No one is more confident in CJ Carr than CJ Carr.
It’s probably how he beat out Kenny Minchey to become the starting quarterback for Notre Dame.
It’s why Marcus Freeman ordained him with the job last week.
But when Carr walked out of Notre Dame Stadium following the team’s final jersey scrimmage of Fall Camp, he had no idea if he won the job.
But he was still confident.
“Really it was out of my hands,” Carr said. “Tried not to think about it. I tried to hang out with the guys on the weekend and just let it go. At that point, you couldn't do anything else about it.”
With Freeman saying the quarterback competition was statistically, one of the closest he’d ever seen, Carr’s confidence in his play throughout the spring and summer very well could have been what set him apart.
“He's a guy who's very confident,” Freeman said. “At some points, maybe a little bit overconfident, but you want that in your quarterback. You want the quarterback to say, I want the ball in my hands every play, when the game is on the line, and I believe that I'm going to make the right decision.”
Controlling the overconfidence is something that Carr has been working on since he arrived in South Bend. He’s had to learn that sometimes, he just can’t make a certain pass.
“I think early in my career here, freshman year, I wanted to throw a touchdown every play,” Carr said. “I wanted every play to be a big play and so being able to reign that in throughout this last year has been an important piece of my game and a piece I think I've improved on a lot.”
Offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock believes that confidence to make a big play was instilled in Carr before he was even born.
“Yeah, he's just going to keep coming,” Denbrock said. “And I love his competitiveness. And being good at playing the quarterback position, I think he got that when he was in the cradle, and maybe in the womb, you know what I mean? And it just is something that's fun to be around, and it's fun to see the type of competitiveness that he kind of goes about his business with.
“Really excited about his eagerness to dive in the deep end. He wants a lot of responsibility. He wants it on his shoulders and that’s obviously what you want from someone that’s competitive as he is.”
Carr’s eagerness to run head first into the flames is also something that Freeman and Denbrock will try to ease him into. It’ll be easier for Carr to slow down and take a breath than trying to catch up to everyone else.
“It's a balancing act,” Denbrock said. “I mean, you definitely are scolding them when they're making bad decisions with the ball or putting the ball in harm's way, but you don't want them to ever lose the aggressiveness that they have to play the game. It's I think easier, in my opinion, to say ‘whoa’ than it is ‘giddy up’ with a quarterback. And I don't have that problem with him for sure.”
It won’t be an easy landing spot for a first start either. On the road against a top 10 opponent in Miami on national television is a tough spot for any quarterback, let alone one who has yet to take a competitive in-game snap.
Despite the inexperience, his teammates have full confidence that Carr won’t be blinded by the lights in the 305.
“When you think about CJ and how he commands a huddle, it kind of surprises you,” wide receiver Will Pauling said. “He’s a young guy but you wouldn’t guess that at all. He’s well beyond his years.”
So as Carr takes his first snap Sunday night, many may be cautious to see how the redshirt freshman reacts to the big moment. For himself, he’s just finally ready to let it fly.
“It's going to be really exciting to go out Sunday with the world watching and let it loose,” Carr said.
