"One of the best quarterbacks" - Notre Dame insider hints at Marcus Freeman's QB1 between CJ Carr and Kenny Minchey

Coach Marcus Freeman and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish are coming off a stellar season where they reached the national championship. While they lost to the Ohio State Buckeyes, it was still the Fighting Irish's best run in years. As a result, there are high expectations for the team heading into the 2025 season.

While expectations are high, there is uncertainty at the most important position in football, quarterback. Former starter Riley Leonard was selected by the Indianapolis Colts in the sixth round of the 2025 NFL draft, and as a result, will not be back with the Fighting Irish next season.

On Thursday, Notre Dame insider Bryan Driskell appeared on the "Crain & Company" podcast to discuss Notre Dame's upcoming season. One of the things he addressed was the QB battle between CJ Carr and Kenny Minchey. He favored Carr to win the job but did not want to disrespect Minchey.

"I still expect it to be CJ Carr," Driskell said (Timestamp 7:40). "It's almost unfortunate for Kenny Minchey, because there's a lot of years, if he's a junior in 2022, he's the no doubt starter for that team. He just happened to come at a time when they landed one of the best quarterbacks they've signed since Jimmy Clausen.

"CJ had a great spring, you guys saw it in the Blue-Gold Game. Some of the throws he made you're, like, 'We haven't seen a Notre Dame QB make a throw like that in a while.' He's got great command of it."

CJ Carr is projected to win the Notre Dame starting QB position over Kenny Minchey

Kenny Minchey is the more experienced quarterback between him and CJ Carr. He joined the Fighting Irish as a four-star recruit, according to 247Sports, in the 2023 class. However, he has been passed on the depth chart by CJ Carr.

Carr was a four-star recruit in the 2024 class, and as Bryan Driskell said, is one of the best QB recruits the team has signed in recent memory. He was the No. 45-ranked player and No. 6-ranked QB in his class.

Now it appears that Marcus Freeman and his staff believe in Carr as the team's starting QB next season. There is a chance that both players will get a chance to play early in the season, but Carr is favored to win the QB1 job as things stand. Carr did not play at all during his true freshman season.