Did Notre Dame Football make a mistake with Dante Moore?

Notre Dame football is going to get the commitment of 5-star QB CJ Carr on Thursday night but did the Fighting Irish make the right choice?

There is some really good news coming for Notre Dame football fans on Thursday as the Fighting Irish are going to land the commitment of five-star QB CJ Carr, who happens to be the grandson of Lloyd Carr, the former national title-winning Michigan coach.

CJ Carr is from Saline, Michigan, and for the Irish to go into Michigan and get him is huge. He’s ranked 23rd overall in the 2024 class (On3), is 6-foot-4 and his recruitment was going national with offers from not just Michigan, but Alabama, LSU, and Georgia, among many others.

So Notre Dame football fans celebrated when CJ Carr started trending with expert projections to the Irish and then when he said he would announce Thursday night.

But then came the questions about Dante Moore and it soon became clear that taking Carr’s commitment means the end of recruiting Moore.

Here’s what Steve Wiltfong of 247 sports said on the topic:

"“I don’t think the optics now have Dante Moore and CJ Carr at the same school. So while Notre Dame was the favorite for Dante Moore in the spring, I’m not feeling the Irish with him moving forward. … Just because a team was the favorite a few months ago doesn’t mean they’re going to get the signature on the Letter of Intent.… That doesn’t have anything to do with CJ Carr and what he’s going to do. [Moore] is a year older and coveted by every program in the country. A guy like that shouldn’t be looking in front of him or behind him. And I don’t think he is.”"

Did Notre Dame make the right decision?

It’s wrong to say it has nothing to do with Carr. It has everything to do with Moore. If Notre Dame wasn’t taking Carr’s commitment, it would still be recruiting Moore.

Yet, Moore hasn’t visited South Bend since March. In the meantime, he took visits to Oregon, LSU, Miami, and Michigan. He’s also headed to Texas A&M in the middle of June.

So maybe from Notre Dame’s perspective, the writing was on the wall. The Irish then seemingly made a choice to prioritize CJ Carr as their top guy in 2023/2024 over Dante Moore and in my opinion, that’s why they won his recruitment.

Notre Dame football fans are crowing about beating Michigan for a legacy. But the fact is, the Wolverines never made Carr a priority. They hosted five-star Jadyn Davis last week, and also have pursued five-star Julian Sayin really hard, as well as four-star Michael Van Buren.

It’s not clear that Carr was the top option. What’s not debatable is that Michigan never gave Carr the same treatment as Moore. The only other 2023 QB offer Michigan made was to Arch Manning but they never seriously recruited him.

For Michigan, it’s always been about Moore and they are willing to wait for him. Notre Dame wasn’t or maybe just realized it was losing momentum and took the safer option.

Moore is ranked higher than Carr and despite the fact that he’s in the 2023 class, he’s actually younger, so he’s got more upside.

The Wolverines feel they have better options than Carr at QB and that includes Moore, as well as Jadyn Davis. Notre Dame is still getting a really good QB, but after leading for Dante Moore for months, it’s strange to throw in the towel and take a 2024 QB.

But you almost have to think Carr got assurances that Moore wouldn’t be part of the 2023 class. Do you really think he would commit this early, before even being able to take official visits, to sit behind a five-star QB until 2026, his junior year, at the earliest?

Notre Dame football chose Carr over Moore because the Irish felt like it was a winnable recruitment and they were right. It also got them a five-star QB which is always a major win on the recruiting trail.

Michigan prioritize Carr in that way and it lost him because of that. If the Wolverines get Moore or Davis, then I’m sure they will be perfectly happy with that outcome.

There is a risk of getting left at the altar and with Carr in the fold, Notre Dame football at least, doesn’t have to worry about that anymore.

At the same time though, if Dante Moore turns out to be as great as well all think, Notre Dame football could end up with its own regret.