Clausen goes to head of the class
Poor Armando Allen. The Notre Dame running back will eventually learn that no one, but no one, talks about injuries, real or imagined, at Notre Dame except Charlie Weis. Especially when the supposedly injured 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 teen-ager 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 Jimmy 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, and besides Weis pooh-poohed Allen's medical analysis. 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, Jimmy 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 Jimmy Clausen sweeps. "It's going to be a big jump next fall."
The reality is Jimmy 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 -- until he was injured late in the season -- gave defenses something else to digest.
Jimmy Clausen also will have to deal with the issues of Notre Dame's new offensive line, a defense that couldn't stop anyone under deposed defensive coordinator Rick Minter 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.
When Jimmy 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 Jimmy 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.
Willy Korn, Clemson: Thank goodness there's not too much pressure on Korn. He played at Byrnes High in Duncan, S.C., a scant 50 miles from the Clemson campus. He committed to the Tigers during his junior season, when he set state season records for passing yards (4,164) and touchdown passes (53).
Korn enrolled early at Clemson and will take part in spring drills, mere months after poor quarterback play contributed to the Tigers' underachieving season. And, finally, Clemson Coach Tommy Bowden says of his quarterback situation for 2007: "It couldn't be more open."
See, no pressure.
Keith Nichol, Oklahoma: Look, no coach wants to start a true freshman at quarterback.
"When you play a freshman," Oklahoma Coach Bob Stoops says, "he's either really good or you really need help."
Meet Nichol, a really good player who happens to play a position where the Sooners really need help. A lifelong Michigan State fan, Nichol committed to the Spartans as a sophomore and already was enrolled to attend classes at State this semester before looking at other options as the search dragged on to replace John L. Smith.
It was then that Nichol found Oklahoma, which has redshirt freshman Sam Bradford as a legit candidate for quarterback -- and no one else.
Need, opportunity and a winning tradition beats lifelong fan every time.
Mike Paulus, North Carolina: Paulus wanted to get an early start at North Carolina, get settled in class and play a little football this spring. One problem: His high school, Christian Brothers in Syracuse, N.Y., doesn't allow early graduation.
Losing those 15 days of spring practice will make things tougher for Paulus, but that's not going to prevent him from eventually beating out a couple of dudes named Joe Dailey and Cam Sexton.
Paulus (6-5, 220) is physically ready to play; the only question is how quickly he will pick up the offense.
It wasn't that long ago when new UNC Coach Butch Davis was rebuilding a certain program by playing freshmen everywhere. He was doing anything to upgrade the talent at Miami -- even if it meant dealing with young players making mistakes.
Translation: Don't expect Paulus to sit for long.
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