Notre Dame made an early impression on Brady Quinn -- one that made his Signing Day all the more memorable.

Quinn was a four-star recruit out of Dublin Coffman High School in Ohio, and was ranked as the No. 5 pro-style quarterback in the class of 2003 according to 247Sports. He drew offers from Michigan and Ohio State, but his heart was always with the Irish.

No stranger to South Bend, Quinn first set foot on the Notre Dame campus when he was in junior high.

"I was just kind of taken back by how pristine and nice it was," Quinn said. "It seemed like every little blade of grass was cut to a specific measurement. ... It was a place I could see myself going, and developing as a young man."

Brady Quinn still holds numerous Notre Dame football records. Getty Images

Quinn threw for 2,149 yards and 25 touchdowns with just four interceptions as a high school senior. When Signing Day came around, Quinn had no doubt in his mind about where he wanted to spend his next four years.

"One of the biggest moments for me on Signing Day was being able to look my mom and dad in the eyes and understand that it wasn't just about my future and my dream of playing for Notre Dame," Quinn said. "It was about their dream and their sacrifices that they made. It's a special moment. It's one I'll never forget."

Paired with his favorite target, wide receiver-turned major league pitcher Jeff Samardzija, Quinn set 36 Notre Dame records in his four seasons with the team. Quinn still ranks No. 1 for the Fighting Irish in passing yards and touchdowns for both a career and in a single season.

"It's a very, very unique place, and I think it allowed me the opportunity to continue to grow," Quinn said. "I'll never forget running through that tunnel as so many legends did before, and then you finally see that stadium as a player, that vantage point, through the facemask, full of 80,000 people screaming. That was probably the most gratifying feeling."

Quinn rode his success into the 2007 NFL Draft, where he was selected 22nd overall in the first round by the Cleveland Browns.