CJ Carr Leads Explosive Notre Dame Offense Past Navy, Shows Poise & Precision in Snow
Notre Dame football coach Marcus Freeman frequently uses the word "enhance" when discussing his program.
Quarterback CJ Carr may have enhanced the program by himself as he’s taken the Irish offense to new levels.
The days of watching Notre Dame stuff it into an eight-man box for four quarters are over. Carr has the ability to push the ball down the field and on Saturday, the deep ball broke Navy.
Carr hit Malachi Fields for a 52-yard gain on Notre Dame’s fourth play of the game and it was a message. Fields finished his night with four catches for 97 yards on six targets.
“I don't know if we had expected it to be what it was just because we knew they were going to play a lot of zero and try and break from different areas,” explained Carr. “After the second drive of the game, we saw their man (coverage) player on the tight end kind of lift above Will Pauling a lot. They were taking him away a lot.
“It opened up the boundary. He's hard to stop, no matter who's out on the boundary there. Gave him a chance on a lot of balls and he came down with them.”
Field has had a front row seat to the Carr show, but also his development during the fall.
“Immaculate growth,” Fields stated. “He's just seeing everything so well. He's taking the challenges, never flinching, never hesitating. He's out there having fun just playing ball.”
The redshirt freshman completed 13-of-16 passes for 218 yards and three touchdowns in the 49-10 win over Navy.
It isn’t just talent, which Carr has plenty of, but it’s his desire to be great and work on the little details during the week.
“He puts our offense in that position to be able to execute those plays.” stated Freeman. “If we're not in the position to do that, you never get the opportunity to throw them, so it all goes back to the way he prepares.
“I was telling some of the coaches the other day, he's not preparing really any differently now than last year when he was redshirting. He does things that I see in his preparation that not everybody sees and I'm like, that's just who he is. That's his standard. That's his routine. That's what produces great performances and that's what helps him continue to improve.”
Carr’s second touchdown pass essentially ended the game with 11:27 to go in the third quarter when he found KK Smith for a 34-yard strike.
“It's unbelievable,” said Carr. “We expect KK to come in and make plays. He does. Every time he's in there, he's doing the right thing in the right spots and making plays. I can go across the board and talk about every guy on our depth chart that can do that.”
The Michigan native was also quick to point out his offensive line didn’t let him get sacked, much less take a hit from the Navy defense.
“I was thinking about that at halftime, actually,” laughed Carr. “I was trying to think of if I had gotten, not even hit, but like touched by anyone I had. They did an unbelievable job today. That's a unit that we expect to do what they did this night. They protected me well and ran the ball really well. Those guys in there did an unbelievable job. I'm thankful to have them.”
Carr also proved he could handle the elements. Notre Dame Stadium experienced a mix of precipitation types on Saturday, including snow, but Carr embraced it.
“I love it,” said Carr. “I talk about this with my dad a lot, but when you see a southern quarterback on the other side, it's almost like I can take him. I'm better than him. Just because you're from Michigan, from the Midwest, you've seen the snow, you can do it all.
“I've played in the rain and the snow. It's not fun. You'd rather be in the sunshine, but you can handle the situation.”
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