Story on Clausen

[SoCalDomer]

Post-Spring Projection: Jimmy Clausen
by TODD D. BURLAGE
Assistant Editor
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The odds to win the 2008 Heisman Trophy were recently released and Jimmy Clausen checked in as an 80-to-1 play. Not exactly a ringing endorsement for his chances at taking top player honors, but at least he was named on the 45-player list.

Armanti Edwards of Appalachian State, and incoming Ohio State quarterback Terrell Pryor were both 100-to-1, but other than that, Clausen was about the longest shot on the board. Even Indiana quarterback Kellen Lewis has better odds at 60-to-1, and he is suspended from the team indefinitely.

The Heisman list means nothing to anyone around the Notre Dame program, and it shouldn’t. But it does shed some light on the outside expectations of the Irish quarterback and his offense entering the 2008 season.

Let’s face it, if you base anything off of the play of Clausen as a freshman and the offense during the 2007 season, it’s hard to place the bar very high, and maybe 80-to-1 seems generous.

But there is much reason for hope with the momentum Clausen gathered at the end of last season. After throwing just one touchdown with five interceptions in his first six appearances, Clausen hit for six touchdowns and just one interception in his last three games.

more (free): BlueandGold.com // Post-Spring Projection: Jimmy Clausen

 

[WeisWeisBaby]

Rumor has it Clausen will be the starting QB for ND this year

 

[Jason Pham]

Rumor has it Clausen will be the starting QB for ND this year

Not what DJ's roommate told me.

 

[GoldenDomer21]

You can't really take his performance last year and use that to base your opinions about him on. there were SO many things wrong with the team that he can't take the fall. Yeah, hes the QB, and the easiest person to point at. But lets give him a chance. Get some protection, and let him throw the ball. I think he will work out.

 

[Irishlew]

he needs to get some momentum rolling this year...because i believe next season will be the make or break year for CW.

 

[irishmarine]

i think if he doesnt do anything this year its dc's job to take next year. but i really truley believe he is gonna impress the hell out of alot of people this year. im not saying heisman but a solid year. next year i think he may have a shot at the heisman but this year he will be good.

 

[Irishlew]

this year is just the precursor for next year. Next year we should be contending for the NC.

 

[WeisWeisBaby]

This year we are contending for the NC, you heard it here FIRST!

 

[irishmarine]

i hope youre right wwb. but i still think we are a year away from talent and maturity. if everything comes together we have a shot but i just dont see it yet. but with our schedule who knows....

 

[KAPLAN]

He showed us last year that he is tough as nails. He has my respect. If he can make quicker decisions he will be great. If he is willing to come lead the team after last year than he is the man.

 

[Stalking_Eagle]

I have no worries about JC for next year. He was running for his life almost every plan. If he can get some time and allow the WR to run their routes he is going to be putting the ball right in their hands, between their numbers and if they don't want to catch it he will just whip it in their face mask so they don't have a choice.

Last year before the WR could even break out of their route he was running for his life or already on his back. We are going to be just fine.

 

[Shamrock44]

Agreed. Clausen is the least of my worries. He'll be just fine and I hope Christ redshirts. My biggest concerns are obviously the offensive line and the depth of the DL. I think with Tenuta's aggressive style of defense, we may be able to hind the depth problem of the defensive line. It was no secret last year where our biggest problem was; I think our coaches and players will be focused on correcting it. If we can run the football and stop the run, we'll be just fine. We have the skill players to compete with anybody in the country.

 

[Clausen2Kamara]

I just hope JC stays healthy and gets sum protection...if he went down it would not be good. It will be interesting to see if DC can beat out ES for the backup QB job. From what I've been hearing Dayne wants to play now and he will definetly give Evan a run for his money...I hope we can afford to redshirt him though than he will be polished come his junior year and we won't miss a beat.

 

[coachjohnson]

I am confident our OLine will be a major improvement from last year. Jimmy should have a break out year.

 

[irishmarine]

i hope you are all right. and i hope dc sits his ass on the bench for the next two years. then comes out firing his junior year

 

[GoldenDomer21]

Agreed. Red shirt him DC. Develope his talent in practice for another year. Then, let him sit the bench for a year and get some sideline experience. we have the potential to have a great QB for a 5 year time span. We need to maximize this oppertunity.

 

[Mavericknyc1980]

Considering the fact that JC started as a true freshman I felt he had a good year. I expect bigger and better things next year.

 

[ndlb41]

jc will impress everyone this year but mark may

 

[Junkhead]

Rumor has it Clausen will be the starting QB for ND this year

link or I don't believe it.

 

[OCIrish]

I talked to a kid who just finished his Frosh year at ND. He didn't have a damned thing nice to say about JC.

 

[JeremyND07]

I talked to a kid who just finished his Frosh year at ND. He didn't have a damned thing nice to say about JC.

His attitude is the biggest thing that worries me...he showed his a$$ a couple of times during games last year when he had no business running his mouth. I can only imagine with his background that he would come off as arrogant to a fellow freshman! I think he has a better year this year but I look for DC to challenge him for the job next year!

 

[WeisWeisBaby]

Rumor has it Dayne Crist has a shot to challenge Jimmy Clausen for the QB spot next year, will keep you posted (sorry, no links available at this time)

 

[NDFan78]

It's put up or shut up time for clausen. If he struggles he could permanently loose his job to christ. Personally I don't think he will struggle though.

 

[SoCalDomer]

It's put up or shut up time for clausen. If he struggles he could permanently loose his job to [sic] Crist.

Except for the fact that Sharpley is the #2 QB on the depth chart.

You guys who keep talking about Crist coming in and taking over cracks me up. If that happens, I predict another bad season, maybe not 3-9, but something not much better.

Crist is a true freshman!!! If he takes over, that could only be because Clausen and Sharpley go down with injury or suddenly become terrible. Since the later is doubtful, it could only be the former.

Clausen ended up starting as a spring-entry freshman. While he did not get much practice time during the spring because of his elbow, at least he could be there with the team. That put him well ahead of where Crist will be who just arrived on campus last weekend.

And saying Clausen needs to put up or shut up in his second year is just naive. Yes, I hope he improves, but most players really break-out their Jr and Sr years.

 

[Mattmags]

It's put up or shut up time for clausen. If he struggles he could permanently loose his job to christ. Personally I don't think he will struggle though.

Dayne Crist will not start next year unless there are injuries. And to everyone who is talking about a redshirt being the best thing for him this year...In an interview with mike Frank on Power Hour he was asked about redshirting next year. Without any hesitation he said absolutely not. This doesn't mean he won't red shirt, just that he has no intention of giving up the opportunity for the job just so that he can sit and learn.

 

[SoCalDomer]

Right matt. Crist has to have the idea in his mind he is competing for a starting job. Every freshman, soph, jr and sr should have that mindset. If they don't, then they aren't helping the guy ahead of them.

 

[IrishFaninTX]

The only reason I want Crist to redshirt is so he can have that extra year of eligibility. If he plays even 1 down this season, then he will only have his 4 years. Why waste a year on a season where he most likely won't get very much playing time unless Clausen or Sharpley get injured?

I just don't see us having a very good season if we have to rely on our true freshman. Look at what happened last season. It wasn't all JC's fault, but a more seasoned college QB could have found ways to win some of those games. Again, not his fault, he should have been given the time to learn at the college-level like most other freshman, but instead was thrown to the wolves early on.

The way I see it is that if DC red-shirts, then he will be considered a freshman when JC is a junior and can be the backup for 2 years, learn the right way and then be awesome as a junior and have 2 seasons to lead the Irish. And if Weis is smart, he will play both DC a lot his sophomore year so that it will be an easy transition when JC graduates. That was his mistake BQ's senior year. He didn't play Sharpley enough (or any of the other QB's) and therefore, had no real guy to go to last season. If Sharpley had been allowed to play more in the games we were winning by a nice margin, then he probably would have been more comfortable last season and we wouldn't have had the indecisiveness at QB for all of the off-season and pre-season and part of the season.

So, redshirt DC and let him have 2 years to start. I think JC has the stuff to be a great QB and if his stats say anything, DC does, too. Having DC redshirt should set ND to have 5 years of greatness at the QB position (and hopefully more if we can get an elite QB in 2010). Don't rush this kid.

 

[NDsuperfan09]

For those who are already calling for Crist to start keep in mind he had stellar completion %'s of 53% and 58% in his high school career. He needs some work before he starts for us. He is going to be a great player but he is raw at this point. He does need to have the mindset that he is going to start though or else he isn't making Clausen any better.

 

[NDsuperfan09]

The only reason I want Crist to redshirt is so he can have that extra year of eligibility. If he plays even 1 down this season, then he will only have his 4 years. Why waste a year on a season where he most likely won't get very much playing time unless Clausen or Sharpley get injured?

I just don't see us having a very good season if we have to rely on our true freshman. Look at what happened last season. It wasn't all JC's fault, but a more seasoned college QB could have found ways to win some of those games. Again, not his fault, he should have been given the time to learn at the college-level like most other freshman, but instead was thrown to the wolves early on.

The way I see it is that if DC red-shirts, then he will be considered a freshman when JC is a junior and can be the backup for 2 years, learn the right way and then be awesome as a junior and have 2 seasons to lead the Irish. And if Weis is smart, he will play both DC a lot his sophomore year so that it will be an easy transition when JC graduates. That was his mistake BQ's senior year. He didn't play Sharpley enough (or any of the other QB's) and therefore, had no real guy to go to last season. If Sharpley had been allowed to play more in the games we were winning by a nice margin, then he probably would have been more comfortable last season and we wouldn't have had the indecisiveness at QB for all of the off-season and pre-season and part of the season.

So, redshirt DC and let him have 2 years to start. I think JC has the stuff to be a great QB and if his stats say anything, DC does, too. Having DC redshirt should set ND to have 5 years of greatness at the QB position (and hopefully more if we can get an elite QB in 2010). Don't rush this kid.

So many flaws in this argument. A more seasoned college QB wouldn't have won those games. The only guy who might have is if we had Vince Young because no pocket passer was going to do much more than Jimmy did. Sorry but when you can only set your feet 4-5 times a game you aren't going to have much success. Also if we are winning games Clausen jr and sr seasons why play Crist a lot? He may get a series or two if we are blowing out someone but to sub him in for a few series a game is absurd especially if Jimmy develops like many think he will.

 

[the-mick]

i hope youre right wwb. but i still think we are a year away from talent and maturity. if everything comes together we have a shot but i just dont see it yet. but with our schedule who knows....

wasn't the 1988 team supposedly a year away? we have the talent they may be young but i see no reason why we cant be 11-0 heading into fusc.

Clausen is going to be really good! he can put the right amount of zip or touch on the ball when needed, and he is sniper accurate, i think it was the duke game where he fired that bullet between two guys, hes gonna be gooooooood.