Will Jimmy Clausen start as a Freshman

[mlcspinner]

Coach Weis would never give a job to any player. He will give the starting job to the person who earned it.

 

[leppycole]

What do we really know about DJ? I agree CW would want a polished passer, but who is to say that DJ is not a potential great passer? I am interested in DJ because of how he replied to all of the questions reguarding JC giving a verbal to the Irish - I think it will be a battle for that spot.

 

[scooper]

Coach Weis would never give a job to any player. He will give the starting job to the person who earned it.

This is the bottom line. I can't figure out why this is a debate. Whoever performs best will start. Scout stars aside, none of us have the crystal ball.

 

[Óglaigh_na_hÉireann]

Watch Clausen's video from the passing tournament...

You 'gotta admit, the guy is damn good, and better yet, consistent. I've never seen a QB with a quicker release in my life.

 

[iloveirish_12]

I will bet anything that Jimmy is the starter for the opening game. I will also be willing to bet Jones will be a WR before it is all said and done.

Also, why is irish81 banned from the site?

 

[Irish Legend]

By the way everyone is talking, Zach Frazer has no chance of playing! Why does everyone think he is going to be the next Wolke?
It's going to be an exciting spring of 07', that's for sure!

 

[rontdtarchala]

As much as we now know about how CW operates it should be crystal clear. CW will play the best man for the job...point blank! Don't count out anyone...I personally think we should do like poodle does it...at best you play as a junior/senior and every one or two years the next greatest QB takes over the helm.

 

[DanoMingea]

D Jones will be the starter in 2007..

D Jones will be the starter in 2007..

this kid is good and is being too overlooked...will be hard for Coach Weis not to start him

 

[scooper]

Also, why is irish81 banned from the site?

It's nice, isn't it?

 

[ShivaIrish]

It's nice, isn't it?
Seriously, though, why was he banned?

 

[scooper]

Another site outed him as a Purdue fan registering on ND boards to cause trouble.

 

[iloveirish_12]

Another site outed him as a Purdue fan registering on ND boards to cause trouble.

He never said anything bad about ND, Did he?

 

[domer88]

Back to Clausen...

He has looked great on every tape that I have seen. He seems to be a very accurate passer. Excellent form. He seems very comfortable in the pocket. Throws hard when he needs to. Great deep ball. Elusive in the pocket. Really could not be any better.

Having said all that, the only thing that I am 100% sure of is that CW will put whichever QB on the field that gives ND the best chance to win.

It might be JC, if he can grasp the system and handle the speed of the college game....or it could be one of the others if they understand the nuances of the offense better.

 

[knute]

By the way everyone is talking, Zach Frazer has no chance of playing! Why does everyone think he is going to be the next Wolke?
It's going to be an exciting spring of 07', that's for sure!

I'm really looking forward to it, also. Wouldn't it be awesome to be able to be on the team and watch that battle unfold?

 

[ackirl]

I will bet anything that Jimmy is the starter for the opening game.
I will also be willing to bet Jones will be a WR before it is all said and done.

I agree 100%

Having three players with a half of year difference in experience would be a waste of talent. Having Clausen and Frazer at quarterback and Jones at WR puts more talent on the field and allows you to recruit the next quarterback in session from the 2008 class.

 

[EJohansen]

Clausen will win the starting job if he is as good as the attention Charlie has given him. His mechanics look crisp and his arm strength is already incredible... It is scary to think about how good this kid could become. I also think Demtrius Jones could give him a battle, especially if D.J. has the speed most people thinks he does.

 

[scooper]

I agree 100%

Having three players with a half of year difference in experience would be a waste of talent. Having Clausen and Frazer at quarterback and Jones at WR puts more talent on the field and allows you to recruit the next quarterback in session from the 2008 class.

Please don't expect me to look it up, but in a recent press conference, Weis stated that he would not recruit a QB for the 08 class.

 

[ackirl]

Please don't expect me to look it up, but in a recent press conference, Weis stated that he would not recruit a QB for the 08 class.

I believe you but couldn’t that change “IF” Jones moved to WR?

 

[scooper]

I guess it could, but the coach and the player have both said he is a QB. It's pretty much only guys on message boards saying he will be a WR.

 

[Vince Young]

I'm still not certain why it HAS to be ONLY Clausen or ONLY Jones at QB. I seem to recall in the late 90s Tom Osborne had some success at Nebraska with a 2-QB system of Tommy Frazier and Brook Berringer. Frazier was a pound-it-in option QB while Berringer was a typical drop-back passer. The offense shifted focus depending on which QB was in the game, and it gave Osborne some flexibility. Passing game not working well? Let Frazier run the option. Opposing defense clogging up the rushing lanes? Let Berringer air it out. As I recall, they won a title that way.

And before you start listing off "QB controversy" scenarios that didn't work out, this wasn't a QB controversy. A QB controversy is when you have two marginal QBs of similar ability, but neither one truly capable of being the starter. In the case of Frazier/Berringer, it was different: either one of them was more than skilled enough to be the full-time starter. But rather than waste one on the bench, Tom Osborn came up with a true two-QB system to make the most of their combined talents.

Why not do the same with Clausen and Jones? When we want to pound it on the ground, let Jones bring the thunder. When we want to air it out, let Clausen throw his lightning bolts down the field.

Heh. How's THAT for Thunder & Lightning?

 

[Jimmy Mac 1029]

What's nice is that if Clausen does wind up starting his freshmen year, then there is enough depth at the QB position to move one of the other very athletic QBS to a WR-type position. I think both Jones and Sharpley are athletic enough for this? I'm sure CW will do enough recruiting where moving people to different positions won't be nessecary.

 

[Vince Young]

Everyone in the press, on the boards and on the internet keeps talking about moving Jones to WR, but Weis recruited Jones as a QB, and Jones has repeatedly and emphatically stated that he came to Notre Dame to play QB, to play QB and to play QB. (And did I mention to play QB?)

In recent years, Notre Dame has experimented with moving mobile QBs to WR twice: Arnaz Battle and Carlyle Holiday. Both guys grew up playing QB and were used to playing QB, and then suddenly halfway through college found themselves shifted to a new and completely unfamiliar position. And while they both had enough natural athletic ability to make a big play here or there (Dillingham-to-Battle vs. Michigan State comes to mind), neither one of them ever really made much of a difference at WR.

Jones grew up playing QB and is used to playing QB. I see no actual evidence to show that moving him to WR would lead to anything other than another Battle-Holiday scenario: a former QB and gifted athlete struggling to learn a position he's never played before in his life. That would be such a waste of the talent and experience he already has.

I'd MUCH rather see a Tom Osborne-style 2-QB system with Clausen and Jones than see Jones wasted at WR.

 

[PMac]

Id hate to see a 2QB style offense and it wont ever happen with Weis.It just causes problems. I wouldnt mind him taking a snap in shotgun as a designed qb run though IF he doesnt win the starting job. As for Jones at WR i dont see it happening successfully, especially since ND is getting great WR recruits and we wont need him at WR.

 

[Indydomer]

Jones won't play WR especially with the class we are bringing in. I'd watch out for Jones he could beat out a freshman Clausen. With a year under his belt and a great attitude, it could be his team for one year. After saying that I did see Clausen's tape, and it is damn good. Hard to believe he is just becoming a Senior in High School.

 

[brucejcarr]

If Jimmy C. is good enough he'll play. If DJ is good enough he'll play. If Sharpley is good enough he'll play. If Zach is good enough he'll play. Weis has always said, the person with the best chance of helping this team win will play. No matter what experianceor inexperiance he has. Gentlemen, we have something on this team we have not had in many years.........COMPETITION! Competition at all positions. ND as a program is going in a great direction, with the right Coaches leading the way. Let's not worry about who starts where. The best coaching staff in the nation will handle that. The best players at every position will play, period!

 

[IRISHFOOTBALL919]

jimmys probly gonna get the starts but i would rather what till his sphmore year so he can get used to the college level. and if worst comes to worst and we need him in his freshman year we can play him then

 

[Vince Young]

Id hate to see a 2QB style offense and it wont ever happen with Weis. It just causes problems.

See my longer post on the previous page. (Or just click here.) Normally when you see a coach running a 2-QB system, it's because neither QB is good enough to completely secure the starting job for themselves. The problem isn't really the 2-QB system itself, but rather the fact that it's being run by 2 QBs who aren't very good in the first place.

In stark contrast, look at what Tom Osborne did at Nebraska when he had Tommy Frazier and Brook Berringer. Both were top-notch QBs and good enough to be the starter in their own right, and each of them had a distinct style all their own. And Tom Osborne had 'em both at the same time and didn't want to waste either one. So, he ran a 2 QB system and won a national title with it.

A 2 QB system CAN work... but only if you have 2 great QBs to run it with. That rarely happens.

Fortunately, it looks like it's about to happen at Notre Dame once we have both Jones and Clausen in uniform.

That said, I do like Indydomer's idea though... let Jones be the starting QB when Jones is a sophomore and Clausen is a freshman, and then go from there. That's an idea that makes even more sense to me, actually. Starting a freshman at QB has gotta make C-Dub nervous, even a freshman as talented as Clausen.

That said, if anyone can pull off a 2-QB system with Jones and Clausen, it's the robot-genius Charlie Weis.

 

[shakedownthethunder]

May the best Heisman win!

 

[Fighting_Irish9]

No, I doubt he even sees the field as a Freshman

 

[weisguys_9]

If he does it will only be after Weis gives this guy a swift kick in the ass. He's too cocky and needs an attitude adjustment(from what I've seen). I love a cocky QB, but you have to earn it first. Weis and the rest of the ND staff will straighten him out and he will be a great QB, and he'll earn his cockyness. As for starting as a freshman, I really don't know we'll just have to wait and find out.