With Recruiting, You Never Know...

#1
rexvol

rexvol

The Minister of Defense
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#1
Will Clausen End Up Destroying Charlie Weis?August 2, 2007
Everyone knows about uber-recruit Jimmy Clausen, formerly of Oaks Christian High outside of Los Angeles.

He was labeled by many internet recruiting gurus as the 'Lebron James of Football' before his senior year of high school had even begun.

Well, he is now at Notre Dame after enrolling early for spring ball. He is the most high-profile recruit to sign with the Irish since Ron Powlus in 1993.

Clausen was slated to step in for Brady Quinn and keep the Irish quarterback mystique--and the team's fortunes--alive.

Now, though, it appears as if Clausen may be damaged goods. He had surgery on his right throwing elbow and barely did much of anything in spring ball. Things are very quiet around Notre Dame regarding Clausen, whose hype has diminished considerably as a result.

So now the big issue with Notre Dame is the future. Charlie Weis could have signed Mitch Mustain in 2006 out of Arkansas, but Clausen let it be known to Weis that if Mustain signed with the Irish, he would not be coming.

So, Weis passed on Mustain and left the slot open for Clausen. The idea was that Clausen was so good, he was worth waiting for.

Mustain, meanwhile, went 8-0 as a starter for Arkansas before transferring to USC.

In the meantime, Notre Dame has seen the writing on the wall regarding Clausen and has secured a commitment from another quarterback from the San Fernando Valley, Notre Dame High signal caller Dayne Crist, who is highly-regarded and could very well be the quarterback of the future.

His commitment to the Irish signals that Weis is probably a bit worried about the future of his star recruit.

If Clausen ends up redshirting this season, it could be a long year for the Irish. Then he will have to compete with Crist and this year's starter for the job the following season. What once looked like a slam-dunk quarterback situation for Weis has quite possibly turned into a mess.

No matter what, it takes at least a couple years for a quarterback to mature into a good player. If Clausen redshirts and gets healthy, we are talking 2009--at best--before Weis can have a high-powered passing attack at his disposal, unless Evan Sharpley turns out to be better than expected.

If Weis hadn't kowtowed to Clausen in the first place, Mustain might be heading into his sophomore season in Blue and Gold, with the benefit of having learned under Brady Quinn. There's no doubt he'd be the starter and a budding star under Weis' tutelage.

And let's not forget that if Clausen had divulged that he was damaged goods a bit earlier, Weis may not have mortgaged his program's future by signing the star quarterback.

Instead, with 2007 looking like a rebuilding year, Weis could be lucky to be around when 2009 or 2010 hits.
 
#2
#2
BravesandBirds.blogspot.com" rel="external">Michael says:
August 2, 2007 @ 07:07 — Reply
You might want to mention a couple other warning signs about Clausen:

1. Both of his brothers were disappointments. Casey was the #1 QB coming out of high school and had a decent, but uninspiring career at Tennessee. (Admittedly, Randy Sanders had a lot to do with that.) Rick was nothing to write home about.

2. Papa Clausen has a few Marinovichian elements to him.

3. Jimmy, like his brothers, was held back twice, which means that he was competing against players who were significantly younger. In baseball, this would be a major issue because a player\'s age is critical in evaluating his stats.

4. Clausen was outplayed by Ryan Mallett by a significant margin at the Army All-Star Game practices and game. (Admittedly, that\'s not a perfect test for a QB.)

All told, I think the Sharpley-to-Crist succession seems quite plausible.
 
#3
#3
While I love to bash Clausens as much as the next guy, this article has a flawed premise. Charlie doesn't require an all world QB to lead his offense. What he really needs are some defensive football players at every position.
 
#4
#4
Clausen will be a major bust just like his bros. Why was he held back twice, grades? Is he stupid like Morley? If he would not have gone to ND, would he have coame to Tennessee?
 
#7
#7
So he is a 20 year old freshman? Why would he have went to SC, they have Sanchez, Corp, and now Mustain.
 
#8
#8
Football Freak said:
Clausen will be a major bust just like his bros. Why was he held back twice, grades? Is he stupid like Morley? If he would not have gone to ND, would he have coame to Tennessee?
Click to expand...

Nevermind, it isn't worth it...:hi:
 
#9
#9
Football Freak said:
Clausen will be a major bust just like his bros. Why was he held back twice, grades? Is he stupid like Morley? If he would not have gone to ND, would he have coame to Tennessee?
Click to expand...


Yeah, Casey was a real bust with that 1 loss road record...

And Rick really played awful beating LSU, and playing his butt off even though he wasn't the biggest or strongest QB.

You can't really call yourself a "football guru" and spout off completely false claims.
 
#10
#10
Football Freak said:
So he is a 20 year old freshman? Why would he have went to SC, they have Sanchez, Corp, and now Mustain.
Click to expand...

At USC it's not hard to get drafted..even off the bench. More, recruiting was pretty much over by the time Mustain transferred.
 
#11
#11
I am not saying that Casey was not a solid QB, but his expectation were higher. Anyone that says Clausen was a GOOD qb just shows how low standards UT fans have become.
Anyone remember 2002 Florida game?
SEC titles=0
National titles=0
HE WASN'T EVEN DRAFTED.
A one loss record on the road is fine and dandy, but the number 1 rated QB in HS should have accomplished more, so he was a bust. Rick was not a bust, he was an over-acheiver cause he had no arm and was too small. I am just spouting the freakin facts.
 
#12
#12
Both Clausens at Tennessee were average at best. Had their moments which we all enjoyed but looking at their overall college football career, average.
 
#13
#13
Casey was fine, Rick was not an SEC QB. Neither were as good as they thought they were.
 
#14
#14
Agree 100% with the previous 2 posts, the people who think Casey was not a bust have been drinkin too much orange kool-aid.
 
#18
#18
i think as UT fans, we get a little obsessed about the whole clausen picking ND thing... honestly, i think we are honestly a bit jealous that ND got Clausen -- i know i am... and we don't want him to succeed. well, it's just sour grapes. i admit to being a little "over-interested" in how the clausen thing pans out at ND, but this article is kind of off-base.... and incorrect.

i'm a huge CFB fan, and i like to keep a very close eye on a number of programs throughout the year. i can say that clausen attracted me to keep a watch out on ND's spring. here is what i learned:

- recruiting gurus didnt say clausen was "the lebron james of football".... that was a direct quote from his HS coach -- that's a big difference. his coach was pimping him to colleges... it was a biased opinion.

- i heard that the fan base went nuts when clausen took the field in the spring game... they have a lot of hopes in him... but i have some friends who root for the dome,and they say that a significant part of the fanbase actually wants Demetrius Jones (a dual threat QB out of Chicago) to take the reigns and run a spread/pro hybrid offense. apprently weis visited richy rod at WVU in the offseason to talk to him about the spread offense. interesting....

- clausen was rumored to have bone spurs in his elbow in spring camp. the rumor also said that he was unable to throw, but apparently, he threw... alot. weis even went as far as to say that he had the best accuracy of the 4 QB candidates (one of which transfered to UConn recently). He said Sharpley was the most consistent, Jones made the most plays, but Clausen threw the best... if he is truly damaged goods, it's pretty impressive that clausen did so well in the spring.

- ive heard that he has had surgery as well (this much is confirmed), but that he is expected to return for fall practice. i dont know how valid this "return to the team" is, as im not that close to the domer program. that's just something my friend told me.

- ive also heard that ND has some pretty weak WRs this year and plan to run the ball A LOT and play ball-control... so the QB will be called on to just manage the games. this makes me think that sharpley will start, as he is the vet of the squad. this info directly contradicts the spread offense, though...

that's my take on their status...



now, to thewhole Clausen bro's thing. i thought that it was widely known that Jimmy was the best of the three, even at his young age. that's why i wanted him to come to UT so badly... but he didnt, and it made alot of Vol fans upset. i think we created a personal vendetta against jimmy because we feel spurned. i felt that rick played well for his ability, but he was always outclassed in the tough SEC. I honestly think that Casey underperformed... he had an incredible career, but i still think that he was a bit overrated compared to his output. will the same thing happen to Jimmy? i don't know. i feel that Jimmy has a better QB coach than Casey got, so we will see. Overall, if we could go back and do it all over again, i'd take casey, but not rick. i think that's my final assessment.
 
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