Tom Zbikowski Drops Bold Notre Dame Quarterback Take, Reflects on Bitter Exit

Zbikowski was one of the biggest recruits nationally in the 2003 recruiting cycle, choosing Notre Dame over Nebraska, where they wanted him to play quarterback. So why did Quinn choose Notre Dame instead of running the offense for the Cornhuskers, who were still a powerhouse at the time?

"I knew Nebraska was kind of on that downward spiral," Zbikowski stated, "I watched the national championship game (37-14 loss to Miami) live, it's hard to recover from that type of beating."

"They (Miami) would have done that to anyone. Like, yeah, really would have done that to anyone, but it's tough to see the changing of the guard, live in person, yeah, like they're ever going to be able to recover from that?"

Zbikowski also compared himself to Eric Crouch, noting that they had similar skill sets but that he had a better arm than the 2001 Heisman Trophy winner.

Zbikowski on Bitterness He Left Notre Dame With

"I was so worn out after Notre Dame," Zbikowski stated, "Just the pressures of it."

"We didn't have no social media then, so you read message boards, and as a 20-year-old, like reading about what these people are saying about you...Man, I became really bitter about hearing the things that were said about me. And just like, you know, paying attention to that. I should have never paid attention."

Zbikowski also noted the lack of NIL at the time, and seeing countless No. 9 jerseys being worn around campus while he was eating Chef Boyardee for dinner each night, for a reason for the bitterness.

Zbikowski on Notre Dame's Back-and-Forth Approach to Football

"So, we had no we had no training table at Notre Dame at the time. We had no study hall...they treated us, not like we were people that were going to bring them $14 million just from playing in one Fiesta Bowl."

"But it was that Notre Dame, they're gonna, you know, they're gonna let things get away from them, then they're gonna take football seriously again, then they're gonna get away from it, then they're gonna take football seriously again, then they're gonna get away from it, then they're gonna take football seriously again."

Zbikowski on Notre Dame Football Today

"Unless its the (Baltimore) Ravens, I don't really watch too much football," he said, "I try to watch Notre Dame a little bit more, because I met Marcus Freeman. Yeah, I didn't really like that last guy that was here (Brian Kelly).

Zbikowski's Latest Act

Zbikowski went from a star Chicagoland high school athlete to Notre Dame hero, to the NFL. Since his retirement from football, he's been a part of the Chicago Fire Department as well, but is now on to another big step as he's the head football coach at St. Patrick High School on Chicago's northwest side.

The Shamrocks lost a hard-fought opener this past Friday, falling 14-7 at Yorkville. If they're anything like their head coach, though, it's almost certain they'll show giant growth as the season goes on.

Watch Full Interview:

Zbikowski's full interview is available online and runs over an hour, but is worth it if you were a fan of those early Charlie Weis teams that he starred on.