Notre Dame insider breaks down high-pressure over CJ Carr as inexperienced QB takes grandfather's legacy forward

Notre Dame Fighting Irish insider Tyler Wojciak has shared his thoughts on why he believes CJ Carr is facing pressure ahead of the 2025 season. The quarterback is competing for the starting role against Kenny Minchey. On the Wednesday episode of the "Locked on Irish" podcast, Wojciak discussed who has a better chance of leading the team.

Wojciak pointed out that both QBs lack playing experience in the league. Minchey has played two games in his college football career with a total of three completions for 16 yards. Carr suffered an elbow injury that prevented him from being a backup option for the Fighting Irish last year.

That said, the insider believes Carr has been prepared to be a starting QB as the grandson of former Michigan Wolverines coach Lloyd Carr.

"CJ Carr, I mean, he's got elite arm talent, extremely accurate," Wojciak said (Timestamp: 2:42). "He's got poise. He's got the pedigree, grandson of a national champion. He's been groomed for this entire life. Like, he has been ready to take over a big-time college football program for a long time."

Although Wojciak praised Carr's abilities, he said that the lack of experience puts pressure on the freshman to meet high expectations.

"He's been training for a very long time," Wojciak added (Timestamp: 2:57). "He's got a quick release. He's a strong decision maker, but he's still never played a snap, and expectations for him are sky high and hes' going to have to adjust to the speed of the college game, build chemistry with wide receivers.

"And when he deals with adversity, he's got to be ready to take it head on."

Tyler Wojciak shares concerns Notre Dame has for CJ Carr taking over the starting quarterback role

The Notre Dame insider predicts that CJ Carr will assume the starting role over Kenny Minchey. Tyler Wojciak believes Minchey has decision-making issues as a quarterback. However, he shared that Carr can be a risky option because it's uncertain whether he can adjust to offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock's playcalling.

"He's shown that he probably has the highest ceiling of anyone in that room, but there are risks involved there as well," Wojciak said (Timestamp: 3:46).

"Like, how quickly can Carr absorb everything that's going on in Mike Denbrock's system? Not just the basics, not just the fundamentals, but then applying that into real-life game situations, making checks in the line of scrimmage."

He added that adjusting is difficult for seniors to do and questions whether Carr can be mentally or physically prepared for the role for the whole season.

Notre Dame fans and analysts assume the team will at least qualify for the College Football Playoff. Carr will try to outperform expectations as a freshman and potentially compete for a national championship next year.