Five notable things former Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn said on 'Always College Football' podcast
On Wednesday, former Notre Dame quarterback and current Fox Sports analyst Brady Quinn joined the “Always College Football” podcast with Greg McElroy. Here are five things Quinn said about the Fighting Irish after they beat Texas A&M in College Station on Saturday night.
On if he is feeling more optimistic about Notre Dame based on what he saw last Saturday:
“I guess I’d answer by saying no only because I was already really high on this team, and knowing a lot of the pieces and parts. My expectation for this team was to be 12-0 this year and floor probably 11-1. I said that before the season started to a few different people.”
On the importance of extending defensive coordinator Al Golden in the offseason:
“If you really look at what they did this off-season, they were able to extend Al Golden, who I think is one of the best defensive minds in college football. He does an unbelievable job at scheming up protections and finding ways of applying pressure to quarterbacks. It’s very much of an NFL-style scheme.
“It’s one of the reasons why he’s constantly talking to different teams at the NFL level about becoming their defensive coordinator because he understands how to scheme up around that to really impact and affect them with the rush style, the types of pressures, the types of looks that he gives them from a coverage standpoint. But he can only do that if he has the personnel. I’ll go out and say this much.”
On the Notre Dame secondary:
“I think they have the best secondary in the country. Go find me a better corner than Ben Morrison. We might have one this week in Will Johnson from Michigan, but I would say those are probably the top two.
Safety Xavier Watts, who led the country in interceptions last year, already grabbed one in this game. Christian Gray, who’s a young cornerback, made a nice play to really end the game. They have so much more depth, and they’re so much better in the secondary, but that really allows out Golden to do the things that he does from a rush standpoint, from a pressure standpoint.”
On quarterback Riley Leonard:
“I thought Riley (Leonard) did a much better job than maybe even the stat line showcased. I went back and watched all his throws today. And look, there’s some conservative nature, I think, to some of the plays that were called. I think there was only one ball that traveled over 20 yards.
“But the reality is, that’s part of it. You’re on the road, you’ve got a team with a really good pass rush, a young offensive line, you’re probably not going to be holding on to the football very long.”
On the Notre Dame offense:
“This is an offense that will continue to grow as (offensive coordinator) Mike Denbrock gets more comfortable, as Riley Leonard gets more comfortable. But at the end of the game, you saw the stars emerge.
“And that’s the rushing attack, Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price. Those two guys should be able to help carry this offense. And as (wide receiver) Beaux Collins gets more comfortable developing chemistry with Riley Leonard and (wide receiver) Kris Mitchell, and when (wide receiver) Jordan Faison comes back, and all these other pieces they have, and (tight end) Mitchell Evans is more healthy, this is going to be a team that’s going to be the College Football Playoff, they’re going to host a home playoff game, and I think they’re going to be able to make a run depending on how good that offense can become by the end of the season.”
