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Quinn Shifts Loyalty From Ohio State to Notre Dame

Posted on: Thursday, 29 December 2005, 00:00 CST

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. _ As a kid growing up in Dublin, Ohio, Brady Quinn usually went to three Ohio State football games a year.

His parents threw Ohio State-Michigan parties. He remembers Eddie George and the Buckeyes beating Arizona State in the 1997 Rose Bowl with Joe Germaine.

He played against A.J. Hawk and Nick Mangold in the fifth grade, when he lost to their Wee Elks team from Centerville 13-7 in the peewee championship.

He attended camps and went on recruiting trips with Donte Whitner.

He could have joined them at Ohio State.

Quinn was a highly recruited quarterback coming out of Dublin Coffman High School, even though a broken foot suffered in the ninth game of his senior year spoiled his run at the state title.

His decision came down to Notre Dame, Ohio State or Michigan.

While Notre Dame's program was in a slump, Quinn took a chance on the Irish.

"The biggest thing for me was the feeling I had being at Notre Dame," Quinn said. "I walked around campus and talked to the players and coaches. I thought, `Wow, I could definitely see myself being here the next four or five years.'"

Even during 5-7 and 6-6 seasons and when coach Tyrone Willingham was fired last November, Quinn never wavered.

"Not once," he said. "I was happy where I was. Playing at Notre Dame is an experience I can't describe to any of you unless you've been out there and run through the tunnel. Even being a student at the university is truly a special experience."

It got even more special when Quinn learned the Irish would meet Ohio State Monday in the Fiesta Bowl.

"When I was making a decision people said, `That's fine, at least you didn't go to Michigan.' Then all of a sudden you have a chance to play Ohio State," Quinn said almost gleefully.

New coach Charlie Weis and Quinn have led a resurgence of the Irish.

Picking up the system Weis brought from the New England Patriots even faster than Weis expected, Quinn threw for 3,633 yards and 32 touchdowns, with just seven interceptions.

He set single-season Notre Dame marks for attempts (405), completions (263), yards, yards per game (330.3) and touchdown passes.

He's thrown a touchdown pass in a school-record 17 consecutive games, breaking the Irish record of 10 set by Heisman Trophy winner John Huarte in 1964.

"He's a very bright football player," Weis told the Chicago Tribune earlier this season. "You usually only have to tell him something once. Even when he makes a mistake, he understands why as soon as you say it. I obviously have a lot of confidence in him because he really controls everything we do."

Starting since the fourth game of his freshman season, the 6-foot-4, 232-pound junior is the only quarterback in Notre Dame history to throw for 8,000 career yards and is one of just two to surpass 7,000, joining Ron Powlus. Now Quinn can call Joe Montana and not have butterflies.

"The first time of course you do, it's Joe Montana, the greatest quarterback ever. Who am I to call Joe Montana?" Quinn said.

"He's done worlds for me as far as talking with me about the game and helping me understand things and getting me through a lot of rough spots with how our season was going, with the coaching change. He's somebody who really inspired me to keep working hard and not to allow yourself to plateau. You want to keep getting better."

Quinn's success this season hasn't surprised Dublin Coffman football coach Mark Crabtree, who had Quinn for two years.

"The only thing that surprised me was how quickly he was able to play as a freshman," Crabtree said. "The way he's playing now is the same way he played as a senior in high school.

"He has unbelievable physical strength, particularly for a quarterback. You saw how abused he got the first couple years, especially as a freshman, and I don't think the kid missed a play. He has courage hanging onto the ball. His decision-making, he's very football smart. He studies the opponents and the game. He was probably a once-in-a-lifetime kid for me to coach."

But where Quinn really excels is his leadership ability.

"It's hard to describe how he affects people," Crabtree said. "It's not just people believing in him and wanting to play hard for him. I think his teammates want to please him because of the effort he puts out."

Receiver Jeff Samardzija, a 6-foot-5 junior, caught 71 of Quinn's passes for 1,190 yards and 15 touchdowns in his breakout season.

"There's no way to measure," Samardzija said of co-captain Quinn's leadership. "It's an unspoken, untalked about trait. You kind of follow people like Brady (for what he) does on the field."

Samardzija is one who is happy Quinn took a look at the situation at Ohio State and chose Notre Dame. Crabtree said OSU coach Jim Tressel basically chose Todd Boeckman, a late enrollee who is now a redshirt freshman, over Quinn.

"They offered Todd Boeckman before they ever heard of Brady Quinn," Crabtree said. "The year before they got Justin Zwick and Troy Smith. Brady wasn't running from competition. In his mind he said, `Maybe Ohio State isn't the place for me.'"

Quinn holds no grudges.

"Growing up in Dublin you're kind of an Ohio State alum," he said. "I was a fan, I still am. Just not when they play Notre Dame in anything."

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(c) 2005, Akron Beacon Journal (Akron, Ohio).

Visit Akron Beacon Journal Online at http://www.ohio.com/.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services.

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ARCHIVE PHOTO on KRT Direct (from KRT Photo Service, 202-383-6099): Brady Quinn

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Source: Akron Beacon Journal (Akron, Ohio)

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