Why CJ Carr should be priority one for Michigan football

Michigan class of 2024 quarterback recruit CJ Carr is tearing it up in the offseason, most recently at the Elite 11 Camp. While 2023 Dante Moore and others are big fish, Carr — grandson of former Michigan coach Lloyd Carr — needs to be one of the priorities.

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Six years ago, former Michigan defensive tackle Chris Hutchinson, a 1992 All-American, asked his friend, former U-M All-Big Ten lineman Doug Skene, for a favor. He wanted him to watch film of his son, Aidan, and ask him if he thought he was good enough to play in the Big Ten.

Skene’s response — “I think so – and if he’s anything like his dad, I’d take two.”

Because there’s something to be said for guys who have the passion to play for the uniform to go with their talent. Who lived it, breathed it through their dads, who knew no other way.

And let’s be clear — CJ Carr, son of former Michigan quarterback Jason Carr, grandson of Hall of Fame coach Lloyd Carr, knows Michigan football. It was in his blood growing up (how could it not be?), and it meant something to him. It was the same with Aidan Hutchinson, will be similar for freshman cornerback Will Johnson, whose father Deon played for U-M … on an on.

We’re not talking about a MAC-caliber quarterback here, either. You don’t take kids just because their fathers played at Michigan. Some just aren’t qualified, and there are hundreds of examples of legacies who played elsewhere.

But when one of those kids happens to be one of the faster-rising players in the country at the position that matters most on the football field — well, you prioritize him.

Michigan coaches have been pursuing 2023 Dante Moore for a while now, as they should have been. He’s one of the best players in his class, and the five-star is in their backyard at Detroit King. He’s also been leaning toward Notre Dame for a while now, it seems, and it’s been trending that way.

While U-M has been trying to do something about that, Carr has (seemingly) begun to trend away from Michigan. Alabama recently offered. Georgia’s there, and just about everyone else is about to get on board.

“Some of my top schools are Michigan, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Wisconsin, Georgia,” Carr said at the Elite 11 Regional in Nashville. “There are definitely a few few other ones in that mix that recently offered me, so I’m excited to grow all those relationships.”

And those programs are excited to grow them with him, probably surprised and excited they’ve got a shot at a kid who grew up about as maize and blue as it gets.

If they haven’t already, now’s the time for the Michigan coaches to make Carr priority one, two and three on the wish list. Like the younger Hutchinson, he’s got that intangible you can’t teach … given his upbringing, it’s just going to mean more.

And that absolutely counts for something.