SOUTH BEND, Ind. - Brady Quinn still vividly remembers hearing coach Charlie Weis’ booming Jersey accent at practice last year after the Notre Dame quarterback had trouble with his footwork, causing a pass to miss its mark.

“This is why you’re always going to be a 50-percent completion passer,” Weis yelled.

The quip might not seem particularly insulting, but for Quinn — unhappy with his 50.8 percent completion rate over his first two seasons at Notre Dame — the remark stung.

“He just always makes little comments like that that kind of stick with you,” Quinn said. “That’s probably the one that has I guess more or less motivated me and stuck with me.”

Under Weis, who helped groom New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady into one of the NFL’s best quarterbacks, Quinn went from marginal to magnificent, completing 64.9 percent of his passes last season and setting nearly every school passing record.

Another season like that in ’06 and Quinn could become the first Irish quarterback in 42 years to win the Heisman Trophy.

The change is the result of a special relationship between Weis and Quinn. The coach who was a mediocre high school lineman and the player most outspoken about the firing of Weis’ predecessor, Tyrone Willingham, have formed a partnership that has Irish fans dreaming again of a national championship.

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Quinn already had the raw skills to be a topflight passer before Weis arrived. He just wasn’t able to pass with consistency and his best days almost always came during Irish losses. Weis tweaked some small mechanical problems, such as the way Quinn awkwardly squatted before taking a snap, making it harder to drop back in the pocket properly.

Primarily, though, Weis changed the way Quinn thought, transforming him through Weis’ teaching, not-so-gentle prodding and constant presence. Weis believes Quinn should be an extension of him on the field.

“He wants to be right there with you,” Quinn said.

But Weis knows he can’t teach Quinn everything he needs to be a great quarterback. That is why he arranged for Quinn to talk this summer with Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and Brett Favre.

“They were able to give him advice that I can’t give him. I only can give him advice coming from a coach, but I can’t give him advice like Tommy can or like Peyton can or like Brett Favre did,” he said.

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The three talked to Quinn about some of the obstacles they have faced and the way they approach being quarterbacks. Quinn found his talk with Manning especially helpful, because Manning has been through what Quinn is about to go through. He was a high-profile quarterback for a highly rated school who went through the stress of being a Heisman Trophy candidate. Manning finished second to Michigan’s Charles Woodson in 1997.

“He takes a business approach to everything,” Quinn said.

Quinn plans to take a similar approach. He’s also looking forward to Weis giving him more responsibility in running the Irish offense. It’s part of Weis’ plan to challenge Quinn more. Weis said it’s no longer good enough for Quinn to simply run a play well.