CJ Carr has never been afraid to be wrong.
Even as a freshman, the Notre Dame quarterback was willing to make a check nobody explicitly told him to make, take a chance others may have avoided and live with the consequences if it didn't work.
Quarterbacks coach Gino Guidugli believes that fearlessness is part of what has made Carr, now a junior, the player he is today.
“CJ as a freshman made so many mistakes, but the thing was, he wasn't scared to make a mistake,” Guidugli said following Friday’s practice. “He was always super aggressive. If you said something in the meeting room and didn't intend for them to (absorb it), like, ‘Hey, this might be good if you saw this look.’ Just as broad of a statement as that is he may come into the practice that day, get the look and check to that.
“Nobody has talked about that outside of us in the quarterback room, but he was never scared to do that. I think that's what makes him great.”
That aggression has remained part of Carr’s game as his understanding of the offense has grown.
Guidugli believes Carr's preparation gives him the confidence to recognize what a defense is showing him and make the necessary adjustment without worrying about what happens if he's wrong.
“He's not scared to make a mistake,” Guidugli said. “He's not scared to take a chance. Do they all work out? No, but more times than not, they do.”
Carr's command of the offense has developed to the point where Guidugli views him almost like another coach on the field, something that started becoming evident very early.
“Probably like the fall of his freshman year,” Guidugli said when asked when Carr began developing that ability. “Like I said, he wasn't scared to see a look, take something we talked about in the meeting, and just make a check. And a lot of freshmen would be apprehensive about doing something like that. He was never scared.
“The kid's aggressive, he's going to put the time in to be confident in what he's doing and be confident that, ‘Hey, I know this is a look. I know this is what he talks about getting into a check, and I'm just going to try. If I'm wrong, I'll be wrong.’
“I think that's what kind of makes him great. You know, just having confidence in himself. Like, ‘OK, I put the work in. I've seen the look. I'm making the check, and I'll make it right.’”
Carr's development hasn't been limited to the mental side of the position.
Guidugli has also seen significant growth in his ability to change trajectories and layer throws over defenders while maintaining the arm talent that has always been one of Carr's strengths.
“Throwing the ball firm, but with the trajectory to get over the second-level defenders and the underneath coverage,” Guidugli said. “I think he's really improved in that since his freshman year.
“The guy's an elite thrower. He can make all throws. He's always on balance. He can make off-platform throws and I’m happy he’s on our team.”
With that development has come considerably more attention, with talk of a potential Heisman Trophy candidacy and high NFL Draft selection beginning to take real form.
Guidugli doesn't believe Carr spends much time worrying about either.
“I think he does a good job of blocking out the noise,” Guidugli said. “It’s about CJ and our offense improving. He wants to understand defensive football, he wants to understand offensive football, and he wants to understand the situation. I don’t think he hears much noise. He’s concentrating on what tomorrow brings and what’s right in front of his nose. He’s not looking too far down the road. It’s training camp and what’s after.”
Carr's role has also evolved within the quarterback room.
With Blake Hebert, Noah Grubbs and Teddy Jarrard competing behind him, Guidugli has watched Carr embrace the responsibility of helping the younger quarterbacks develop.
“He's been phenomenal, just taking those guys under his wing,” Guidugli said. “He wants those guys to be good. I think he appreciates that those guys kind of see him as the example, and he has been great with them.”
That leadership hasn't changed how Carr sees himself within the larger team either.
For all of the responsibilities that come with being Notre Dame's starting quarterback, Guidugli believes Carr still views himself no differently than anybody else inside the locker room.
“In his mind he’s just one of the guys and I think that’s what makes him such a great teammate,” Guidugli said. “He doesn’t put himself on a pedestal. He sees himself as a freshman just walking in the door. He’s just a Notre Dame football player. In the locker room, that’s what (teammates) want out of the position. Usually guys are prima donnas, thinking they’re above everybody else. CJ’s just one of the guys.”
Don't mistake that humility for a lack of competitiveness, though.
It doesn’t take much for Carr’s competitive streak to appear regardless of the situation.
“The chatter in between series, sometimes I’m like, ‘Come on dude. Onto the next play. Why do you spend time talking to the defensive guys? Get the signal for the next play,’” Guidugli said.
“You see it in the meeting room with the other quarterbacks. We play wiffle ball every Friday of game week. You’ll see it there. If he’s doing something he wants to win. Ping-Pong. He’ll play Roblox with my 9-year-old and he’ll be talking crap about Roblox.
“Whatever it is, I think it’s between him and his brother. He and Tommy grew up competing and if you step into a match with CJ, it doesn’t matter what it is, he’s trying to win.”
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