Notre Dame football announces the signing of top-100 quarterback recruit CJ Carr

The Notre Dame football program signed their future quarterback on Wednesday. Four-star signal-caller CJ Carr from Saline (Mich.) High put pen to paper and is officially a member of the Fighting Irish.

Carr, a four-star recruit ranked as a top-60 overall prospect in the 2024 class, has unofficially been a part of the program since Saturday. He began practicing with the Irish during bowl preparation, an opportunity made available because he was a prospective student-athlete and Notre Dame is in between semesters. The 6-foot-2½, 195-pounder will officially enroll in classes come January.  

The On3 Industry Ranking’s No. 6 quarterback and No. 1 prospect in Michigan, Carr, verbally committed to the Irish on June 9, 2022. The grandson of former Wolverines coach Lloyd Carr — and son of former Michigan quarterback Jason Carr — pledged to the Irish over 16 other Power Five offers, including Michigan, Alabama and Wisconsin.

Carr’s signature makes him Notre Dame’s highest-ranked quarterback recruit since Brandon Wimbush. According to the On3 Industry Ranking, Wimbush was the No. 40 overall player and No. 4 quarterback in the 2015 recruiting cycle.

The On3 Industry Ranking is a proprietary algorithm that compiles ratings and rankings from all four primary recruiting media services.

Carr committed to Notre Dame when offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Tommy Rees was on staff. He made his decision public four days after working under Rees at the June 4, 2022, Irish Invasion camp. Rees offered Carr a scholarship after first camping at Notre Dame on June 6, 2021.

Last February, Rees bolted from his alma mater for the same position at Alabama. It put Carr’s commitment status in question. But after getting to know Rees’ initial replacements, offensive coordinator Gerad Parker and quarterback coach Gino Guidugli, Carr reaffirmed his spot in Notre Dame’s class last April. Parker later accepted the head coaching position at Troy on Monday.

“Coach Rees and I had a two-year connection and were really close,” Carr told Blue & Gold on April 4. “That was a really hard thing to see him leave. So, the past few weeks have been getting to know Coach Parker’s scheme and how he handles things — and also getting to talk with Coach Guidugli. It’s been really good. From the Zooms and FaceTimes we’ve had, the connection we’ve built has been good.”

Then, Carr paid nine more college recruiting visits to South Bend over the last eight months. As a recruit, he visited Notre Dame 19 times in total, including for this past season’s Ohio State, Southern California and Wake Forest games. Those trips helped him reassure his stance with the Irish.

“I’m really excited about the offensive class,” Carr told Blue & Gold on June 11. “The staff has put together some of the best players in the country. You look at our receivers — those three kids are going to be studs at Notre Dame. I’m super excited that we got them. I can’t talk enough about this class; it’s really exciting. The rankings don’t give some of these kids justice as to how good they really are.”

Notre Dame’s CJ Carr an exceptional high school quarterback

Carr arrives in South Bend after a high school football career with outstanding statistics and accolades. He threw for over 8,000 yards and 78 touchdowns (primarily in three seasons) at Saline High School and compiled about 15 high school honors.

This past season, Carr conducted the Saine Hornets to a 9-2 campaign. He completed 199-285 (69.8%) passes for 2,787 yards, 24 touchdowns and 9 interceptions. He also added 242 rushing yards and 9 scores on 40 carries. Saline lost in the Michigan Division I playoffs district final to 2025 Five-Star Plus+ passer Bryce Underwood and Belleville (Mich.) High.

The Michigan High School Football Coaches Association named Carr Division I first team All-State and to the Division 1, Region 3 first team for his efforts in 2023. The Associated Press recognized him as Division 1-2 second-team All-State. He was also Michigan Southeastern Conference Red Division first-team, as well as a top 10 player in the state, according to mlive.com.

Carr also achieved each one of the awards in 2022 as a junior. That season, Carr connected on 222-326 (68.1%) throws for 2,685 yards, 26 touchdowns and 5 interceptions. He also had 7 rushing touchdowns. Saline finished the season 8-3, also falling to Belleville again in the district final. The MHSFCA also named him to their “dream team” that year.

Carr broke out as a sophomore in 2021 with a career-high 28 passing touchdowns. He completed 156-242 (64.5%) throws for 2,676 yards and just 4 interceptions. After that season, the AP awarded him Division 1-2 first-team All-State. Carr also made first-team All-SEC Red Division and MHSFCA All-Region for the first time.

After primarily playing as a reserve as a freshman, Carr made his first career start against Rockford (Mich.) High in the first round of the Michigan playoffs. He went 20-28 (71.4%) in his debut for 231 yards and one touchdown.

Carr joins a Notre Dame quarterback room that features three other scholarship signal callers: Riley Leonard, Steve Angeli and Kenny Minchey.