Elite 2024 QB CJ Carr on Notre Dame visit, what’s next
Saline (Mich.) High class of 2024 quarterback CJ Carr has visited Notre Dame twice before, and it was a priority of his to get back for visit No. 3. And what did the elite talent want to get out of his trip to South Bend this past Thursday?
“The main thing we wanted to check off was seeing Coach [Tommy] Rees in the quarterback room and how he coaches on the field,” Carr told BlueandGold.com. “Those were two things we got to see on the visit and were excited by. I’m eager to keep building a relationship with Coach Rees and Coach [Marcus] Freeman.”
Carr liked how upbeat Notre Dame’s practice was.
“I saw a lot of energy,” he said. “They really like to emphasize competition. That stood out to me.”
Rees offered Carr last June after the rising sophomore at the time wowed him at the Irish Invasion camp. Carr made another visit to Notre Dame to see the Irish knock off USC, and the priority signal-caller target had another productive Notre Dame visit last week.
Carr saw a glimpse of what his future could be like, sitting in a Rees-led quarterback meeting before practice started that morning and had a film study with him in the afternoon.
“It was really cool to watch them install a play and then see it in the practice,” Carr said. “And then we got to talk to Coach Rees after practice and take a look at my film. He talked about some things he liked and some things that I can work on.”
His meetings with Rees centered around X’s and O’s, while Carr’s in-depth chat with Freeman was more about learning about the first-time head coach’s vision for the Notre Dame football program.
“That was a really awesome experience,” Carr said of speaking with Freeman. “It was the first time I got to meet Coach Freeman in person. He likes to emphasize competition, and I can tell how badly he wants to win at Notre Dame.”
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Carr updates status of recruitment
College coaches are not allowed to call or text with prospects until Sept. 1 of their junior year. So for now, Carr is making the calls to talk with coaches and build relationships. He noted that he talks with Rees “quite a bit.”
Some prospects want daily communication with coaches, but that doesn’t seem to be the case with Carr. He doesn’t want to get wrapped up in the recruiting process.
“I’m focused on winning at my high school,” he said. “I know I have a lot of time with recruiting.”
Look for Carr to go public on the programs he’s liking the most, which will be a quality of life decision for him before Sept. 1, when coaches will be able to start texting him.
“I’ll probably come out with a top few schools so I can focus on them and not get bombarded,” he noted.
The On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine (RPM) gives Michigan (55.1 percent) a slight lead over Notre Dame (42.2 percent). While the Wolverines have a lot of history with the Carr family, Notre Dame is a school to watch out for in his recruitment.
“They’re really high on my list right now,” he said. “I’m looking at them hard. I really like Coach Rees and Coach Freeman. I’m excited to continue to grow that relationship and get back down to South Bend.”
Carr visited Wisconsin following his time in South Bend.
His grandfather, Lloyd Carr, coached at Michigan from 1980-2007 with the last 13 seasons being as the Wolverines’ head coach and his father is Jason Carr, a former quarterback for U-M from 1992-95.
