The Quinn Affair: Irish Are Winners While Trojans Could Be Big Losers

USC and Notre Dame will play football Saturday at South Bend, Ind., but they have already met in a recruiting battle, and the Trojans are apparently bigger losers than they ever imagined they would be.

Dan Quinn, a linebacker from San Dieguito High School in Encinitas, originally signed a national letter of intent to play for USC. He changed his mind, was released from the letter by USC and signed with Notre Dame.

That isn’t news in itself, anymore, but USC is now facing possible Pacific 10, or NCAA penalties for illegally recruiting Quinn.

Joan Quinn, Dan’s mother, said last month that she and her son supplied information to an NCAA representative regarding USC’s recruiting violations. USC subsequently conducted its own investigation, resulting in the firing of assistant coach Russ Purnell, who, according to Athletic Director Mike McGee, made “excessive visits” to three recruits, among them Quinn.

Quinn lost a year’s eligibility by failing to live up to his letter of intent with USC, but he could regain that year if it is determined that USC illegally recruited him. Quinn was aware of that possibility and discussed it with an NCAA representative.

Notre Dame Coach Gerry Faust told of his involvement in the Quinn affair:

“Last summer, I got a call from Dan Quinn that I didn’t return. Two days later, I got another call, and he said he wanted to come to Notre Dame (after signing with USC). I told him that I wasn’t going to talk to him and that if he wanted to talk to me, he’d have to get a release from USC.

“Two days later, he called and said he got a release from Coach (Ted) Tollner. Then, he called me later and said that the Pac-10 and NCAA had contacted him and wanted him to give them information and asked me what he should do.

“I said, ‘Dan, I can’t tell you what to do. You have to figure out what is right and wrong and make your own decision, and I’ll support you on it.’ He started to tell me what went on, and I said, ‘Dan, I don’t want to hear about it.’ ”

“Then, he asked me if I knew of the violations, and I said that I didn’t know of them. The only thing I knew was that I called out there during the recruiting season, and Mrs. Quinn asked me to come to supper.

“I told her that I couldn’t because we had already used up three home and school visits. Then, she said, ‘But other schools don’t live up to that.’ I said that is their business. She didn’t name the other schools.”

Faust said he subsequently called McGee and told him that Notre Dame was not involved with Quinn other than the fact that the linebacker was now coming to Notre Dame.

Faust emphatically said that he never encouraged Quinn to supply information about USC to the NCAA. He also said that he hasn’t talked to Quinn about trying to get his year’s eligibility restored.

So Dan Quinn is currently ineligible at Notre Dame and practicing on what is called the prep team. His future as a player?

“I can’t answer that now,” Faust said. “I think he has potential, but we won’t know that until spring practice.”