When CJ Carr speaks, Marcus Freeman has noticed the rest of the Notre Dame offense listening.
That's why Freeman's expectations for his quarterback extend well beyond what Carr does with the football.
Now entering his second season as the starter with considerably more experience and responsibilities, Carr has embraced the leadership role during Fall Camp.
"He's the leader," Freeman said. "As I told him, his greatest responsibility is to be the best teammate he can be. That means to make those around you better and not everybody responds the same. He knows that."
Carr's status gives him influence, or responsibility depending on how you look at it, over teammates regardless of age, experience or even stature.
"He's in a position where these dudes that are 6-8, 6-7, they look at him and what he says, ‘Yessir, and we go,’" Freeman said. "He can't forget that because they're all following him."
Understanding how to use that influence is part of Carr's continued development. There are times when teammates need to be challenged and others when they need to be encouraged.
Freeman has been impressed with Carr's ability to recognize the difference.
"He's done a tremendous job," Freeman said. "He's in the driver's seat and pushing them when they need to be pushed. But also there's times where maybe they need armor on their shoulder and he's done a great job at that."
Carr's growth hasn't meant becoming more conservative on the practice field, though.
Freeman has seen his quarterback test the boundaries of what he can do, whether that's attempting throws he may not make in a game or putting the offense into different checks.
"He made some throws throughout camp that I don't know if he would do that in the game, but if you don't work it in practice, then you know you're not going to do it in the game," Freeman said.
A breakout 2025 season in which he completed 66.7 percent of his passes for 2,741 yards and 24 touchdown passes, tied for the most by a Notre Dame quarterback through his first 12 career starts since 1966, has helped create significant expectations for 2026.
He was a finalist for the Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year and Manning Awards and a semifinalist for the Davey O'Brien Award. Heading into this season, he’s on watch lists for the Manning Award and Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award.
He is on virtually every Heisman Trophy short list and could end up being one of the first quarterbacks selected in the 2027 NFL Draft.
Freeman isn't interested in having his quarterback spend much time thinking about any of that, though.
"I don't want him thinking about trying to win the Heisman or trying to be this first-round pick," Freeman said. "I want him to just continue to focus on being the best version of CJ, but also being the best leader he can be."
For Freeman, everything circles back to the responsibility Carr now carries within the Irish offense.
"He has to lead because that's what everybody's expecting from him. He's done a tremendous job doing that."
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