Improved Irish ready for opening test at Georgia Tech

	Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn will face a big challenge in the season opener against an aggressive Georgia Tech defense. Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images
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SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- From the ring of reporters around Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn, a familiar voice arose.

"Hey, Brady," said Darius Walker, the featured running back for the Fighting Irish, "how often do you have to audible out of a running play, and" -- here the running back allowed a note of incredulity into his voice -- "why would you do that?"

When the laughter died down, Quinn played along. "That's a tough question, because I've got a great running back," he replied. "But sometimes those wide receivers need some love too. So every once in a while, when there are a couple too many guys [in the box], I've gotta change the play."

But Walker was already on his way out the door, content to have mildly punked his poster-boy quarterback. It was a sign of the times: These guys are a little starved for diversions, entertainment, variety: They've been knocking  heads with one another for going on three weeks and are still four days from their opener, an intriguing, perilous contest at Georgia Tech.

Earlier this summer, at a media event at the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in Macon, I sat with some of the Yellow Jackets coaches and players. It didn't take much prompting to get them looking ahead to their Sept. 2 collision with the Fighting Irish. Head coach Chan Gailey is one of your better opening-game coaches. Relying on defensive coordinator Jon Tenuta's high-pressure schemes, the Yellow Jackets have had success getting to, and sacking, drop-back (read: not-so-mobile) quarterbacks, a category under which Quinn would fall.

The Ramblin' Wreck were all too familiar with the results of last January's Fiesta Bowl, in which Ohio State rang up 614 yards of total offense on Notre Dame and quarterback Troy Smith threw touchdown passes of 56 and 85 yards. The Irish showed vulnerability in the secondary, and Tech comes into this game seemingly well-equipped to exploit that weakness. Junior wide receiver Calvin Johnson is getting buzz as a preseason Heisman candidate.

"You name it, he does it," said Patrick Nix, the Yellow Jackets' quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator, of his scariest weapon. "He's a 6-5 235-pounder who is as quick and athletic as a 5-10 scat receiver. He's big, strong, fast, runs great routes and has great hands. The guy's a freak." The sobering news for Georgia Tech is that Notre Dame's secondary appears to be its most improved unit. Part of that is the fact that its four returning starters enter the season with another year of maturity and experience, and part of it is the fact that head coach Charlie Weis did not stand pat in the offseason. His recruiting class featured Raeshon McNeil and Darrin Walls, a pair of the nation's finest lockdown corner prospects.