Brady Quinn, former Irish quarterback standout and lead analyst for Fox Sports’ new college football pre-game show, knows his alma mater’s team well. He recently spent two days at Notre Dame visiting with coaches and players to get a bird’s eye view.

The view was very enlightening and encouraging.

“I honestly think their schedule sets up well,” said Quinn, who set 36 passing records at Notre Dame in the mid-2000s when he threw for nearly 12,000 yards and 95 touchdowns.

“They definitely should win 10 games this year. Watching them, seeing them, they should win 10 if not more. They could have a clean sweep depending on how some of the younger kids develop and if they can stay healthy.”

Quinn is optimistic about the Ian Book-led offense with an improving line and a fairly deep corps of skill-position weapons that has taken a hit in recent days with broken collarbones suffered by tight end Cole Kmet and wideout Michael Young.

As for the young-ish defense sans Jerry Tillery, Jonathan Bonner, Te’von Coney, Drue Tranquill and Julian Love, Quinn believes the youth that will move up a notch has the ability to bridge the gap.

“From watching those guys, (Myron) Tagovailoa-Amosa is pretty stout,” Quinn said. “I really like Kurt Hinish. The (Jacob) Lacey kid is young, but he’ll impact them and rotate in.

“The thing they’ll miss is they won’t get the push or the pressure that Tillery provided. They’ve got guys who can plug it up. They’ve got to get the edge pressure. If (Julian) Okwara, (Khalid) Kareem and (Daelin) Hayes can really impact the pass rush, I think it will make up for a loss like Tillery.”

Quinn admires the adaptation and adjustments Brian Kelly made to the program/organization since the disastrous 4-8 season in 2016.

“If you look at each point in time of his career, when he went to the national championship in 2012, going to the playoff last year and each time leading up to it, he’s taken different approaches to how he had to handle building up the team to get back there again,” Quinn said. “It’s been smart of him to do that.

“You don’t see the fiery Brian Kelly on the sideline as much, and it’s for a good reason. He’s got other guys who can handle that. He manages the players, the team, and the situation more. He delegates a lot. He has (offensive coordinator) Chip (Long) and (defensive coordinator) Clark (Lea) for that.

“He has hands in everything and he’s managing everything. You see a lot of head coaches who are really successful doing that. They’ll delegate, but they’ve still got to manage it all.”

How Kelly responded to the 2016 adversity reminds Quinn of the transformation Gary Patterson made at TCU after falling to 4-8 in 2013. The Horned Frogs went 23-3 in 2014-15. They dipped back down to 5-7 in 2016 and followed that up with an 11-3 mark in 2017.

“Gary Patterson was in a similar spot at TCU,” Quinn said. “Obviously, he’s always had a hand in the defense. He was more old school as it related to the offensive side of the ball. He was more Pro-style when (quarterback) Andy Dalton was there. Then they went through some years where they realized they couldn’t compete as well in the Big 12 unless they ran a little more Air Raid.

“So they brought in (offensive coordinators) Doug Meachem and Sonny Cumbie. That was when (quarterback) Trevone Boykin had some really good years. They won the Big 12 with Baylor one year. Gary Patterson was like, ‘I have to adapt or I might not survive.’

“That’s what allowed (Kelly) to be successful. He’s been flexible and willing to say, ‘I need to try a different approach.’”

Like everyone else who has seen a Notre Dame practice this August, Quinn was transfixed by a young, long freshman wearing No. 14 on the back end of the defense.

“They’re going to play this (Kyle) Hamilton kid,” Quinn said. “From what I saw the last two days, he’s an absolute ball hawk. He had two more (interceptions) Saturday? They told me it was like 13 (prior to that).

“He’s good in the middle of the field as far as his range and vision, but he’s also good in coverage. Watching him in one-on-ones, this kid is a star.”

Quinn recognizes the potential pitfall in the third week of the season at Georgia. But after that, he believes the Irish have the wherewithal to run the table.

“The thing everybody brings up is the seven teams coming off byes,” said Quinn, referring especially to USC in mid-October and four straight in November against Virginia Tech, Duke, Navy and Boston College. “That’s the No. 1 thing people bring up when talking about Notre Dame’s schedule.

“There are two tough road tests, but they get a bye before Michigan. They’re good enough to beat Stanford, even though that will be a tough road test at the end of the season.

“Of course Georgia is going to be a tough one. If they beat Georgia, once again, they could be undefeated and have a shot at getting back in the playoffs. I really feel their schedule gives them that opportunity outside of some of those difficult opponents.”

A couple of areas concern Quinn.

“The linebacker spots, they’re athletic there, but they’re not experienced, and that’s obviously a concern,” Quinn said. “The interior of their defensive and offensive lines could be an issue. We’ll see how the year plays out.

“They’re good enough everywhere to be able to compete on a very high level. But if they lose certain guys at certain spots, it could be trouble fast.”

The No. 1 most indispensable man on that list for Quinn is Book.

“I’m concerned because when you incorporate Ian in the run game, I mean, he didn’t start all the games last year,” Quinn said. “Imagine if you subject him to three more games where he’s getting crushed in the run game.

“If he doesn’t survive and Phil (Jurkovec) has to go in, Phil’s more ready than he was two weeks ago, but you significantly change the potential of your offensive success.”