"He's been doing this for four years," Curry College coach Todd Parsons said of running back Montie Quinn, who rushed for 522 yards and seven touchdowns on Saturday. Greg Derr / USA Today

It wasn't until after his fourth touchdown that Curry College running back Montie Quinn realized something historic was unfolding.

"That's when my older brother told me that I was on pace to break an (NCAA) record," Quinn said.

So he didn't stop Saturday.

By the third quarter, Division III Curry was routing Nichols. And by night's end, Quinn had rewritten the record books -- 522 yards and seven touchdowns on 20 carries -- in the Colonels' 71-27 win. The rushing yards established an NCAA record, regardless of the division.

The FBS record is 427 yards, set by Oklahoma's Samaje Perine in 2014. The Division III record was 465, amassed by Heidelberg's Cartel Brooks in 2013. Quinn is the first to eclipse 500.

Curry head coach Todd Parsons said he knew the matchup favored a heavy dose of Quinn. Nichols' run defense was light; the box rarely crowded. But no one could've scripted this.

"When he's breaking those long touchdown runs, you're thinking, 'He's on track for something,'" Parsons said. "I didn't realize how big it was until they started announcing things -- like when he broke the single-game school record. He already owned that one from last year."

Quinn had touchdown runs of 85, 84, 76, 64, 58, 30 and 2 yards before being pulled with a little more than nine minutes left in the fourth quarter. With the outburst, he now has 1,450 yards and 17 touchdowns through six games.

In real time, Parsons and Quinn said it wasn't about numbers. They weren't counting history. Their focus was fixed on the successful operation of the next offensive snap.

"When we'd talk on the sideline, it was all about execution," Parsons said. "There's no talk about stat lines. Midseason, you don't expect something like that."

All in one night, the football world descended on Quinn and Curry. Multiple interviews through Sunday, a surge in his social media following as his stat line carried his name from Milton, Mass., the small town just outside of Boston, to all over the country. He said he went to bed Saturday with around 1,800 Instagram followers. He woke up Sunday to 2,631 and nearly half a million profile views. The moment didn't feel real until he saw himself on his feed.

"Everything really didn't kick in until I saw 'SportsCenter' post earlier today," Quinn said. "That's when it clicked. My mind was like, 'Yeah, whatever I did yesterday was true.'"

Now a senior, Quinn's legacy litters the school's record books. He entered 2025 as Curry's all-time rushing leader (4,435 yards). He owns three of the top five single-season rushing marks, including the top two. And he's now the career touchdown king.

The Colonels are 5-1 and have dominated over the past four games -- averaging 61.25 points per game with an average margin of victory of 49.75 points.

National attention might be new, but to opposing defensive coordinators, Quinn has been a nightmare for years. The target on his back hasn't grown any larger with his insane performance.

"He's been doing this for four years," Parsons said. "He was Offensive Rookie of the Year as a freshman, Co-Offensive Player of the Year as a sophomore and up for what's basically the Division III Heisman (the Gagliardi Trophy) last season. So he's not unknown to our opponents."

Curry College's Montie Quinn rushes for NCAA-record 522 yards: 'Whatever I did ... was true'