Texas A&M HC Mike Elko gives his scouting report on Notre Dame QB CJ Carr as the Aggies prepare to travel to South Bend for primetime

Texas A&M head coach Mike Elko gives the skinny on Notre Dame starting quarterback CJ Carr

Ryan Roberts — National College Football Writer
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Head Coach Marcus Freeman and the Notre Dame football program are preparing diligently for their Saturday home matchup against the Texas A&M Aggies. They had a bye week to move past the opening season loss to the Miami Hurricanes during week one, and we have seen this team rebound well in the past under Coach Freeman. They expect to showcase perseverance once again this weekend. 

One fun storyline in this game is the return of Aggies head coach Mike Elko to South Bend. He was the defensive coordinator for the Fighting Irish back during the 2017 season under head coach Brian Kelly. Coach Elko has coached against Notre Dame each of the last two years, but this will be his first time coaching in Notre Dame Stadium in eight years. 

In preparation for the game, Coach Elko held his press conference on Tuesday for members of the Texas A&M media. One question was asked about Irish quarterback CJ Carr. Coach Elko had a lot of great things to say about the redshirt freshman signal caller. 

Scouting Report for CJ Carr

“He is a really talented kid,” Coach Elko told the media. “He has a big arm. I think you saw that in the spring game. You saw that on his high school tape. Obviously him making his first start on the road down in Miami, those are always challenging situations for a young quarterback. I am sure he will make tremendous growth coming out of that experience knowing what all the emotions of that feel like. He played well. He made a lot of plays. I am sure he is going to have plans and hopes to make a lot more Saturday night.”

During Carr’s first career start against the Hurricanes, he managed to complete 19 or 30 passes for 221 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception. The Michigan native also managed to rush for 16 yards and another score on the ground. It was a slower start for Carr, but he really began to make some nice plays in the second half. 

The 6-3, 210-pound passer has a nice overall profile as a modern-day pocket passer. He has good arm strength and is accurate to all levels of the field. You even saw him make a couple of nice plays outside of structure as an extender of the passing game. Carr also showed a little more athleticism than some anticipated. 

Heading into a matchup with the Aggies, Notre Dame is going to depend on Carr to take his game to an even higher level. You saw moments of big-time potential, but there was also some understandable first-start inconsistency. That will remedy itself with some game experience. 

For the second week, Carr is going to be pressed into a big primetime opportunity against a top-25 team. There should be more on his plate, but the emphasis should be to get star running back Jeremiyah Love more involved as well. Finding a level of balance offensively is paramount for this team.

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