CFB insider drops bold Marcus Freeman-CJ Carr prediction as Notre Dame enters post-Riley Leonard era

Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman has a big decision to make on who will lead the team's offense in the 2025 season. He has to pick between quarterbacks CJ Carr and Kenny Minchey since Riley Leonard's departure to the NFL after the Indianapolis Colts took him in the fifth round in April.

Since Carr appears to be the favorite for the QB1 spot, analyst Josh Pate made a bold prediction about the player on his "College Football Show" on Tuesday. When a fan sent in a question to Pate asking him whether Carr will take Notre Dame's passing game to a higher level, the analyst appeared to be bullish on the QB.

"Yes, it will," Pate said. (31:26). "CJ Carr's arm absolutely will take Notre Dame's passing attack to a level that you haven't seen in a while. This will be Marcus Freeman's best passing attack since he's been at Notre Dame. That's what I think we're going to see unfold here."

Pate explained how Notre Dame did not have the best passing game last season under Riley Leonard, but still made it to the national title game.

Leonard transferred to Notre Dame in 2024 after spending three years at Duke. He recorded 2,861 passing yards, 21 touchdowns, eight interceptions and 17 rushing TDs.

It remains to be seen whether Carr or Minchey will be Notre Dame's QB1 next season.

Marcus Freeman opens up on growth of Notre Dame since being promoted to HC

Notre Dame HC Marcus Freeman - Source: Imagn

While speaking to Fox's Joel Klatt this past week, Marcus Freeman opened up on his time at Notre Dame since being promoted as the team's head coach in December 2021. He replaced Brian Kelly, who took the job at LSU.

“I think we were in a really good position when I took over,” Freeman said. “What Coach Kelly had done for this program had been tremendous. How do you elevate from that point we were at? For us, actually, for me, it actually took taking a dip. We lost the first game I coached, which was the bowl game. We lost the next game I coached, which was Ohio State. Then, we lost the third game in a row, which was against Marshall.

“For me, it was almost — you had to take a dip. You had to regress a little bit to understand what it takes to progress forward.”

Freeman has compiled a 33-10 record at Notre Dame as head coach. After getting a taste of the national championship game last season, he will want to guide the Fighting Irish all the way to the championship again next season.