Notre Dame Football: 15 best quarterbacks in Fighting Irish history

Brady Quinn may never get the recognition he deserves as an elite Notre Dame starting quarterback. He never won a Heisman Trophy while in South Bend. Notre Dame never won a national title during his four years with the program. But you will find his name atop all the most important passing categories in school history.

Quinn first came to Notre Dame in 2003 out of Dublin, Ohio. He earned a starting job right away, thus beginning his record-setter career while with the Irish. As a freshman in 2003, Quinn did struggle, but made the most of his early playing experience, parlaying that into three excellent seasons to end his college career on a high note.

In 2004 as a sophomore, Quinn completed 54.1 percent of his passes for 2,586 yards, 17 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He would build on that as a junior in 2005, as he completed 64.9 percent of his passes 3,919 yards for 32 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Quinn finished fourth in Heisman Trophy voting that fall but won Sammy Baugh Trophy in 2005.

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After a stellar junior campaign, Quinn completed 61.9 percent of his passes for 3,426 yards, 37 touchdowns and seven interceptions as a senior in 2006.

He finished third in Heisman Trophy voting and was named the Maxwell Award winner, the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award winner and the Cingular All-America Player of the Year.

Once Quinn exhausted all of his eligibility, he held 36 school records, including passing yards (11,762), passing touchdowns (95) and passing completions (929).

He would be a first-round pick by the Cleveland Browns in the 2007 NFL Draft. Quinn never achieved much NFL success, bouncing around as a backup on six other franchises before having last played for the 2014 Miami Dolphins in the preseason.

In his post-playing career, Quinn has embarked on a successful broadcasting career as a football analyst for FOX, covering both the college and pro games. Beginning in 2019, Quinn will be part of FOX Sports’ new college football pregame show alongside Rob Stone, Reggie Bush, Matt Leinart and Urban Meyer.