Notre Dame QB CJ Carr steals spotlight at Manning Passing Academy: 'Wasn’t even close'
NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...
Each summer, some of college football’s top quarterbacks head to Louisiana for the Manning Passing Academy.
There they compete in drills with their fellow QBs, while getting feedback from NFL legends Peyton and Eli Manning and providing some tips to invited high school quarterbacks.
At this past week’s event, one college QB stood out above the others, according to NFL draft analyst Todd McShay.
“CJ Carr, Notre Dame. Wasn’t even close. Wasn’t even close,” McShay said when asked who his MPA MVP was. “Julian Sayin was there. Arch Manning was there. There were a lot of other guys who were exceptional… His performances in throwing the football, that’s the jumping off point. Man, I know he’s Lloyd Carr’s grandson, and he’s been around the game his whole life…
“You think about (Tom) Brady and (Drew) Brees, and you think about the modern-day, even (Fernando) Mendoza the last year, repetitive, repeatable form, mechanics, I don’t want to say robotic, because he’s not a robotic player but when it comes to footwork, timing, ball out, just standing there watching him even warming up… You always look for what’s different.”
Very high praise from @McShay13 for CJ Carr after the Manning Passing Academy.
“CJ Carr was the MVP, and it wasn’t even close.”
Here’s what he had to say on The McShay Show pic.twitter.com/0KsL5llrN0
— Locked On Irish (@LockedOnIrish) June 29, 2026
According to On3’s Tyler Horka, Peyton and Eli used Carr as an example in drills to show the rest of the QBs how to do it.
Carr won the Notre Dame starting job last season as a freshman and finished with 2,741 passing yards, with 24 touchdowns to six interceptions as the Fighting Irhs went 10-2 and just missed the College Football Playoff.
McShay isn’t the only analyst gushing over Carr. ESPN’s Greg McElroy is buying the hype and says Notre Dame has a case for preseason No. 1.
“For the first time in the [Marcus] Freeman era, Notre Dame returns both its starting quarterback and its offensive coordinator. And look at the preseason projections right now when it comes to the Heisman Trophy. He’s [Carr] the betting favorite.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Notre Dame QB CJ Carr steals spotlight at Manning Passing Academy: ‘Wasn’t even close’
More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos