Can Jimmy Clausen lead Notre Dame out of the storm? Is he really Viggo from Ghostbusters? Or Sunshine from Remember the Titans? These questions and more, below.
Jimmy Clausen.
Just saying the name causes half of the college football population to cringe over the thought of his awful freshman year. The other half of the population clenches their fist and shakes it in the air with anger at Notre Dame and their success. Except for myself. I am in the minority; one of the few non-Notre Dame fans who still think that Jimmy Clausen could be something special.
It was just over two years ago that I first read about the top quarterback recruit for Notre Dame who resembled ‘Sunshine’ from Remember the Titans. Jimmy Clausen would go on to become such a bad true freshman starter that even touchdown Jesus couldn’t save him. After a few games on the bench he wound up getting the nod again at the end of the season, and looked decent enough against scrub teams to escape the year. His sophomore year was significantly better as he was able to command a 7-5 record, including a huge win in the Hawaii bowl.
But there is still no respect for Jimmy “Sunshine” Clausen, and I believe that he will surprise people this year.
That’s right folks; Jimmy Claus will bring Charlie Weis and the rest of Irish-nation a late Christmas gift this year in a BCS Bowl.
In fact, this season has potential to become a redemption year for Clausen, and he will change some of the minds that still believe he is the same freshman that was tossed among the lions. Sunshine Clausen will be a first round pick, and could blossom into the top QB pick in either of the next two drafts.
Jimmy Clausen arguably had one of the worst years in Notre Dame history as a freshman. He seemed lost out there, and clearly was not ready to play. But last year he threw a much better game and showed a great deal of his potential. He completed twice as many balls while improving his completion percent significantly. He almost tripled his total yardage production and more than tripled his touchdowns. Sure, he threw more interceptions, but at a lower TD-INT ratio. After bringing in another great couple of recruiting classes, I fully expect the O-Line to be amazing for him this year. I expect even more of an improvement. I honestly wouldn’t be shocked if he got Colt McCoy numbers.
|
YEAR |
CMP |
ATT |
PCT |
YDS |
AVG |
TD |
INT |
|
2007 |
138 |
245 |
56.3 |
1254 |
5.1 |
7 |
6 |
|
2008 |
268 |
440 |
60.9 |
3172 |
7.2 |
25 |
17 |
|
|
But that’s not all. I see Clausen becoming an elite NFL prospect over the next year or two. He’s 6-03 and has a pro-caliber arm that will only get better. He can make the amazing throws, especially in the red zone. His work in the pocket needs some refinement, but he is able to drop back quickly, find his player and sling it with great accuracy. Of course, he’s not perfect, and he does need to limit his interceptions and dumb mistakes, and he must show us that he can win big games.
You’ve probably got me pegged as some crazy Notre Dame homer at this point, but I am far from it. The school sets its own schedule to be pretty weak, so they can get to a good bowl game. It’s no small wonder that they previously had a long postseason losing streak. The amount of capital that the team has circulating around itself is worth 1-2 regular season wins in value. The Irish may only need nine wins to get into a BCS game, and there is not one game that I can guarantee they will lose. They have two shoe-in wins against both Washington teams, three of the lower grade Big Ten teams, Nevada, Stanford, Navy and a few other perennial rivalries. The team has one of the easiest schedules in the game, and should easily win nine-games. Of course, you’ll have to see where I predict the Irish to end up in my BCS Bowl Predictions. Don’t worry, they’re coming soon.
