pieces on offense, especially at running back with Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price gone. Freeman pointed to Aneyas Williams as the one back who has already played for Notre Dame, but he was clear about the challenge ahead.
"The one guy that will play, and has played for us, is Aneyas Williams at running back," Freeman explained. "He's made some big plays for us.
Now, he hasn't played as much as Love and Price but you're not replacing those people, you're replacing the production. How do we do that?
That's why we coach; we've got to be creative. We've got to play to our strengths.
"All those different things are what make up that tactical aspect of the game," Freeman continued about the potential of Notre Dame's offense this fall. "But we have some great coaches who have developed these young guys and now they're going to be thrust into the spotlight and I'm excited to see the world find out what we already know about us."
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Notre Dame Freshman Five Star Is Pushing Into A Bigger Role
Grayson McKeogh arrived at Notre Dame with the kind of pedigree that usually comes with a little patience, but the early signs have been encouraging enough to make the freshman offensive tackle harder to ignore. The Pennsylvania five-star enrolled early and used spring practice to show why the staff liked him so much, giving the Irish a young lineman whose development is already worth tracking as the roster turns toward fall camp.
McKeogh is now in position to push for a spot in the offensive line two-deep, and that kind of competition matters for a unit that always has to be built with the long view in mind. His progress will be one of the quieter but more important storylines in camp and into the regular season, with Notre Dame watching to see whether his early momentum turns into a real role. [Read more 🡒]
Aneyas Williams Has Reached A Long Awaited Notre Dame Moment
Aneyas Williams finally got a fuller look in Notre Dames 2026 Blue-Gold Game, a small but meaningful step after a season and spring spent working back from an elbow injury and surgery. Much of that stretch came with the kind of limitations that make a young running backs development feel stalled, including a red non-contact jersey and the brace that kept him from doing everything he wanted in practice.
Now the path is opening up. With key backs off to the NFL, Williams is expected to take on a much larger role and is projected to be the Irishs starter in 2026, a spot he has been preparing for with patience and faith in the process. For a player who has been waiting for his turn, the next phase is no longer about rehab or restraint. It is about whether the long buildup finally turns into a real workload. [Read more 🡒]
CJ Carr Just Gave Notre Dame Fans A Recruiting Moment To Notice
Notre Dames annual New York City media swing gave the program another chance to stay in the national conversation, with Marcus Freeman and several key players making the rounds on ESPN shows throughout the day. Quarterback CJ Carr was among the faces of the trip, joined by cornerback Leonard Moore, linebacker Drayk Bowen and safety Adon Shuler as the Irish worked through a packed slate that fit the schools independent status and its need to create its own spotlight.
Carrs appearance on The Rich Eisen Show was the one that will linger for Notre Dame fans, because it put the freshman quarterback in the middle of the kind of recruiting conversation that always follows a high-profile arrival. Freeman and Carr also spent part of the day on Get Up talking about the disappointment of missing the 2025 College Football Playoff and what this fall needs to look like, while Bowen and Shuler added a lighter touch by meeting fans in Times Square and leaning into the kind of public-facing moment that comes with a trip like this. [Read more 🡒]