Post Spring Takeaways: Notre Dame Quarterback Noah Grubbs

For one reason or another, incoming freshman quarterback Noah Grubbs was overlooked coming into the spring. He was one of the first commitments in the 2026 recruiting cycle, won 'Mr. Football' in the state of Florida and won the state championship his senior year on a last second, walk-off Hail Mary. The presences of Blake Hebert and the reclassification of 2027 quarterback Teddy Jarrard likely played a factor, but one thing is certain, Grubbs is here to compete.

Notre Dame is undergoing a position battle for the No. 2 quarterback spot, and this spring, we got to see Hebert and Grubbs compete. This summer, Jarrard enters his name into the competition as well. The Florida native impressed from the moment he stepped into spring practice back in March, but he still has a ways to go before he's named the guy to back up star quarterback CJ Carr.

WHAT WE LEARNED

This was our first opportunity to see Grubbs in action and we learned some things and confirmed some others. First and foremost, his arm talent is not a question. That was on display throughout his high school career and we got to see it up close in person at some of the practices. There are throws that the 6-4, 209-pound freshman makes that make you turn your head. He's a more than capable passer that can make any throw the offense needs him to make.

The thing I learned about Grubbs was his ability to bounce back from mistakes. He's a gunslinger, which I love, but sometimes that can lead to mistakes. How would he handle those as a true freshman? Well, we got our answer. Offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock does a great job of putting his quarterbacks in a position to rebound after a mistake and he was able to do that with Grubbs a couple of times throughout the spring.

Grubbs has a really good feel for the offense as well, arguably more so than Hebert who's a year a head of him. That being said, the Florida native still has a ways to go before he's named the No. 2 guy, but he had a really strong spring that put him, potentially, in pole position heading into summer workouts.

REMAINING QUESTIONS

Like any incoming freshman, Grubbs will have to improve his ability to read a defense and not just guess where the ball will be going. A perfect example is something his offensive coordinator laid out after the Blue-Gold game. Denbrock called the same play in back to back plays when Grubbs was the signal caller. On the first go around, he made the right decision, 'took his medicine' as Denbrock said and dumped it off to the running back. The very next play, Denbrock called the same play and Grubbs threw and interception trying to bang a backside dig route.