Quinn became a starter during his true freshman season, and showed flashes of brilliance despite being held back by Tyrone Willingham’s offense. As a freshman, he threw for 1,831 yards, but had a completion percentage just over 47% and had a terrible TD/INT ratio of 9/15. He took that experience and improved as a sophomore, completing 54.1% of his passes, while throwing for 2,586 yards, and 17 touchdowns to 10 interceptions. Once Charlie Weis took over, Quinn’s brilliance emerged on a more consistent basis. He threw for a school record 3,633 yards and 32 touchdowns, while completing 64.9% of his passes with just seven interceptions. He did it again as a senior, throwing for 3,278 yards, while completing over 63% of his passes, and an outstanding 35/5 TD to INT ratio. He also won the Maxwell award and finished 3rd in the Heisman race.
Brady Quinn is the prototypical pocket passer. He has great size, along with the strength and willingness to sit in the pocket and deliver a strike. He has very good arm strength, and can make all the throws on the field. His accuracy has continued to improve every year, and he is on target on everything under 20 yards. Quinn is also a good athlete for a pocket passer, and he knows how to elude the rush and get the throw off. He also shows the ability to remain calm under pressure.
Picking something to criticize Quinn for is tough. He was very inconsistent his first two years, but once he was under the tutelage of Weis, he put it all together. As good as Quinn has been, he has not been able to win the big game. That is not all his fault, but the special ones seem to find a way to win the game.
JaMarcus Russell’s upside may have pushed him ahead of Quinn, but Brady is still a Top five talent, and will make some team looking for a QB very happy to land him.