Notre Dame football: Former Irish who deserve to be in CFB HOF

Notre Dame football quarterbacks who deserve induction

Brady Quinn

For a lot of people, Brady Quinn‘s failures as an NFL quarterback, mixed with never getting over the hump while at Notre Dame, has made them forget just how dominant he was at Notre Dame. Quinn was elite and leads Notre Dame in every last statistical category that matters. In fact, Quinn doesn’t just lead all the important passing categories, he dominates them.

Quinn has 2,814 more yards and 23 more touchdowns than Ian Book, who is second in both of those categories. Quinn also owns the single-season mark in both those categories, while having the most passing touchdowns in a single game for Notre Dame too.

The only times Charlie Weis had any success at Notre Dame was when he leaned on Quinn at quarterback, who would be a Heisman finalist for the 2006 Heisman Trophy. Quinn led Notre Dame to the Fiesta Bowl, and the Sugar Bowl, and while they did lose both of those games it was a return to form for the Irish program.

A four-year starter, has 11,762 yards, 95 touchdowns, and a 58% completion percentage, which was dragged down by a poor freshman campaign. Quinn was an All-American who won the Sammy Baugh Trophy, Johnny Unitas Golden Arm, and the Maxwell Award.

Terry Hanratty

A three-year starter at Notre Dame, Terry Hanratty was a part of Ara Parseghian’s 1966 National Championship team. He and wide receiver Jim Seymour made for a deadly combination in the passing game, in an era where passing the ball was still avoided more than embraced. That reality keeps him from being a top-10 statistical passer in Notre Dame history, but no one on the top-10 list for passing leaders played before the mid-1980s.

To go along with his National Championship, Hanratty was an All-American and a Sammy Baugh Trophy winner. For his career, Hanratty has 4,152 yards, 27 touchdowns, and a 55.3% completion percentage. On the ground, he added 586 yards and 16 touchdowns.