DeShone Kizer hopes to channel Tom Brady, Cam Newton to be the best of all time

DeShone Kizer is confident in his abilities, that much is for sure.

The Notre Dame quarterback told USA Today’s Tom Pelissero that he believes he could end up being the best quarterback of all time.

“No one else can do what I can do,” Kizer told USA Today. “And I’ve truly figured out in this (draft) process, if I can maximize all my potential in every aspect of the game – this is bold – I do have the ability to be the greatest quarterback to ever play. Imagine taking (Tom) Brady’s intellect and Brady’s preparation and putting it on a guy with Cam Newton’s body. Why can’t I be the greatest? The only thing stopping me from it is me. That’s what’s driving me now.”

That’s quite the statement.

Kizer pushed back against the reaction to the quote a little bit Thursday when NBC Sports quotes him as saying he has “Tom Brady’s brain in Cam Newton’s body.”

And while that isn’t exactly what he said, it’s really not much of a twisting of his words. Kizer really believes that the level of preparation and dedication that he brings to football could make him a special player in the NFL when mixed with his talent.

“Name a college quarterback who goes into the game-plan meetings on Monday and throws his notes at the coaches,” Kizer said. “No one else game plans the way I do. No one else prepares the way I do. No one else knows football the way I do. No one else is as big as I am. No one else is as powerful a runner as I am. Pat Mahomes might throw the ball 80 yards and I can only throw the ball 72, but I guarantee he can’t throw an out route the way I can.”

Quarterback is a position that requires a certain moxie, so that level of confidence isn’t a bad thing for Kizer. However, it appears unlikely that he’ll be the first quarterback off the board.

SB Nation’s Dan Kadar ranks Kizer as the third-best quarterback in the class, but didn’t slot Kizer in the first round of his most recent mock draft. But judging by Kizer’s interview with USA Today, it’s going to take more than a slide out of the first round to shake his confidence.