Joe Raymond / AP

While Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn didn't throw at the recent NFL Combine -- he'll do that for scouts at the Irish's pro days in March -- he did show impressive strength in the bench press, writes Eric Hansen of MSNBC.com.

Numbers don't support big-game knock
The knock by ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr., among others, has been Quinn’s performance in big games.

"You can't say Russell has better talent (around him),” Kiper said. “Notre Dame had good receivers. They had a decent line. They had a good running back, a great system.

"And that's what disappointed me about Quinn. He didn't play his best football against top-notch competition."

Or was it the Notre Dame defensive scheme that was flawed in those games? Certainly no quarterback who played in a BCS game this year or last was asked to compensate more for a leaky defense.

And statistically, Kiper's big-bang theory appears to be, at the very least, overstated.

In his two years under Notre Dame head coach Charlie Weis, Quinn has faced nine opponents with a defense ranked No. 35 or better nationally -- LSU, Michigan, Penn State, USC, Georgia Tech, and UCLA last season; Ohio State, Tennessee and Pittsburgh in 2005.

In those nine games cumulatively, Quinn's passing numbers are 203-of-352 (58 percent) for 2,301 yards with 18 TDs and six interceptions.

Putting weight behind his case
What Quinn has done since the last supposed big-game flop is driven -- almost obsessive -- work in the weight room. And on the spur of the moment last Sunday, he flexed his muscles at the combine, ripping off 24 reps at 225 pounds in the bench press.

That’s better than more than half the linebackers at the combine, better than nine of the defensive linemen who lifted, better than top tight end prospect Greg Olsen of Miami (originally in Quinn’s recruiting class at Notre Dame), better than offensive line teammates Ryan Harris (22 reps) and Dan Santucci (23 reps) and just four fewer reps than Wisconsin offensive lineman Joe Thomas, the top offensive lineman in the draft.

At least Quinn has been able to keep his sense of humor about him. One of the more helpful influences to Quinn during the pre-draft process has been former Ohio State linebacker and Quinn's current brother-in-law A.J. Hawk of the Green Bay Packers.

Until recently, that is.

"He gave me some guidelines, some things to do," Quinn said of Hawk, "but he kind of messed with me a little bit one night."

Hawk told Quinn that not only would he be measured to the eighth of an inch in height and to the half-pound in weight, but the combine personnel would also measure his biceps and announce the results.

"He told me to make sure I got a couple of good curls in," Quinn related. "I said, 'Really they measure your biceps?' And he said, 'Oh yeah, they measure your calves -- everything.'

"So I was sitting there thinking for a second about getting pumped up before I went out there, and he started laughing and said, 'Nah I'm just kidding.'

"I told him, 'If you're going to tell that to someone, tell (Notre Dame running back) Darius Walker because that's who I'm rooming with.' "

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Joe Raymond / AP

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