Teddy Jarrard

Physical Profile

Prototype size for a pocket quarterback — listed 6-3/190 through most of the recruiting cycle and now up to roughly 6-4/207, which is a meaningful frame gain and a good sign for how the body carries weight. The height gives him natural throwing lanes over interior rush and lets him deliver from a tall platform without needing to reset or climb for a window. He is a long, narrow build rather than a thick one, and the 207 number is still light for a Power Four pocket passer who will take hits; another 15-20 pounds of functional mass is the obvious first-year target. Athletically he is a functional mover, not a runner — 24 carries for 120 yards as a senior tells the whole story. Balance and lower-body control while throwing on the move are real strengths, but straight-line escapability is a limitation, not a feature.

Play Style

A tall, rhythm-based pocket passer who wins from structure. He plays on time, gets to his back foot and delivers, and shows the pre-snap and post-snap processing you would expect from a two-year starter — the low interception total is a function of restraint, not conservatism, since he was still asked to throw it 271 times. His best trait on film is timing-route accuracy: hitches, digs, out-breakers and seams in the 10-20 yard range, where the tight spiral and consistent release let him drive the ball into tight windows. He maneuvers rather than escapes, sliding within the pocket and resetting his platform to throw on the move with balance intact. He will not create with his legs and does not need to — the offense he ran asked him to distribute, and he did it efficiently. Under duress he tends to work back to structure rather than freelance, which is a positive habit but occasionally leaves plays on the field that a more improvisational quarterback converts.

Strengths

• Accuracy and ball placement in the intermediate game — 64.9% completion rate on 271 attempts against Georgia 6A competition is efficient volume, not a screen-inflated number, and the 18-to-5 TD-to-INT ratio backs up the decision-making
• Clean, repeatable throwing mechanics with a tight spiral and consistent release point; the ball comes out the same way from the same slot rep after rep, which is why he was projected as a multi-year Power Four starter rather than a developmental arm
• Two full years of varsity starting experience across two programs (North Cobb Christian, then North Cobb after transferring), including a 2,647-yard, 31-touchdown sophomore season and a state semifinal run — the operational reps and pre-snap comfort are ahead of his age
• Throws with balance off-platform and while moving laterally, keeping his base under him instead of arm-throwing when the pocket displaces
• Recruiting-market validation: 33+ offers with Ohio State, Michigan, Georgia and Clemson all in, and Notre Dame prioritized him enough to take him as the second QB in a class

Areas to Improve

• Downfield accuracy and deep-ball touch — this is the specific gap in his evaluation. The intermediate throws are consistently on target; the vertical shots need better trajectory and back-shoulder placement to become a real defensive stressor rather than a low-percentage tag
• Functional mass and durability — at ~207 pounds on a 6-4 frame he needs to add strength through the trunk and lower half, both to survive Power Four contact and to add velocity on the outside-the-numbers throws that reveal arm-strength limits
• Mobility as a schematic asset — he is a scrambler-when-forced, not a designed-run threat. That caps his fit in RPO/QB-run-heavy systems and puts more burden on his pocket movement and internal clock
• Reclassification cost him a developmental year. He skipped a senior spring, did not enroll early, and arrived in summer 2026 rather than January — he is behind his own quarterback room on install, terminology and strength work, by his coaches' own framing

College Projection

A redshirt candidate in 2026 who is nonetheless already in the backup competition. He is behind CJ Carr and is fighting Blake Hebert and Noah Grubbs for the QB2 role, and the summer-only arrival is a real disadvantage in that race — the realistic outcome is a redshirt with scout-team and developmental reps while he adds weight. Notre Dame taking two quarterbacks in the class (Jarrard and Grubbs) means he has to win a room, not just wait his turn. Timeline: redshirt in 2026, backup/spot duty in 2027, first realistic starting window 2028 with a multi-year run from there if he wins it. The evaluation projects him as a potential multi-year Power Four starter, and that is the right ceiling to plan around — but the path there runs through 20 pounds and a year of downfield-accuracy work, not through immediate playing time.

NFL Outlook

A mid-to-late-round developmental projection at this stage, contingent entirely on college production. The frame, release and accuracy floor are the traits NFL evaluators build on, and 6-4 pocket passers with clean mechanics and low turnover rates always get looked at. What is missing today is a plus arm and any mobility component, both of which are increasingly non-negotiable at the next level — he needs to prove he can drive the ball outside the numbers and threaten defenses vertically. Realistic outcome: if he becomes a multi-year Notre Dame starter with efficient production, he is a Day 3 pick with backup-QB longevity; the top-100 conversation only opens if the arm strength takes a real jump with college strength development.

Best Fit

A timing-and-rhythm pro-style offense with play-action and half-field reads — West Coast concepts, dropback passing, quick-game and intermediate route trees where his accuracy and release are the differentiators. He needs a system that protects him with a real offensive line and a run game, because he cannot bail out broken protection with his legs. Notre Dame is a sound fit on scheme, though a spread-to-run or heavy-RPO program would waste him. He also fits a program willing to redshirt and develop rather than one needing an immediate answer — his value curve is back-loaded, and rushing him would expose the arm strength and mass before they are ready.