Nate Montana: Treading in his father's footsteps

Nate Montana, No 16, the Notre Dame back-up quarterback, is hoping to follow in the footsteps of his famous father, Joe.

SOUTH BEND, INDIANA // The questions about his famous dad do not come nearly as often these days for Nate Montana as he tries to carve out his own path of success as a quarterback at Notre Dame. "It's old stuff now," Montana said after a recent practice on the same campus where his father, Joe Montana, helped Notre Dame win the national title in 1977.

Joe, of course, was a third-round draft pick who went on to become a Hall of Fame quarterback, leading the San Francisco 49ers to four Super Bowl wins. Nate came to South Bend two years ago as a walk-on. Father and son talk daily. "He just said, 'Study, study, study.' That's it," Nate Montana said. "Like, learn your plays and make sure you're ready to go if they need you." That is the question for the younger Montana this season as he battles to be the back-up to Dayne Crist. There are three promising freshmen also in the mix.

Montana, who at 6ft 4ins is two inches taller than his dad, did not play football until he was a freshman in high school. As a senior, he attempted only 19 passes. After originally coming to Notre Dame as a walk-on in 2008, he spent last season at Pasadena Community College, where he was a backup, before returning to South Bend. In the new coach Brian Kelly's no-huddle spread offence, Montana had a strong spring game, completing 18 of 30 passes for 223 yards and three touchdowns.

"Nate does some things really well, and then I'll lose him for a couple of plays," Kelly said. "He hasn't played a lot of college football, obviously, and consistency is the one area that he has to show." That is exactly the point his dad has tried to make. "The fundamentals are an important part. It's what guides you through the tough times," Joe Montana said. "If your fundamentals are sound, it will carry you."

Nate is trying to find the rhythm he had last spring in Kelly's hurry-up system, knowing that if he does win the back-up job, he is one play away, one injury away, from being the quarterback at Notre Dame. "It's getting used to the tempo and picking it back up basically from where we left off in the spring," Nate Montana said. "I think I'm starting to calm down and getting back in the groove. I need some more time. Purdue [the season opener] is not tomorrow so we got a little time."

* Associated Press