Scrutiny squarely on Notre Dame's Clausen
Freshman quarterback must live up to golden expectations
By Matt Hayes
February 14, 2026
Poor Armando Allen. He'll eventually learn that no one, but no one, talks about injuries at Notre Dame except Charlie Weis. Especially when the inured player is the next coming of John Elway even though he hasn't taken a snap for the Irish.
Welcome to the latest round of the Best High School Quarterback Ever. No, really, this time it's true. This time Jimmy Clausen is as close to Elway as it gets -- closer than Josh Booty, Brock Berlin, Mitch Mustain or any other teenager who was bound for Canton before he had experienced senior prom.
And that's what made Allen's innocent revelation all the more eventful. Speaking recently to his hometown newspaper, the Miami Herald, Allen, a star tailback recruit, said things were going well in his first couple of weeks as an early enrollee at Notre Dame. You know, class, conditioning, 7-on-7 drills … everything except that Clausen missed a couple days of throwing with bone spurs.
Bone spurs!?
Deep breath, Domers. We're seven months from Jimmy Clausen's ascending the heights of Touchdown Jesus, or at the least, starting a game. But that's the reality when you are considered the next Elway -- who, in the parlance of recruiting, is the it comparison for can't-miss quarterbacks.
But some can't-miss quarterbacks, well, miss. Booty opted to play baseball before eventually finding his way to LSU, where he had an uneventful career. Berlin left Florida after two years, and his lasting legacy at Miami was he was there for the beginning of the end for the Canes under Larry Coker. Then there's Mustain, who lasted one season at Arkansas and currently is searching for his second program.
But, really, Clausen is different.
"You don't know what's between a kid's ears when they get to the next level," Rivals.com recruiting guru Mike Farrell says. "But this kid has it all."
Before you scoff at the opinion of a recruitnik, understand this: These guys go to games, study tape and interview players numerous times. If anyone can give insight on a high school player who stands 6-3, weighs 200 pounds, didn't lose a game in three years and threw 146 touchdowns to 20 interceptions, it's a recruitnik. OK, maybe.
"I want to see how he responds to speed and ever-changing defenses," says one assistant coach whose school, obviously, lost in the Clausen sweeps. "It's going to be a big jump next fall."
The reality is Clausen played for Westlake Village's Oaks Christian, which competes in the lowest of three levels in California high school football. He also shared a backfield with Marc Tyler, a stud tailback headed to Southern California who gave defenses something else to digest.
Clausen also will have to deal with the issues of Notre Dame's shaky offensive line, a defense that can't stop anyone and three guys ahead of him on the depth chart. Demetrius Jones and Zach Frazer are big-time recruits from the 2006 class, and sophomore Evan Sharpley knows the offense better than anyone. Sharpley likely will begin fall camp as the starter, but some on the staff are enamored of Frazer's strong arm, NFL frame (6-4, 215) and athletic ability. When Clausen announced he would attend Notre Dame, he said he wanted to win four national titles. Maybe he first should worry about reversing the recent history of previous can't-miss Elways.
Though Clausen may stand alone at the head of the class of 2007, he at least has company when it comes to quarterbacks who are expected to do great things sooner than later.
