Marcus Freeman believes QB signee CJ Carr has an extremely high ceiling

Marcus Freeman loves CJ Carr, whom Notre Dame signed as part of the Class of 2024. Carr enrolled early and Freeman sees a really high ceiling for the young gunslinger.

He’ll get practice time before the calendar hits the new year. With that, Carr is getting a leg up on any potential competition.

Freeman revealed just how high Carr’s ceiling is at Notre Dame.

“High, I don’t know how high it will be but it is extremely high,” Freeman said. “I watched him throw the ball in practice these last couple of days and I mean he’s got a great arm. His decision making, he processes information and makes decisions at a high level. You know, but he’s a freshman right? 

“The one thing you can’t take into consideration when you talk about hard work, you have a goal and we know it’s going to be hard work but you never know how much time is going to be put in to reach those goals. And so we’ll see how much time it will take him but I truly believe he has such a high ceiling in terms of where he’ll be as a football player.”

As a member of the Class of 2024, Carr is a four-star recruit out of Saline (Mich.) High, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He is the No. 1 overall prospect in the state, the No. 6 quarterback in the class and the No. 59 overall prospect in the class.

“He’s so competitive,” Freeman said. “That’s the thing about CJ. He’s smart. He’s athletic, he’s talented, but he’s competitive. And those are things that are hard to measure. He comes to some junior days and those things where he’s around some of his teammates. I mean, he’s one of the most competitive guys there is and so that’s what you want in a quarterback.”

Tyler Horka of On3’s Blue and Gold does not believe Duke quarterback Riley Leonard transferring in affects the youngster. If anything, Carr has a year to take a back seat and gain experience as a true freshman.

“I think CJ Carr is locked in,” Horka said during an episode of Andy Staples On3. “It’s always nice when the guy is coming in as a true freshman because this is a 17, 18-year-old kid and Riley Leonard is Riley Leonard. He’s done all of these things at the college football level. So, if you’re CJ Carr, you say ‘This doesn’t really affect me right now.’ [Leonard] is a one-year rental. This time next year, we’re not talking about Riley Leonard.”