FW*Telegram excellant article of J.Quinn

OldTimer · September 15, 2006

Broken, but undauntedBy TROY PHILLIPS

Star-Telegram Staff Writer

GETTY IMAGES/RONALD MARTINEZ

Playing with a cast on his left hand the first two games, Johnny Quinn had 12 receptions for 148 yards.DENTON -- For three days, little Johnny Quinn wouldn't come inside.

From dawn to pitch dark, he climbed on his bicycle, fell off and got back on, maybe 200 times until he didn't fall anymore.

"We took the training wheels off, and he wouldn't quit until he got it," said Terri Quinn, the mother of North Texas' senior receiver. "Had we lived in Alaska where it's nothing but daylight, he'd have never come in."

Quinn put that wobbly bike through a workout and had the scrapes and bruises to show for it. As a child, he was the quintessential tough little guy who would become a clutch high school and college receiver.

Despite a broken left hand, Quinn has 12 catches in two games for UNT (1-1), which plays at Tulsa (1-1) on Saturday.

Before first grade, Quinn suffered a broken arm, stitches in his head and chin, and a punctured tongue, after all manner of outdoor mishaps. Few, if any tears, ever resulted.

Terri, an X-ray technician, looked at her son's aching hand four days after he slammed it on a defender's helmet in UNT's fall camp.

"I saw it and said, 'Oh, yes, that's broken,'" Terri said. "His level of tolerance for pain is quite high."

UNT doctors removed Quinn's cast this week because the break was healing so quickly. He wasn't even wearing it every day; trainers cut it off after both games and it wasn't refitted until Wednesdays.

"The first pass or punt he drops, it's going right back on," UNT coach Darrell Dickey said. "In fact, there's a few people on our team we might fit for casts whether they've got broken bones or not."

At 6 feet and 199 pounds, Quinn is a little receiver with big skills. His 142 career catches are fourth all-time at UNT, as are his 2,233 career receiving yards. Good comparisons are former New York Jets receiver Wayne Chrebet or Wes Welker of the Miami Dolphins.

At Texas Tech, Welker's alma mater, Quinn might have fit in well. Fresh off an 80-catch his senior year at McKinney High School, Quinn thought Tech would recruit him. Instead, he fell off Red Raiders coach Mike Leach's recruiting board two days before signing day and committed to UNT.

"That's where I wanted to go," Quinn said of Tech. "Fourth-and-one and throwing the ball...fortunately, it didn't work out. I'm blessed to be here. It's really worked out better."

He joined the track team at UNT and has anchored the 4x100-relay team the past two years. The team reached last year's NCAA regionals.

"Coming out of high school, I wasn't as fast or as strong as I am now," said Quinn, explaining perhaps why his only other offer was to Division I-AA Illinois State.

Dickey said former receivers coach Kelvin Martin was on him from the start to sign Quinn.

"Kelvin kept saying if we were going to sign only one guy, Johnny was the guy we had to take," Dickey said. "He just loved him."

His toughness, especially the last injury that resulted in two screws and wire being inserted into his left hand, is not lost on Quinn's coaches or teammates.

Could his fellow receivers catch pass after pass with a broken hand?

"I'd do my best, but that's just Johnny," receiver Zach Muzzy said. "That's the type of person he is. Had you not seen the cast, and you just heard the stats, you wouldn't have thought there was anything wrong."

With only this season left, UNT's hope of taking back the Sun Belt Conference title and team receiving marks in reach, it's no wonder a broken hand didn't stop Quinn.

"I wanted to be the best receiver to ever come through here," he said. "As long as I believe that, that's all that matters."

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Troy Phillips, 817-390-7760 tphillips@star-telegram.com

greenjoe · September 15, 2006

Just to point out, Johnny Quinn was nothing until he started riding a bicycle.

Go Johnny Go.

Join the Mean Green Club

Buy Season Tickets (how else can you see the Mighty Quinn ?)

GO MEAN GREEN

medpilot21 · September 15, 2006

Broken, but undauntedBy TROY PHILLIPS
Star-Telegram Staff Writer
At 6 feet and 199 pounds, Quinn is a little receiver with big skills. His 142 career catches are fourth all-time at UNT, as are his 2,233 career receiving yards. Good comparisons are former New York Jets receiver Wayne Chrebet or Wes Welker of the Miami Dolphins.
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Troy Phillips, 817-390-7760 tphillips@star-telegram.com
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Is this guy kidding? 5-9, 175 is a little receiver... 6 foot and almost 200 lbs is not a little guy? Maybe in comparison to Randy Moss or Plaxico Burress, Quinn is small. But let's not lose our focus. His size is part of what makes him intimidating to some "normal" size defensive backs.

As for Kmart, I was on the practice field at Fouts when Kmart had Quinn as a freshman. I remember that time like it was yesterday. One of our coaches was yelling at at a freshman TE (Robert Harmon) for dropping balls and running "weak" routes. Kmart had the WR's and kept saying Quinn was the best "route-running" college receiver he had ever seen? Kmart looked down at my son and said "you work hard and make your grades and I'll be coaching you down the road".. I loved that, and so did Chris. On a "who cares" note; That was also the practice where Freshman RB Michael Ruff burned our best defensive players for THREE amazing TD runs. I have never seen a kid run that fast in my life??? It was almost like watching a video game as he pulled away from everyone on the field. I looked at Harry once and said "Good God that kid's a burner!" We were all very excited about having a "missile" at RB!.....and then he was gone?

Life takes some excruciating turns sometimes...

GMG!!!

pollock · September 15, 2006

UNT doctors removed Quinn's cast this week because the break was healing so quickly. He wasn't even wearing it every day; trainers cut it off after both games and it wasn't refitted until Wednesdays.
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I heard that Quinn is going to have an Adamantium skeleton installed before his illustrious NFL career starts.

"The first pass or punt he drops, it's going right back on," UNT coach Darrell Dickey said. "In fact, there's a few people on our team we might fit for casts whether they've got broken bones or not."
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OK, Dickey is pretty damn funny.

FirefightnRick · September 15, 2006

God Bless Johnny Quinn!

Rick

bigrobdsp · September 15, 2006

he's a hooligan alright!!

eeally · September 15, 2006

Will JQ get drafted? I know he is great, but where does he stand among all NCAA receivers?

e-bone ver2.awesome · September 15, 2006

Will JQ get drafted? I know he is great, but where does he stand among all NCAA receivers?
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If he has a good season and can impress in the combine then he will have the best chance of any UNT player in the last few years to get drafted.

good_ken · September 15, 2006

If he has a good season and can impress in the combine then he will have the best chance of any UNT player in the last few years to get drafted.

Well, first he has to get invited; something that has not been accomplished by UNT players lately.

If Illuvious will weigh in, I think I remember him commenting (in previous posts) on conversations with scouts on JQ.

edcollopy · September 15, 2006

I spoke w/ an nfl scout yesterday and asked him that question. He said that he may only run around a 4.6 on grass and that could be troublesome. Said someone will give him a free agent shot if he's not drafted, and unt players have done pretty well recently going that route.