Laura don't trash your brother.

[Guest SirJohn]

fROM LUBLOCKONLINE.COM

I can't do pix here at DD, brady's sister is questioning him.. from the distance view of her .....awwwwwe she is cute.

 

Up close? Max Factor knows or Hawk?

 

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No. 5 Notre Dame's quarterback Brady Quinn looks at Fiesta Bowl as springboard to big senior season

 

BOB BAUM

AP Sports Writer

Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn talks with his sister, Laura Quinn, during the Fiesta Bowl Media Day Friday, Dec. 30, 2005 at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Ariz. Notre Dame will face Ohio State on Jan. 2, 2006, in the 35th annual Fiesta Bowl. (AP Photo/Matt York)

TEMPE, Ariz. — Fourth-ranked Ohio State's roster is loaded with homegrown talent. When they face No. 5 Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl on Monday, though, the Buckeyes will be reminded that not every great Ohio player stays to play for OSU.

 

"Brady Quinn is a very good Ohio kid who got away," Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said.

 

Quinn starred at Coffman High School in the Columbus suburb of Dublin, a short drive from the Ohio State campus.

 

"We recruited him as hard as we could," Tressel said.

 

But Quinn chose Notre Dame.

 

"One thing I always believe about recruiting," Tressel said, "is you end up where you should, and things work out. But you have to go and do the work, and Brady's gone and done the work. He's taken his experiences, and grown from them."

 

On Monday, Quinn will be running coach Charlie Weis' intricate New England Patriots' offense for the Irish against Ohio State's bruising defense. Better yet, as far as Weis and the Notre Dame faithful are concerned, Quinn promises he will be back at the controls as a senior next season.

 

"The first two years were rough, and this year's better," Quinn said. "But we still are working to win a national championship. Hopefully that's somewhere in the future."

 

Weis will have none of that national title talk.

 

"I'm not going to be one to make any statement like that," he said. "I'm not that dumb."

 

But Quinn said that ultimate goal was one reason he decided not to go to the NFL after this season. He said a victory over Ohio State could be a springboard for 2006.

 

"This game doesn't necessarily dictate next season, but I think it sets things off on a good note," Quinn said. "It really would help us to get a win here and take it into the offseason and kind of get people in the right frame of mind starting next season to try to go for a national championship run."

 

That's heady talk for a program that was plodding through mediocrity when Tyrone Willingham was fired a year ago and Weis was lured to his alma mater after directing the Patriots' offense to three Super Bowl titles in four seasons.

 

Weis brought confidence and discipline to a talented squad that went 9-2. The only losses were to Michigan State in overtime and to No. 1 USC 34-31 on Matt Leinart's 1-yard run with 3 seconds to go.

 

"This system has allowed us to play to a lot of the strengths of our players," Quinn said. "Coach Weis has brought a lot of guys a long. I think you've seen so much more productivity out of Maurice Stovall than in past years, and Jeff Samardzija and different players like that."

 

Quinn completed 65 percent of his passes for 3,633 yards and 32 touchdowns with seven interceptions. His performances earned him third-team All-America honors, behind first-teamer Leinart and second-team pick Vince Young of Texas.

 

Quinn already has broken Notre Dame career records for pass completions (611), attempts (1,090), yards (8,050) and touchdowns (58). He has thrown touchdown passes in 17 consecutive games, smashing the school record of 10 set by Heisman Trophy winner John Huarte in 1964.

 

Comparisons of past Irish quarterbacks make Quinn a bit uncomfortable.

 

"Joe Montana was the greatest quarterback ever, so it's hard to sit there and put yourself anywhere close to him," Quinn said, "or Joe Theismann, or any other guys who came through Notre Dame."

 

One more season in Weis' system should make Quinn as prepared as any quarterback has been to go to the NFL, his coach said.

 

"One thing all those NFL guys are going to know is he's NFL-ready as far as coaching goes, because he knows the philosophy we're putting in and the offense we're putting in," Weis said. "He can go play for the Patriots right now and if they put him in the game, he'd be able to run the plays without one day of practice."

 

Weis downplayed his role in Quinn's emergence.

 

"I didn't bring it out in him," Weis said. "He already had the physical attributes and everything. All we did was put in a different system than the one he was playing in. It's one that puts a lot of pressure on the quarterback, and he's taken it and run with it. We've thrived because he's been able to do that."

 

Quinn, described by his older sister Laura as a shy kid who is coming out of that shell as his fame grows, obviously relishes the role of quarterback at the highest-profile school of all.

 

"`It's not really that much pressure," he said. "It's something I love to do, playing quarterback, especially at Notre Dame. It's a special place, and I wouldn't want to be anywhere else."