Clausen is growing up
SOUTH BEND -- He has finally outgrown the stretch Hummer references, finally has stepped out of his own shadow, finally has an identity that his new Notre Dame teammates can relate to.
Two-thirds of the way through spring practice, Jimmy Clausen is a simply a freshman fighting for a position.
Not that it will stay that way, with the hype simmering so quietly. Not that expectations might swallow him up, or vice versa. But for now, what Irish third-year head football coach Charlie Weis wanted to see, had to see from this decade's version of quarterback Ron Powlus was a player who is willing to work, willing to earn, willing to be dressed down without demanding to be pumped back up.
"I think the first thing, as a head coach, is you don't create prima donnas," Weis said of his egalitarian four-man quarterback derby. "I think that's very, very important. You set up a plan, an equal plan, and let everybody know what the plan is going to be. This way everyone's treated the same.
"I think it's very, very important to treat everyone the same if you're going to be fair. If you don't treat everyone the same, then you're going to lose the trust of your team. I think that's all the players can ask of you, that you treat them fairly."
This is why Weis never worried about the elaborate verbal commitment announcement Jimmy Clausen and his entourage made at the College Football Hall of Fame last April. This is why he never fretted if assistant coach Brian Polian's glorified baby-sitting last fall of Jimmy Clausen and his coveted commitment spilled out of the internet backrooms and into the mainstream media.
If Weis had caught a whiff that the nation's No. 1 prospect had an ego that matched his recruiting ranking, he would have gone in a different direction -- agonizingly, but decidedly. Remember Mitch Mustain?
There is still more about Jimmy Clausen we don't know than we do know. But we do know Weis did have departing Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn chit-chat with Jimmy Clausen and fellow heir-to-the-throne hopefuls Demetrius Jones, Zach Frazer and Evan Sharpley.
"What I had him talk to them about is dealing with Weis," the ND coach said, speaking in the third person. "Dealing with the media. Dealing with fans, because I've never lived that. I'm not in that role. That's like when I first got here, I had (New England Patriots quarterback Tom) Brady talk to Brady (Brady Quinn), because those are questions I can't answer."
Weis can't yet answer who ND's next starting quarterback will be, or even who the two candidates will be that are likely to be voted off the two-deeps at the conclusion of spring practice. He formatted the 15 spring practices so that a clear, premature conclusion was impossible. The fourth quarterback won't get his reps with the first-team offense until the last few practices leading up to the April 21 Blue-Gold Game.
Some things that will count more in the ultimate decision than pretty spirals are the ability to have a presence with the team, to be an extension of Weis in the huddle, to be able to get in a teammate's face and yet not wilt when Weis get in his.
Powlus, the one-time poster boy-turned quarterbacks coach, has the textbook expertise in this area. Weis doesn't necessarily need him to decode the playbook. He needs Powlus for the intangibles. He needs Powlus to teach the quarterbacks how to have a short-term memory whether they're dealing with hype or heartache.
Powlus knows, as much as anyone who has worn an Irish uniform, how fickle, how twisted reputation can be to a college career.
Keep in mind, reputation means nothing to Weis. Lightly celebrated offensive guard Eric Olsen, for instance, found his way onto the field last season as a true freshman, and much faster than some of his more-drooled-over classmates.
Wide receiver George West's ascension on the depth chart and the return game, lacrosse star Will Yeatman's early playing time at tight end sends the same message. So do defensive end-turned outside linebacker John Ryan, fullback Asaph Schwapp, and linebacker Joe Brockington's late-career run.
Performance trumps precociousness.
That's not to say Jimmy Clausen won't eventually fit both sides of that equation, but it won't come without sweat or a struggle.
"I'm not rooting for anybody," Weis said of his QB quad. "I'm rooting for the guy who gives us the best chance of winning. That's the only one I'm rooting for. Other than that, I don't care how it plays out."
Personnel matters
Sophomore wide receiver West missed Wednesday's practice because of a cut on his hand.
Sophomore nose tackle Chris Stewart is back at full strength at practice after nursing a chronic ankle injury.
Weis will announce the breakdown of the Blue-Gold Game rosters midweek next week. "I'm trying to make the teams more competitively balanced," he said, "so there's not one team with a big edge over the other team."
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