Brady Quinn is a Perfectionist and Faster than JaMarcus Russell
Notre Dame held its second Pro Day last Thursday, and despite a strong showing from Brady Quinn, he wasn’t exactly pleased with his showing.
Quinn said afterward he was a little disappointed with his workout Thursday for NFL scouts. He didn’t throw, because he did that during his first pro day on March 4. He said he ran the 40-yard dash at 4.73 and he knows he can do run faster than a 4.7 and his vertical jump was measured at 36 inches and he’s done 38 inches.
“I’m a perfectionist and it’s disappointing when you can’t display your best for people,” he said.
According to NFL.com Quinn’s official stats from the Pro Day…
Quinn weighed in 233 pounds. He ran indoors on FieldTurf. He ran his 40s faster than expected (4.82 and 4.73). He also ran the short shuttle in 4.22 seconds and the three-cone drill in 6.79 (with tiny cones, not tall ones). In addition, he had a 36-inch vertical jump and a 9-foot-7 broad jump.
To put those numbers into perspective, JaMarcus Russell ran a 4.83 and recorded a 34.5 inch vertical at his Pro Day earlier this month. So in review, Quinn is faster and can jump higher than Russell despite most pundits repeated claims that Quinn doesn’t posses the mobility or agility that Russell has.
Frank Vitovitch has been Co-Owner and Editor in Chief of UHND.com since joining forces with Kyle Flavin in 1999. Since that time, he has written over 2,000 articles covering Notre Dame football, recruiting, and basketball. He also works with all staff and external writers on all articles published on UHND.com. Frank's love for Notre Dame football started at a young age watching Rocket Ismail give opposing coaches ulcers in the late 1980's. By day Frank works in marketing and holds a degree in Digital Media from Drexel University. Frank's work has been cited by online/print editions of NBC Sports, ESPN, and Sports Illustrated and has been quoted on air by ESPN's Collin Cowherd. He's conducted interviews with Notre Dame legends Rocket Ismail, Randy Kinder, Lee Becton, Reggie Brooks, Michael Stonebreaker, and Ned Bolcar among others over his 20+ years of covering Notre Dame football. He's also been published in the print edition of USA Today Sports Weekly and the USA Today College Football Preview multiple times. Other Published Works/Citations for Frank Three Reasons Notre Dame Will Beat Alabama - USA Today Notre Dame Suspends WR Kevin Stepherson, RB C.J. Holmes Indefinitely - Bleacher Report Notre Dame / Ohio State Fiesta Bowl Preview - Eleven Warriors Brace Yourself: The Fighting Irish are Relevant Again - Sports on Earth Interviews with the Enemy: A Q&A with Frank Vitovitch of UHND - Yahoo! Sports Five Good Minutes: Notre Dame Football Preview With UHND.com - BC Interruption Vicious Electronic Questioning with UHND - MGO Blog
so sorry brady lovers
Nebraska,
One question, and answer truthfully…. where was Russell projected in the draft BEFORE the Sugar Bowl? Did anyone, and I mean anyone, even consider Russell a top 10 pick before the Sugar Bowl?
If you answer truthfully, the answer is no. Russell was a borderline first round pick before the Sugar Bowl, but after under throwing a couple deep balls to WIDE OPEN receivers, he was suddenly the #1 pick in the draft. Russell is a fine quarterback, but in terms of being ready for the NFL, Quinn is leaps and bounds ahead of him. In terms of reading defenses and identifying the blitz, Quinn is far ahead of Russell.
And lets not even compare the talent levels at LSU and ND. It’s amazing to me that with the talent LSU has had that they have lost four games over the past two seasons.
Irish Cynic,
Good point. Peyton had a lot in common w/ Quinn:
1. Preseason lock for the Heisman (although Manning truly deserved it & got robbed when they awarded Woodson, IMO)
2. Couldn’t win the big games. Manning’s nemesis was Florida & Quinn’s was USC. I’m sure Manning won some bowl games…I don’t remember specifically.
3. Both are obsessively committed to gaining every edge possible. Manning was/is known as a film room junkie & Quinn is labeled a gym rat; although he’s been quite the game film afficionado since Weis’ tutelage.
4. Both were 4 yr starters, although Manning came in w/ a lot more fanfare & expectations if memory serves (especially after he chose UT over Ole Miss).
Nebraska makes some excellent points. I don’t think either QB is a lock to be an All-Pro QB in the pros. Quinn has been questioned on his intermediate passing & it’s a valid concern. Russell has had an excellent supporting cast…a helluva lot better than Quinn’s, but he still flourished by putting up good numbers.
The only 2 negative points that I disagree w/ the press about Quinn is his downfield throws & his clutch performance. Quinn hasn’t had a downfield homerun threat since Matt Shelton. I’m not talking about a 6’5″ guy w/ decent speed that can catch jump balls. I’m talking a kid like Shelton (when healthy) or an other WR w/ world class speed who can flat outrun the secondary. Don’t forget 2004 when Quinn connected on homerun balls numerous times to Shelton. Matt even set a team record for longest avg. yds. per catch.
The clutch thing was overblown, too. Look at 2005, in every regular season game when Quinn walked off the field for the final time, he left w/ the Irish in the lead. His TD drive in the final minutes vs. the Trojans was the stuff of legend…had the defense not let USC burn the defense on 4th down & eventualy score the winning TD. Any honest person, would have to agree that Quinn outplayed Leinart in that game. In 2006, no one expected the OLine to regress the way it did. Also, Quinn did look to be rusty early on in a few games last year. That being said, you can’t put the Michigan, USC & LSU debacles entirely on his shoulders. A lot of his pick were either tipped balls or forced late in the game when ND was already being blown out.
After seeing Rick Mirer, Dan McGuire, Joey Harrington, Trent Dilfer & other “can’t miss” QBs not live up to their high draft status, I’m not about to predict what Russell & Quinn will do. I’m sure of this though, if Russell does end up being the more successful QB, the press will beat this fact like a dead horse. If Quinn ends up being more successful, all will be forgotten & the pundits will say “Of course, there was never a ? of Quinn’s NFL talent”. Time will tell.
They both bring different things to the table and could both end up being quality nfl quarterbacks or complete busts, they both have weaknesses in their games and both have yet to prove they can perform in the big game against the best competition. Peyton wasn’t hands down, some people were still saying Leaf was the better investment and he had his own set of deficiencies coming out of college.
Frank V:
“Bottom line is that all Russell has on Quinn is that he can throw the ball farther.” Were that the case, Quinn would be a hands down #1 overall pick like Peyton Manning was. As it is, even ND fans and Quinn fans acknowledge that Quinn’s accuracy on short and intermediate routes is not what it should be. Now if Quinn had a stronger arm or were a running QB, it would not be that big of a deal, but as it is Quinn’s NFL offense will have to be either the west coast offense or a spread – type offense like what Mike Martz, Al Saunders, Scott Linehan, etc. run, and in those offenses that is what Quinn would have to make a living on throwing. And since Quinn has spent 4 years in pro – style offenses at Notre Dame (2 years in the west coast offense and 2 years in the Weis offense), you cannot blame an NFL coach or GM for thinking that if Quinn’s accuracy on those routes isn’t already what it needs to be what can they do that Weis in particular hasn’t tried already to make it better.
“Russell will need at least two seasons to learn how to be a quarterback as opposed to just being a big guy who throws the football.” Oh please. You don’t go 22 – 4 in two years (with one of the coming in losses being a game that you got knocked out of very early) by being just a big guy who throws the football, and you certainly don’t go for 3000 yards at 68% with only 8 INTs against those SEC defenses, and you especially don’t get to that level at the age of 21 in a situation where some guy named Jimbo is your offensive coordinator and Les Miles (with whom your offensive coordinator cannot get along, and for good reason) is your head coach, and you are in a situation where half your own fans want you to fall flat on your face because your backups include a highly recruited local boy (Matt Flynn) and the #1 QB recruit in America (Ryan Perriloux). Russell missed his entire offseason program including fall camp last year because of the two massive hurricanes, and also missed spring practice this year because he was still recovering from the offseason surgery to fix the injury that he was hiding from his coaches, and that was after Nick Saban ruining his confidence by putting a redshirt freshman in some impossible situations and then trashing him to the media about how he wasn’t picking up the offense just so he could justify giving playing time to a senior who had won a few games for him a couple of years prior when Matt Mauck was injured. A lot of folks who think that all Russell had to do was just use his cannon arm and a great supporting cast to steal what Quinn rightfully deserves have no idea what Russell had to go through in order to get where he was by the end of last season.
Just because you have man-crush on Quinn it doesn’t mean he is heteroquestionable. Bottom line is that all Russell has on Quinn is that he can throw the ball father. Quinn is the better quarterback and will be able step in and play right away where as Russell will need at least two seasons to learn how to be a quarterback as opposed to just being a big guy who throws the football.
none of that matters. Jamarcus Russell is a better quarterback, a better football player. And he’s not heteroquestionable.