Notre Dame had quite the big quarterback recruiting weekend when USC came to town Oct. 23.
The Fighting Irish hosted five-star class of 2022 LSU quarterback commit Walker Howard. Maize (Kan.) High signal-caller Avery Johnson, a 2023 Rivals250 prospect, was on campus. In the 2024 class, Carlsbad (Calif.) High’s Julian Sayin and Saline (Mich.) High’s CJ Carr made it to South Bend.
Notre Dame even dished out its first offer in the 2025 class to Findlay (Ohio) High quarterback Ryan Montgomery while he was on campus.
There’s no slowing down for Notre Dame offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Tommy Rees on the trail. He’ll host another offered class of 2023 quarterback this weekend when Denton (Texas) Guyer’s Jackson Arnold comes to down, and Rees offered Birmingham (Ala.) Briarwood Christian’s Christopher Vizzina a scholarship on Wednesday. The Fighting Irish have offers out to six uncommitted class of 2023 passers.
Vizzina camped at Notre Dame June 17 to show off his skills to the Irish coaching staff. He impressed the Irish staff, but they wanted to see how he performed this fall.
During his junior season in leading Briarwood Christian to an 8-1 record thus far, Vizzina has completed 113 of 159 passes for 1,639 yards with 15 touchdowns and two interceptions. He’s also ran 100 times for 480 yards and 11 scores. It’s safe to say he impressed Tommy Rees and Co.
“I’m extremely excited,” Vizzina told BlueandGold.com about the scholarship offer from Notre Dame. “Being able to play at a place where God is a huge part of the program is a blessing.”
Vizzina has formed a strong relationship with Rees. They’ve talked often over the past few months and contact picked up starting Sept. 1, when the two parties were able to start text message contact per NCAA rules.
“I loved the visit [in June] and have just kept in touch [with Rees] since the summer,” added Vizzina.
Rivals ranks Vizzina as the nation’s No. 4 dual-threat quarterback. He holds offers from the likes of Auburn, Cincinnati, Florida, Michigan State, Mississippi State, Oklahoma State, Penn State and Tennessee.
Four-star San Diego area QB visits Notre Dame
Southern California has been a good area for Notre Dame quarterback recruiting over the years, and specifically the San Diego area recently with the Fighting Irish landing highly touted signal-caller Tyler Buchner from San Diego Helix in the 2021 class.
Julian Sayin attends Carlsbad (Calif.) High, which is about 40 minutes north of the heart of San Diego. The class of 2024 quarterback has trained with Buchner before too.
Sayin became Notre Dame’s first quarterback offer in the 2024 class back in June. He visited South Bend later that month and made it a priority to return to campus for a game day experience.
“It was important for me to go back there for a game and see the town of South Bend on a game day and how special it is on campus,” he said. “It was definitely crazy, especially since it was a rivalry game at night. The light show was really cool too. The student section was awesome.”
The four-star prospect caught up with Rees during the visit and liked what he saw from the offense during the Irish’s 31-16 victory.
“He was saying how special the atmosphere was when they play USC,” Sayin recalled. “I like talking to him; he’s easy to talk with.
“I like his offensive scheme. They mix it up and will go shotgun and under center. He called a great game and were able to get the ball to Kyren Williams and their playmakers.”
Until Sept. 1 of next year, Sayin has to call college coaches to get in contact with him due to NCAA rules, and he’s focused more on his high school season than recruiting. He’ll call up Rees every couple of weeks to continue to build their relationship, though.
It’s still very early in Sayin’s recruitment, but Notre Dame is expected to be a contender for the long run.
“I really like it there,” he said. “I love the feeling I get there. The fans are great, and I loved the atmosphere.”
Sayin has led Carlsbad to an undefeated regular season and has put up stellar numbers. He’s completed 135 of 192 passes for 2,136 yards with 27 touchdowns and five interceptions.
“It’s going well,” he said. “We’re 9-0 and should be a one or two seed in our playoff bracket.”
Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Miami, Notre Dame, Penn State, Texas, Texas A&M and USC are among the notable offers for Sayin.
Michigan legacy returns to Notre Dame
Within a week of Notre Dame offering Sayin, Rees extended an offer to Saline (Mich.) High’s CJ Carr, who — like Sayin — is on Rivals’ top-100 watch list for the 2024 class.
Carr camped at Notre Dame for Irish Invasion June 6, and Rees saw enough at that point to offer him a scholarship. The 6-3, 180-pound gunslinger returned to Notre Dame’s campus for the USC game.
“It was a high priority,” Carr said of wanting to get back to South Bend. “I wanted to go to a Notre Dame game, and it was awesome to make it for the rivalry game against USC. It was a great overall visit. I was excited to get there and talk to Coach Rees and get around the program.
“I saw Coach Rees a little bit in pregame and we talked about our season and theirs. It was a great time with him.”
From the packed house to the light show at the end of the third quarter, Carr loved everything about the environment at Notre Dame.
“It was a crazy atmosphere,” he said. “You could feel the energy. It was really a community there with all of the students cheering their heads off. I’m looking forward to coming back.”
Carr already holds offers from programs such as Indiana, Michigan, Michigan State, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Penn State and Wisconsin. The Fighting Irish have established themselves as a top contender in his recruitment early on.
“It’s one of my top schools on my list at the moment,” he said. “I loved the atmosphere and coaches. I liked what they were doing on offense too. I liked their quarterback play and watching the game.”
Per MLive, Carr has completed 141 of 212 passes for 2,445 yards with 26 touchdowns and three interceptions, plus three rushing touchdowns, to lead Saline to an undefeated regular season with the Michigan Division I playoffs starting this week.
“It’s been a great season,” Carr said. “It’s my first real year as the starter, and I love this team. The whole year has been a great experience, and we’re looking good for the playoffs. We’re excited for a big run.”
The last name Carr is synonymous with Michigan football. CJ’s grandfather, Lloyd Carr, coached at Michigan from 1980-2007 with the last 13 seasons being as the Wolverines’ head coach and his father is Jason Carr, a quarterback for U-M from 1992-95.
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