Chat Transcript: How will CJ Carr and Notre Dame handle the emerging Heisman buzz?

Eric Hansen: Welcome to Notre Dame Football live Chat, the great Thaw Out Edition.

Not quite as warm as yesterday’s mid-60s here in South Bend today and it won’t last, but I’ll take it. … Besides my awkward weather conversation, first some quick programming notes:

First, thanks for adjusting to this being on Thursday. Because of coverage conflicts, we’ll be chatting live between noon and 3 p.m.-ish ET on Thursdays (rather than Wednesdays) due to coverage conflicts, present and upcoming.

► On July 1, Tyler James and I made the move to the On3 network and blueandgold.com and joined some amazing teammates. It’s proven to be a great move for us and, I believe, for our subscribers as well. And if you’re a potential first-time subscriber, we have a great deal — take a test drive for $1. With that, you get all of our premium content, plus all the value you get from a national team of writers and content creators, as well as access to every team site in the On3 network and a full year of The Athletic. Check it out at: https://www.on3.com/teams/notre-dame-fighting-irish/join/.

► If you missed the last episode of our aspiring-to-be-viral Notre Dame Football YouTube show, Football Never Sleeps, what are you doing with your life? Seriously, the show keeps its shelf life long after the live presentation, so you can catch up now or later on our YouTube channel.  We’ll be back next week, Monday at 7 p.m. ET, for another presentation of Football Never Sleeps with Tyler James co-hosting with me. And check out some great shows on the Blue & Gold YouTube channel as well, including the live Notre Dame Football Show, on Wednesday nights.

► The Third & Gold Podcast is available at all places where you find podcasts, as well as our YouTube Channel. On our most recent episode, we caught up with recruiting analyst Tom Lemming of the Prep Football Report. The next episode will drop Friday.

As far as this week’s chat …

PLEASE include your name and hometown along with your question(s).

Here are the rules:

Eric Hansen: The no bare feet rule definitely won’t be enforced this week, except at my house. Same with the no drinking rule. The others … don’t you dare.

Eric Hansen: Off we go …

Matt from Austin: Good morning Eric. Hope all is well in your world. I have two questions which probably need your unique insights. 1. With so many sources naming CJ Carr as the Heisman favorite for this season, how is he handling the hype? He seems grounded and confident at the same time. Do the coaches help him with the publicity demands and does the university plan to promote his candidacy? 2. What has your experience been in sensing the locker room in these days of NIL? Obviously, different players get different deals. Are players aware of the value of their teammates NIL contracts? Have you noted any jealousy/irritation among the athletes? I’m sure the coaches and administration try to keep this well controlled. No need for names, just your impression. Thanks so much, Eric.

Eric Hansen: HI Matt, thank you! Let’s start with CJ Carr. You’re right, Carr has a groundedness and maturity about him that has already served him well as a first-time starter in a marquee program and will continue to serve him well if that accelerates into a full-blown Heisman Trophy run. Learning from how Sam Hartman from a distance and Riley Leonard up close dealt with the spotlight, both when it was friendly and when it was glaring and harsh, was something Carr took in as well. Ian Book has been a valuable mentor as well. And offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock (while at LSU) has coached a Heisman Trophy winner.

Notre Dame’s Fighting Irish Media staff do a great job of planning, both behind the scenes and when things get loud. Timing is everything. And you don’t want to acknowledge and promote a Heisman candidacy too early or it really can backfire. I did a behind-the-scenes look at how ND handled Jeremiyah Love’s Heisman run if you have an interest in more depth.
Inside Notre Dame’s evolved strategy behind Jeremiyah Love’s Heisman Trophy campaign

As far as the NIL/rev-share stuff, it’s really going to vary from school to school how that affects or doesn’t affect a locker room and how strong the school’s culture is. There isn’t a public database where players can see the actual numbers of teammates or what players at other schools are getting. But anecdotally, kids talk and have a good feel for what is going on with their teammates. Again a strong culture is going to mitigate envy, but not completely eliminate it. So far, it seems to be working well at Notre Dame at least.

Jeremy from Goshen, Ind.: When you watch Williams highlights you see multiple over-the head-catches. His receiving ability looks truly elite and if I am Denbrock I would strongly consider leaning into that. What is the all-time single season record for receiving yards by a running back? What are your thoughts on the ways the new running backs room may be used in 2026 compared to Love and Price?

Eric Hansen: HI Jeremy. I still owe you an email, I believe. I had some family business to take care of right about the time you sent that and am still playing catch-up on emails, so please forgive me. … to your questions … You’re going to be surprised at the names that top that list. It is a very different list than the single-season receptions leaders. Here are the top 10 single-season receiving yards leaders in Notre Dame history:

Eric Hansen: As far as how Aneyas Williams and the other four running backs are used, we’ll see a lot of experimentation this spring. I think it’ll be a deeper rotation, 3 or 4, as opposed to 2. Kedren Young coming back from an ACL tear is an intriguing wild card. I could see him as a niche short-yardage back and I could see him competing to be back No. 2 or even 1A. But Williams, as you point out, provides a little bit of everything at a high level.

Skip from Houston: I have four unrelated questions:  (1) why was Rendell denied a third year of eligibility; (2) when $ amounts are given for NIL, are these amounts per year, four years or varying per contract; (3) in stating arm length, say 34″, how is that measured; and (4) I find it curious that ND quarterbacks/recruits are almost always ranked in the teens – do we do a great job of finding diamonds in the rough or is there some other answer why we don’t usually seek quarterbacks ranked in the top five? Thanks.

Eric Hansen: Hi Skip. There was not an official announcement on that. Here is my understanding of James Rendell’s situation. Coming in the door, the NCAA perceived him as a grad student and not a 24-year-old undergrad in his first season. He was initially granted one year of eligibility and petitioned for a second and third year, but only got the second. He attended two different colleges in Australia before coming to the U.S., and because of that and his age, the NCAA seemed unwilling to move off the notion he was a grad student.

Fellow Australian punter Jasper Scaife, who enrolled in January at ND, is considered an undergrad with four years of eligibility. … 2) The NIL or rev share figures given a player — if accurate — are for one-year increments, one-year contracts. I am not sure where you are quoting the figures from, so I am not sure if you are seeing estimates or actual compensation. 3) Arm length per a Google search is: from the base of the neck/shoulder blade (specifically the acromion process) down the extended arm to the tip of the middle finger, using a tailor’s measuring tape.

4) Not a one-size fits all answer. I would say QB recruiting under Marcus Freeman and Gino Guidugli is as good as it’s been since Charlie Weis was landing elite QB recruits. In the Brian Kelly Era there were more misses than hits in terms of top 10 guys, but he did get a few, including Gunner Kiel. But here’s something to consider, the last college QB ranked higher than CJ Carr at the position (6th) to win a national title was Trevor Lawrence at Clemson in 2018.

And the only other top 10-rated QB in that stretch to lead his team to a national title was J.J. McCarthy of Michigan in 2023. So, fit and style matter very much.

Jim from Anthony, Texas: Eric, so glad you’re having these chats during the off season. Myself and others here would probably go nuts if we couldn’t talk football with someone. Just 2 questions, kind of trivial at that . . . Who is the young man who stands behind or very nearby CMF, he seems to give coach information occasionally? #2. Of the $21M that schools can pay out to student athletes (fingers crossed behind my back) what percentage of that, at large universities, trickles down to say women’s cross country or golf?

Eric Hansen: Hi Jim. Believe me, the feeling is mutual about the chats helping my offseason sanity. A dose of normalcy is just what I need these days. That young man is Anthony Treash. He’s an Indiana University grad who’s held a couple of different titles in his first two seasons with the Irish, both of which sound important and are. He was the director of analytics in 2024 and the director of football strategy in both 2025 and currently. He worked for football analytics website Pro Football Focus for 5 years prior to joining the ND staff.

2. Very, very little. Where ND can help in those sports is through NIL deals outside of the direct rev share. Notre Dame also is not bound by scholarship limits beyond the actual roster limits, so there are some options possible there as well in the sports you mentioned.

Bill from Milford, Conn.: Hope you’re still doing review of men’s & women’s basketball. Have I missed them? Been looking for podcasts or another jot . Com ?

Eric Hansen: Bill, sorry, things got put on hold a little bit as I had some family business to attend to. I am back and fully engaged and playing catch-up now.

Mark from T-Ville, N.J.: Hi Eric. I hope all is well with you,the family and the Irish. It appears Charlie Partridge has been coaching D lines for sometime and has coached along side DC Ash for several years. That being the case do you feel Al Washington was moved to LB coach to make room for Partridge? Would you consider Charlie being an upgrade at this position group? I felt Washington recruiting was average until this past class, do you know anything about Partridge as a recruiter? Again thanks for the info and the chats nothing better!!

Eric Hansen: Hi Mark. Thanks for the well wishes and the compliment. I have a column coming on Charlie Partridge that will run on Friday morning at blueandgold.com. So you will want to check that out. But I think Charlie Partridge is going to prove to be s SIGNIFICANT addition to the coaching staff for Marcus Freeman. This is not a knock on Al Washington. Al was reportedly happy with the move to linebackers to help present himself as a stronger candidate for defensive coordinator jobs and then he ends up going to the NFL as a linebackers coach (he had coached that position earlier in his career).

I don’t want to give away all of tomorrow’s column here, but Partridge reminds me of what Harry Hiestand brought to the table as an offensive line coach … not only a master class on technique, but a guy with vast schematic knowledge who’s a huge asset to the coordinator. The three D-line transfers (Keon Keeley, Tionne Gray and Francis Brewu) all raved about him and how much his presence factored into them picking ND in the transfer process. Tom Lemming, longtime recruiting analyst, believes Partridge will be a dynamic recruiter. And we’re already seeing signs of it in the 2027 class.

Ryan Frankfort Illinois: Good afternoon Eric who will be returning kickoffs and punts during the season I’m thinking Kedren Young and someone else for kickoffs and Jordan Fasion for Punts GO IRISH ☘️☘️☘️🏈🏈🏈 thanks for getting back to me on X i was the person who asked when your chat was going to be.

Eric Hansen: Hi Ryan. Thanks for asking. Your question helped others see that the chat moved to Thursday, so again thank you. I speculated a little bit about this last week. I think in the spring you’ll see Jordan Faison and a whole bunch of challengers, including Dallas Golden, for punt returns. Aneyas Williams too. On kickoff returns, I think Williams will be the pole-sitter, but lots of options there too. This won’t likely be finalized at either place until fall camp. So lots of time to sort that out.

Marie from Atlanta: hi Eric, I hope you’re having a great weekend and thanks for hosting the chat. Can you give your thoughts on the hiring of Shawn Shivers? Is he being hired to fill a spot from someone who left? Does he have any connections to ND? Any special skill or knowledge that he’s known for that might have enticed ND  to hire him? Do you see Mylan Graham more likely to play in the field or the boundary? Also, do you think there’s any chance that Cam Williams would play the boundary? I know you guys got to interview some players yesterday, what were one or two of the biggest highlights for you? Thanks for hosting the chat and all the great information.

Eric Hansen: Hi Marie. Can’t complain when you can wear shorts and a short-sleeve shirt outside in the middle of February, even if it’s just for one day. … I like the hiring of Shaun Shivers and an analyst and assistant wide receivers coach. ND is getting a young, ambitious, rising coach with really good recruiting chops and ties to the state of Florida, where he was a star running back in high school. There is not an apparent previous Notre Dame tie. He replaces Dom Spalding, who’s now at Michigan State.

As far as wide receivers, Mylan Graham projects as field receiver as his best position, but he could really play any of the three. Cam Williams goes into spring slotted in the boundary and will be competing with Quincy Porter and Micah Gilbert. But if he takes off this spring, and that is expected, he could also move around to other positions. … At the Wednesday interviews, they brought in the seven transfers who are on campus and Charlie Partridge and didn’t stagger them for the print/web media.  So I glommed onto  Porter and Partridge, but there were some great interviews.

After watching Keon Keeley’s video and reading his interview transcript provided by one of the other writers, I was absolutely blown away by his great attitude and the work he’s already put in. Blown away.

Don in Scottsdale, Ariz.: Eric, I hope the time with family was comforting for all and hope you are doing well.  What is one thing we can learn in spring practice?  What are the questions that need to be answered in the fall?  The amount and quality of content on the site is great.  The team seems to be on top of everything.

Eric Hansen: Don. I appreciate that, and they certainly were. And great friends were very supportive as well. … And thanks for the compliments about the site and the content. As I like to say, spring practice is more about impressions than conclusions. But I think one of the things we’ll learn this spring is how much different/better CJ Carr 2.0 is than the 2025 version and all the different directions/gears the offense can move in. And I assume you asked the fall question based on my spring priorities piece earlier this week: Six spring priorities that will shape Notre Dame football’s title push  So let’s take a look at some of those … 

You’ll have a much better feel for who the No. 1 kicker and punter is in the fall, just because you’ve had a whole summer of work behind them and you’ll be outside more. Figure out return men and special teamers is on the list. Now that Teddy Jarrard will be part of the competition, you’ll get a great read on who the No. 2 QB is. In theory, you’ll have all the pieces back for the O-line or well-defined recovery timelines and that will come together. Key pieces like RB Kedren Young and freshman TE Ian Premer will figure out where they fit as well June-arriving CB transfer DJ McKinney.

A huge priority — and I mean HUGE — is doing a better job of exposing flaws and fixing them in August, ahead of the season, rather than having them exposed in September and paying a price for that.

Smitty from Tempe, Ariz.: Eric, I appreciate, as always, all that you do for us Irish fans.  My understanding is that in this new age of college football (transfer portal, NIL) that ND has been able to retain their own players, at least those that they want to retain, at a better rate than most other schools. It sounds like culture and player development are big reasons for this.  Do you agree with those assumptions?

ND brought in more  undergrad transfers in the last portal cycle as opposed to the historically typical one year grad transfers.  Do you think bringing in more undergrad transfers could potentially upset the culture and impact how well ND retains their own players?

There are certainly advantages to being able to recruit undergrad transfers, but I’ve considered ND’s ability to retain their own players to be a more unique advantage in this new era of college football.

Eric Hansen: Thanks, Smitty. Why it is more difficult to predict team dynamics is all this is still relatively new and they’re evolving rapidly and in all kinds of ways. It’s not just the new portal dynamics and the economics, it’s now up to 105 scholarship players during the old 85 limit. But to your point, so far Notre Dame’s strong retention rate among players it prioritizes is something that’s largely gone unnoticed and appreciated even within the ND world. So props to you for noticing.

I don’t know why bringing in underclass transfers would upset the team chemistry. They are players who can help you in. I am doing a deep analysis of ND’s all-time transfer history for Saturday, but if you look at the all-time transfers and stack them by their recruiting pedigree. Nos. 1, 2, 3 and 10 are all in this transfer class. Quincy Porter (No. 2 on that list) is the highest-rated WR to wear an ND uniform in the internet era (2004-present), three spots higher than Michael Floyd. Now he had to go out there and be productive, but that’s going to help your team win.

But again these are new dynamics. Agents are involved more and more. At some point there may be collective bargaining and multi-year contracts. But for now culture wins, and Marcus Freeman’s is showing up.

Mitch: Why does it seem like ND hasn’t recently landed or pursued any elite QB prospects outside of CJ Carr (On3 and 24/7 both ranked #6 QB)? He is a HUGE reason ND has such upside for the 2026 season. From the outside, it doesn’t feel like ND is trying to get the elite top tier guys at the most vital position on the field. (Outside of the infamous Deuce Knight episode) Thanks!

Eric Hansen: Hi Mitch. I think when the QB rankings went from separate dual-threat and pro-style rankings, maybe that watered down how good let’s say QB No. 20 is in a given class and how competitive it is to land someone of that caliber. ND tried to land Dante Moore in the class before Carr, and it was close. Noah Grubbs was the QB they liked best in the 2026 class and Teddy Jarrard in the 2027 class. Jarrard  reclassifying into the 2026 class hurt his ranking. ND is looking at top QBs in the 2027 and 2028 classes. I think you might be selling those prospects short.

Berk coming to you from Memphis: Eric, I have a bit of a foreshadowing question about the WR room. Man there is ALOT of talent in there and only so many spots on the field for them and only one ball to go around. I do know that you don’t bring 2 guys in from the portal if they aren’t better than what you have currently……. (I have my opinion) who do you think is in a “tough” situation when it comes to playing time and probably will be looking to leave after ’26?

Eric Hansen: Hi Berk. There are 14 wide receivers on the roster in 2026. Jordan Faison is the only one with expiring eligibility after 2026. And ND is recruiting receivers in the 2027 class. So you can do the math. They are likely to lose those who are less productive. This is a position group that is being upgraded. So for some it will come down to a taffy pull as to whether a Notre Dame degree is more important than immediate playing time. But keep in mind, with the 85-scholarship limit no longer in affect, a lot of teams are going to have large wide receiver contingents, like the Irish have, so immediate playing time elsewhere might necessitate a step down to Group of 6 or FCS to make it happen.

Ed from Sayville, N.Y.: Hello Eric. I read the story on Jaiden O’Brien (ND track & field heptathlon champion) who is competing in the bobsled at the Olympics, and her relationship with Kevin Bauman. (Hats off to Jack Soble for bringing it our way). The ability to support one another is unique in the would. My question is more like a request. Any chance you could try to get Jaiden and Kevin on the podcast? I see the two as risk taking athletes who recognize the trials and tribulations of high stakes competition. Compliments to Jack for his work!

Eric Hansen: Hi Ed. I will pass the compliment along to Jack and will definitely consider your idea.

Jules from Joliet, Ill.: Sir:  Great job in doing these chats.  Thx for your efforts.  Two questions, if I may:  1.  ND has put the most players in the NFL.  What determines an “ND Player” for this statistic?  Is it someone that plays any time at ND?  Or, plays there last year there? Or, plays their entire career at ND?   2.  Can you share why you no longer have Bob Morton as a guest?  Is he a casualty of the merger, perhaps?

Eric Hansen: Hi Jules. Thanks for hyping me up. How the NFL makes that determination is uniform. So, it’s the last school that a player suited up for or trained with. Riley Leonard, thus, becomes a Notre Dame draft pick, even though he played most of his career at Duke. Steve Angeli would be a Syracuse draft pick, even though he started out at ND.

To your second question, we’d love to have Bob Morton back on … and it sounds like you would too. He had to step away this season, but he and I are both hopeful he can get back into working with us perhaps as soon as this spring or thereafter. Nothing definite, but that is the direction we’re all hopeful this goes.

RustyIrish from Cincinnati, Ohio: I asked this question a couple of times in season with no answer, so I am hoping to get your thoughts now. Considering our 2025 red-zone struggles I could never understand why we saw no two back sets in those situations. Literally having the two best running backs in college football should have been a huge advantage, especially considering both were also good blockers. In my simple mind this would have presented a huge challenge to defend against rather than telegraphing which one of the single backs in the backfield would get the ball. I just feels like we wasted a great opportunity and, more or less, leaned into predictability. Thanks for hosting the chats, always a good time and insightful.

Eric Hansen: Rusty, you lively minx. If I had a dollar for every time I got this question asked last season, I would not still be begging Keuring for an NIL deal. And I must have answered it every time you weren’t looking. Not sure if I can vary the answer. BUT .. and there is a but. you were so classy in the way you presented yourself and you are from my homestate, so let’s give it another try. And you do make a very good point, and it is something I thought we’d see a little more of in 2025, though not necessarily restricted to red zone stuff. Remember when you make that choice, what are you willing to give up?

By putting a second back on the field and taking away a wide receiver, you are making it easier to bring a safety into the box to congest things and defend the run. Remember the reason why non-service academy teams evolved away from two backs was to spread out the defense. If you take a tight end off the field, you are theoretically taking away a better blocker. And on short-yardage, wouldn’t you rather have the superior blocker. In the pistol formation, you can play one back and still have the deception of two backs, because you don’t know which way that back is going to go and it’s hard for the linebacker to pick up that initial movement.

So, great idea on your part but one I think you’ll be less likely to see this season. And if we do, I’ll be happy to answer your question again.

Marty from San Antonio: Hello Eric. What position group has the least amount of experience on this year’s squad? Is that something that can be overcome over the season?

Eric Hansen: Hey Marty. Tight ends and running backs are very light on career starts. But there’s numbers and talent and a coaching staff that is strong on development. And that’s a combination to counter the lack of experience. If Marcus Freeman had thought it was a deeper problem, the Irish could have solved that with a transfer addition.

Jack from Strongsville, Ohio: Hi Eric. A WBB question. If Notre Dame takes care of business this week against SMU and Wake, do you think they could host a first and second round game at South Bend in the NCAA tournament with a semi or finals appearance in the ACC tournament? Thanks as always for your great work.

Eric Hansen: Hi Jack, and thank you for your email that you sent last week. Let’s look at the numbers. Notre Dame is 16-9 overall and 8-6 in the ACC. That’s ninth place. They have four games left, two would be gimmes (but you never know) and then two against teams near the top of the standings (Syracuse and Louisville). The Irish are currently projected as a 7 seed, so that’s a lot of ground to cover to get to 4 and be a host.

Minimally, they’d either have to sweep these four games and get to the ACC Tourney title game or go 3-1 and win the ACC Tourney. The premise would be that this is a different and better team significantly with a healthy KK Bransford. Given the ups and down, I would not make hotel reservations in South Bend for the first week of the NCAA Tournament.

Eric Hansen: OK that’s going to do it for this week. Thanks for all the great questions. We’ll be back next THURSDAY at noon ET for the next chat to do it all over again.