Notre Dame has one quarterback battle still hanging out there, and it may be the one that matters most.
As the Fighting Irish finish fall camp and turn their attention to Wisconsin, the starting job is settled with CJ Carr. That much was clear going back to last year. The real question is behind him, where Notre Dame still hasn’t picked a backup from Teddy Jarrard, Noah Grubbs or Blake Hebert.
That delay has become a storyline of its own. Earlier in camp, Jarrard seemed to be moving toward the No. 2 spot, and for a stretch it looked like Notre Dame was close to making that call. For a true freshman who should technically still be in high school, it was a pretty remarkable rise.
Jarrard’s path made the whole thing even more unusual. He had originally been part of the 2028 recruiting cycle before reclassifying to 2027 just as that class was preparing to arrive in South Bend. That move kept him out of spring practice, but once he got to campus this summer, he looked like a fast learner with plenty of talent.
So the bigger question is what changed. With the season just two weeks away, Mike Denbrock and Marcus Freeman still haven’t settled on a backup quarterback, which suggests none of the three has separated himself the way Jarrard appeared to earlier in camp.
That’s where the concern comes in. It’s easy to look at Carr, see how good he was last year and how much he should improve as a first-year starter, and figure the backup job doesn’t deserve much attention.
But football doesn’t work that neatly. At some point, Carr is likely to miss at least a few snaps this fall because of the sport’s physical nature.
And depending on when that happens, the next quarterback onto the field could be walking into a game with everything on the line. If Notre Dame’s coaches are holding off because all three options have hit a rough patch, that’s a problem waiting to surface.
There is a brighter read on the situation: maybe all three quarterbacks are playing so well that the staff simply can’t choose. But Freeman’s tone didn’t exactly sell that version. When he said he’s not ready to name the backup quarterback, he looked tired and sounded frustrated, which points in the other direction.
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Notre Dame Hype Just Met A Schedule Marcus Freeman Can't Ignore
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But the path ahead is not built for easy validation. Several opponents on Notre Dames schedule are carrying their own hype in ESPNs rankings, including BYU, Miami and SMU, which means Freemans team will spend the fall testing itself against programs that are also expected to matter. For Notre Dame, the ranking is a nice starting point. The real question is how long it holds up once the schedule starts asking for answers. [Read more 🡒]