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It's Jimmy's turn.
Well, at least it's time for Notre Dame's freshman quarterback to grab a leadership role rather than tip toe around a roster of veterans. After spending last season being seen a lot and not heard very much, Jimmy Clausen needs to be less a former No. 1 recruit and more Notre Dame's next quarterback.
"When you're a freshmen you have to kind of wait your turn to … be vocal on the field because you have to have done something first of all," said Charlie Weis. "And second of all, there's definitely a rite of passage there."
After a relatively strong freshman season – one that included some historic Notre Dame lows too – it appears Clausen is well into his march toward college credibility. Following a season-ending victory at Stanford, tight end John Carlson described Clausen has having a "nasty" attitude, which qualifies as high praise around here.
Weis backed up Carlson's claim, although he'd like to see his quarterback apply that disposition in the weight room, a spot where Brady Quinn thrived and was considered a "freak" by some teammates.
Notre Dame listed Clausen at 207 pounds before the season, although Weis seemed to indicated the freshman is closer to 195. Weis said he wanted Clausen to add 10-to-15 pounds this off-season, bulking up to 210 by the start for fall camp.
In theory, the strength should help Clausen survive pressure and shrug it off. Clausen was sacked 35 times this fall, more than the team totals allowed by 103 teams.
"I think that the kid has a very good mind. He has a very good arm. He has a pretty good understanding about the basis of our system that we're going to be able to expand going into the spring," Weis said. "But I think for him, more than mentally, I think that his biggest task is going to be to get himself fully healthy and physically ready to go and add some muscle.
"I think that for him that's as big a thing as everything else in addition to becoming more of a leader."
Clausen is already the face of Notre Dame's offense, but with Carlson and John Sullivan gone he'll likely become its voice this spring too. As much as Sam Young might be a natural leader because of his experience and pre-dawn meeting with Weis, it's Clausen that holds the keys to Notre Dame's huddle.
How Clausen develops as a leader and weightlifter might determine how closely his college career mirrors that of his predecessor. Weis wasn't here during Quinn's freshman year and will side step any comparative questions on those grounds, but there's not much debate the Clausen of today trumps the Quinn of four years ago.
Clausen was nine completion percentage points better than Quinn and generated a slightly positive touchdown-to-interception ratio (7-to-6) rather than a negative one (9-to-15). Quinn threw for about 600 more yards, but needed 87 more attempts to get there. As a freshman starter Quinn went 4-5 compared to Clausen's 3-6.
For the year, Clausen completed 138-of-245 passes (56.3 percent) for 1,254 yards, seven touchdowns and six picks.
The most impressive praise Weis can heap on Clausen is that he reminds him of the Quinn he inherited, one that had already logged two years in the college game. Weis didn't know Quinn would turn into an all-time Irish great upon his hiring, but it didn't take long to form that hypothesis.
"Brady, I didn't feel that same thing the day I walked in the door, either, with him," Weis said. "But by the time we had gone through spring ball, by the time we got to training camp, you could see, you could feel it.
"Let's not rush this, but I think that there's definitely evidence that this kid could be something special."
Well, at least it's time for Notre Dame's freshman quarterback to grab a leadership role rather than tip toe around a roster of veterans. After spending last season being seen a lot and not heard very much, Jimmy Clausen needs to be less a former No. 1 recruit and more Notre Dame's next quarterback.
"When you're a freshmen you have to kind of wait your turn to … be vocal on the field because you have to have done something first of all," said Charlie Weis. "And second of all, there's definitely a rite of passage there."
After a relatively strong freshman season – one that included some historic Notre Dame lows too – it appears Clausen is well into his march toward college credibility. Following a season-ending victory at Stanford, tight end John Carlson described Clausen has having a "nasty" attitude, which qualifies as high praise around here.
Weis backed up Carlson's claim, although he'd like to see his quarterback apply that disposition in the weight room, a spot where Brady Quinn thrived and was considered a "freak" by some teammates.
Notre Dame listed Clausen at 207 pounds before the season, although Weis seemed to indicated the freshman is closer to 195. Weis said he wanted Clausen to add 10-to-15 pounds this off-season, bulking up to 210 by the start for fall camp.
In theory, the strength should help Clausen survive pressure and shrug it off. Clausen was sacked 35 times this fall, more than the team totals allowed by 103 teams.
"I think that the kid has a very good mind. He has a very good arm. He has a pretty good understanding about the basis of our system that we're going to be able to expand going into the spring," Weis said. "But I think for him, more than mentally, I think that his biggest task is going to be to get himself fully healthy and physically ready to go and add some muscle.
"I think that for him that's as big a thing as everything else in addition to becoming more of a leader."
Clausen is already the face of Notre Dame's offense, but with Carlson and John Sullivan gone he'll likely become its voice this spring too. As much as Sam Young might be a natural leader because of his experience and pre-dawn meeting with Weis, it's Clausen that holds the keys to Notre Dame's huddle.
How Clausen develops as a leader and weightlifter might determine how closely his college career mirrors that of his predecessor. Weis wasn't here during Quinn's freshman year and will side step any comparative questions on those grounds, but there's not much debate the Clausen of today trumps the Quinn of four years ago.
Clausen was nine completion percentage points better than Quinn and generated a slightly positive touchdown-to-interception ratio (7-to-6) rather than a negative one (9-to-15). Quinn threw for about 600 more yards, but needed 87 more attempts to get there. As a freshman starter Quinn went 4-5 compared to Clausen's 3-6.
For the year, Clausen completed 138-of-245 passes (56.3 percent) for 1,254 yards, seven touchdowns and six picks.
The most impressive praise Weis can heap on Clausen is that he reminds him of the Quinn he inherited, one that had already logged two years in the college game. Weis didn't know Quinn would turn into an all-time Irish great upon his hiring, but it didn't take long to form that hypothesis.
"Brady, I didn't feel that same thing the day I walked in the door, either, with him," Weis said. "But by the time we had gone through spring ball, by the time we got to training camp, you could see, you could feel it.
"Let's not rush this, but I think that there's definitely evidence that this kid could be something special."
