The Athletic ranked every starting QB in the nation

by BPH, San Diego, Tuesday, July 21, 2026, 09:28 (3 days ago)

Carr came in at No. 3, behind Chambliss and Moore and just ahead of Mensah. Here's the writeup:

There’s a ton of excitement about Carr in the coaching and personnel community after an exceptional first season as a starter.

“For sure top-three (quarterback),” a P4 general manager said. “Poised, makes all the throws, can layer the ball, elite processor, captain, kids love him, ultra competitor. He’s unbelievable. He’s a top-10 pick.”

Carr has all the tools, and he’ll be asked to shoulder more of the load this season after Notre Dame lost its two first-round running backs, Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price, and four of its top five pass catchers. He has the talent, poise and experience to handle it.

“I think he is a really high-level NFL prospect,” a Power 4 offensive coordinator said. “I like his game a lot. He makes some big-time throws. I think he got to where he was pretty confident playing at a high level, so I think he’ll take the next step and really be able to be a guy for them.”

Scouting Take
CJ and his younger brother, Michigan freshman Tommy Carr, own one of college football’s best bloodlines: One grandfather is Hall of Fame coach Lloyd Carr; the other is Hall of Fame defensive back Tom Curtis. CJ Carr also owns top-end arm talent (his father, Jason, shared a QB room at Michigan with Tom Brady). CJ still needs more polish in several areas, including footwork consistency and risk-reward decision-making. But whenever he’s ready for the NFL, Carr will offer first-round talent. — Baumgardner

The article is free, BTW.
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7442836/2026/07/21/college-football-quarterbacks-ranki...

Carr and Arch Manning are co-betting favorites to win

by omahadomer, Wednesday, July 22, 2026, 18:00 (1 day, 5 hours, 52 min. ago) @ BPH

the Heisman. All this and $7 will get you something foamy and too hot at Starbucks. (I don't drink coffee but I wish I'd figured out how inelastic the demand is for "premium" drinks of this sort.)

I know Manning looked better toward the end of the year, but I think a big part of the hype is due to his last name. He is a very effective runner. His throwing motion involves a fairly low release point.

He's a good player. He might even turn out to be a great player. I just don't understand why he's widely considered to be a #1 overall pick. Carr has more of the traits of a high draft pick. He's tall and his release point is about a foot higher than Manning's. Based on statistics and limited observation, Carr is somewhat more accurate. They both have NFL-strength arms.

The same article that ranked the QBs last year also had enough self-awareness to revisit their 2025 rankings and note that they didn't have Mendoza anywhere near the top and a lot of their top QBs didn't do much.

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"Somewhere in Middle America"

what is “layer the ball”

by Jay, San Diego, Tuesday, July 21, 2026, 10:29 (3 days ago) @ BPH

and is it any different than “make all the throws”, which was already used in the immediately preceding participle?

Be the ball

by Jack @, Wednesday, July 22, 2026, 17:12 (1 day, 6 hours, 39 min. ago) @ Jay

- No text -

My understanding

by KGB, Belly o. the Beast, Tuesday, July 21, 2026, 11:07 (2 days ago) @ Jay

is that this term is specific to throws where the target is bracketed by defenders underneath and beyond. Basically dropping the ball accurately in between layers of coverage.

Also known as feathering the ball

by San Pedro @, Tuesday, July 21, 2026, 12:16 (2 days ago) @ KGB
edited by San Pedro, Tuesday, July 21, 2026, 13:41

dropping it in the bucket, getting happy go jackie like a donkey eating a waffle, or launching a guided piss missile.

dude, feathering is not layering

by Jay, San Diego, Tuesday, July 21, 2026, 13:28 (2 days ago) @ San Pedro

Carr throws with such elite rotational integrity and boundary elasticity that he closes the throwing cylinder with high natural trajectory sequencing. It’s not the same thing at all.

We're talking about hair styling, right?

by Publicola, Tuesday, July 21, 2026, 14:13 (2 days ago) @ Jay

My hair is so coarse and thick that I have to have it layered before I can feather it.

Hair styling is not exactly where my mind goes when the

by hlewis, Wednesday, July 22, 2026, 08:57 (1 day, 14 hours, 55 min. ago) @ Publicola

conversation turns to feathering balls.

That’s not what the advanced metrics tell us.

by San Pedro @, Tuesday, July 21, 2026, 13:42 (2 days ago) @ Jay
edited by San Pedro, Wednesday, July 22, 2026, 04:40

- No text -

and Pedro

by HumanRobot @, Cybertron, Tuesday, July 21, 2026, 12:37 (2 days ago) @ San Pedro

- No text -

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Freeman's got so much riz they need to call him Aura Parseghian

so it’s a real term

by Jay, San Diego, Tuesday, July 21, 2026, 11:35 (2 days ago) @ KGB

and not just some sports talk cliche? Damn.

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