The Notre Dame QB Kirk Herbstreit Is ‘Super High’ On

Notre Dame is in the middle of a quarterback competition this fall

ESPN broadcaster Kirk Herbstreit answers questions during Media Day for the College Football Playoff against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta on Jan. 18, 2025. | Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Say what you want about ESPN's Kirk Herbstreit, the man is clearly connected when it comes to college football. The former Ohio State quarterback has become one of the faces of college football media over the last 30 years and has strong thoughts on one of Notre Dame's quarterbacks entering 2025.

Speaking at the Personnel and Recruiting Symposium in Nashville this week, Herbstreit was more than complimentary regarding Notre Dame quarterback CJ Carr.

"Man, Notre Dame, there's something about this CJ Carr. I'm super-high on him."

There are ways to play off talking about Notre Dame quarterbacks without putting attention on a certain player, but Herbstreit is sold on the sophomore from Michigan; otherwise, he would have had much more of a canned answer about the situation.

QB CJ Carr was excellent in the Blue-Gold Game.

14-19, 170 yds, 2 TD, INT.

It's a glorified practice, but the soon-to-be sophomore looked the part. pic.twitter.com/KiBju8p7WF

— Bennett Wise WSBT (@BennettWiseWSBT) April 12, 2025

Both Marcus Freeman and Notre Dame offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock have been complimentary at times, but also non-committal regarding the quarterback competition.

Carr started slowly at fall camp, and one of the things a lot of us are guilty of is letting a first impression with a player cloud judgment. Herbstreit is high on the quarterback prospect despite that rough first weekend.

How Carr bounces back in the coming days will go a long way in determining if he's under center when Notre Dame kicks off at Miami, or if it'll be junior Kenny Minchey.