NOTRE DAME Teammates: Quarterback Quinn confident

Expectations are high that new coach Charlie Weis can develop Brady Quinn.
KNIGHT-RIDDER TRIBUNE
SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- His teammates say the difference in Brady Quinn isn't just the new offense he has learned or the intense one-on-one tutoring he has received from first-year coach Charlie Weis.
While fans had to wait until Notre Dame's visit to No. 23 Pittsburgh Saturday night to see the tangible effects on the junior quarterback's game, teammates believe he already is cooler, calmer and more collected than he was a year ago.
"He has a lot more confidence," Irish strong safety Tom Zbikowski said. "If he does make a bad play, he shrugs it off a lot easier."
Quinn already has experience, with 21 career starts, a strong arm and size. At 6-feet-4 and 232 pounds, he is almost identical to New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, who thrived under Weis' tutelage.
Expectations are high Weis will be able to work the same magic on Quinn as he did on Brady, a sixth-round draft pick whom the then-Patriots' offensive coordinator developed into a two-time Super Bowl MVP.
Mutual trust
Already Weis says he and Quinn enjoy a mutual trust that is the foundation for a successful collaboration.
"There are a lot of players who aren't the smartest students in the whole world who have really good instincts and good football intelligence," Weis says. "And he's one of those unusual people who are as intelligent in the classroom [as] on the field."
It is a knowledge Quinn spent plenty of time acquiring.
"I just kept trying to keep my head in the play-book," he says of his off-season with Weis.
The effect appears obvious.
"I'm going through reads and progressions much quicker [than last year]," Quinn says. "I'm reading the defense better."
Add to that the focus quarterbacks coach Peter Vaas brings to fundamentals like footwork and a quick release and Quinn says he is simply a smarter, sounder quarterback.
Stronger leader
Perhaps even more importantly, he is a stronger leader.
Thrust into the starting spot four games into his first year to replace a struggling Carlyle Holiday, Quinn finished the season with freshman team records for pass completions, attempts and yards.
Still, he connected on just 47.3 percent of his passes and the Irish won only four of the nine games he started.
His sophomore season was similar. Quinn started all 12 games and put up good numbers--54 percent completions, 2,586 passing yards and 17 touchdown passes against just 10 interceptions.
But the Irish finished just 6-6.
Winning objective
And Quinn is tired of the emptiness of good statistics. After two years of guiding a mediocre team, Quinn desperately wants the Irish to begin climbing within the ranks of college football.
His personal goal for the season?
"Just to win," Quinn says. "Every game, go in and be the leader this team needs to win every single game. Any time you have wins like that, your stats are going to show it."
XSaturday's game was not completed in time for this edition.