Jimmy Clausen

Throughout Notre Dame's storied history, perhaps no recruit was placed under the microscope like Clausen during his tenure with the Irish. Former head coach Charlie Weis had a noted reputation for developing quarterbacks, including Tom Brady during his time with the New England Patriots. Many professional scouts felt that Clausen's ability to master Weis's pro-style offense, make good decisions and his overall competency at the position make him very attractive to quarterback-hungry franchises. He is a classic drop-back quarterback with above-average accuracy, good mechanics and a very quick release. In 2009, despite the offense's struggles, Clausen showed mental and physical toughness and the ability to command the huddle, to keep his team into games well into the fourth quarter. Weis cites Clausen's ability to "pitch a perfect game," using his quarterback's performance vs. Hawaii in 2008 as an example. That bowl game turned out to be his coming out party. He completed 84.6 percent of his passes, gain 401 yards and connect on five touchdown throws. He would follow that contest by producing seven 300-plus yard performances in 12 games the following season, including 452 yards vs. Navy. Clausen entered his junior year with high expectations. He made huge strides from his freshman to sophomore year. The quarterback has been no stranger to high expectations. He has been known as a "once in a generation" talent, and the "LeBron James of football," as early as his freshmen year in high school. As a junior, he improved in every statistical category, proving almost unstoppable, regularly carving up opposing defenses. From an injury-plagued freshman season that saw Clausen's team rank dead-last in the NCAA ranks (119) in total offense (242.25 yards per game) and 116th in scoring (16.42 points per game), the Irish field general showed steady progress at the helm. Notre Dame improved to 65th in the major college ranks with an average of 355.08 yards in total offense and 67th in scoring (24.69 points per game) as a sophomore. It all came together for the quarterback in 2009, as he saw the Irish finish eighth in the country in total offense (451.75 yards per game) and 32nd in scoring (30.08 points per game). Clausen would go on to become the second quarterback in school history to throw for over 3,000 yards twice in a career (3,722 in 2009 and 3,053 in 2008). In fact, he would join Brady Quinn (3,919 in 2005 and 3,426 in 2006) as the only Irish players to ever generate 3,000 aerial yards in a season at Notre Dame. His 8,146 yards passing rank second only to Quinn's 11,762 on the school's career-record list. He would also join Quinn (240.0 yards per game, 2003-06) as the only quarterbacks to average more than 200 yards per game passing (232.8 yards per game) in Terre Haute. Clausen's career was a mirror of Quinn's, except in the wins column. His 21 touchdown passes in 2008 and 28 in '09 rank right behind Quinn's 32 (2005) and 37 (2006) scoring strikes on the school's single-season charts. Along with Quinn (95) and Ron Powlus (52, 1994-97), they are the only quarterbacks in school annals to throw for over 50 touchdowns in a career (Clausen finished with 60). The Irish quarterback showed his patience, timing and pinpoint accuracy. He owns two of the longest streaks in school history -- 132 pass attempts without an interception in 2008 and another long stretch of 160 tosses without having a pass picked in 2009. The only Irish quarterback to top that mark was Quinn, who went 226 throws before having one picked off in 2006. As the younger brother of two former Division I quarterbacks, Casey and Rick Clausen, who both played at Tennessee, Jimmy gained media attention very early in his football career. Beginning in eighth grade, his parents had him work with professional quarterbacks coach Steve Clarkson. During his high school junior season, a Sports Illustrated feature dubbed Jimmy Clausen "The Kid with The Golden Arm". Recruiting analysts considered him a "once in a decade" quarterback talent and ranked him as the best overall prospect of the 2007 high school class. Because of his quick release, some in the media compared him to Joe Namath. The prized recruit never lost a game that he started during his tenure at Oaks Christian High School, finishing with a 42-0 record. He received the Hall Trophy (actually called the Ball Park National High School Player of the Year Award) at the U.S. Army All-American Bowl. He was named USA Today Offensive Player of the Year, adding National High School Offensive Player of the Year honors from the Touchdown Club of Columbus (Ohio). He was also named Co-Player of the Year by Parade and selected first-team All-American by the publication, along with being named a first-team All-American by Scout.com. Clausen ranked as the top prospect in the nation by Rivals.com and was named the fourth-best overall national prospect by Super Prep. He was rated the best quarterback in the country and ninth-best prospect on the ESPN 150 list. The Sporting News touted him as the best high school player in the country in 2006 and he earned All-American honors from that publication. He was a finalist for the Sam B. Nicola award, presented annually to the top high school player, and was one of 20 players named to the Best in the West list compiled by the Long Beach Press-Telegram. Clausen led Oaks Christian to four consecutive CIF-Southern Section championships and tied the longest winning streak in section history, as the Lions won 46 straight games. In his final game, the team defeated Cardinal Newman High School for the state champion-ship and finished season ranked sixth in the nation by USA Today. That season, he hit on 194-of-281 passes (69.1 percent) for 3,428 yards and 49 touchdowns with only six interceptions in fifteen games. He also rushed for seven scores in his final campaign. For his prep career, Clausen passed for 10,764 yards and a state record 146 touchdowns. He completed 67.8 percent of his attempts, one of the best nationally in high school history, according to the National Federation of High School sports record book. During his junior year, Clausen connected on 156-of-231 passes for 2,778 yards with 30 touch-downs and five interceptions. As a sophomore, he completed 227-of-329 attempts for 3,665 yards, along with 58 touchdowns and six interceptions. Critics have questioned whether Clausen's success in high school was largely a product of his team. That squad contained almost a dozen players that went on to play for NCAA Division I Bowl Subdivision teams, including a highly-ranked running back, Marc Tyler. Many of these critics pointed to the 2007 U.S. Army All-American Bowl, in which Clausen was outplayed by fellow 2007 quarterback recruit, Ryan Mallett. Further, Clausen's age was a subject of criticism: he started kindergarten at six and repeated sixth grade, thus he was 19-years-old at the time of his early graduation. In April 2006, Clausen verbally committed to the University of Notre Dame. He was the most highly touted recruit for the Fighting Irish since the arrival of Powlus in 1993. Clausen announced his oral commitment at the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, Ind., after arriving in a stretch Hummer limousine. He also said his goal was to win multiple national titles with the Irish, a dream that he would never come close to realizing. As a freshman, Clausen started at quarterback in the second game of the season vs. Penn State, the earliest any Notre Dame freshman had started at the position since freshmen regained their eligibility in 1972. He played in ten contests and started nine games during that rookie campaign, completing 138-of-245 passes (56.33 percent) for 1.254 yards, seven touchdowns and six interceptions, but struggled at times, leading to a brief benching later in the year. Clausen finished second on the school's freshman quarterback season-record lists for completions (Brady Quinn had 157), attempts (Quinn, 332), yards (Quinn, 1,831) and completion percentage (Matt LoVecchio, .584). His seven touchdown passes rank third on Irish freshman quarterback single-season list behind Quinn's nine scores and LoVecchio's eleven strikes. Better preparation during 2008 preseason camps saw Clausen's numbers improve dramatically during his sophomore season. He averaged 238.08 yards per game in total offense and had a passing efficiency rating of 132.49. He completed 60.91 percent of his passes (268-of-440), gaining 3,172 aerial yards, the fourth-best season total in school history. He more than tripled his touchdown output (from 7 in 2007 to 25 in 2008), but was also picked off 17 times. 43 of his pass completions went for 20 yards or longer. His progress continued the following campaign. Clausen ranked second in the nation in pass efficiency rating (161.42), third in passing yards (3,722), seventh in touchdown passes (28), fifth in completion percentage (68.0), 10th in completions (289), and 11th in points responsible for per game (15.50). Clausen was named a finalist for the Manning Award, and semi-finalist for both the Maxwell and Davy O'Brien Awards. His 3,722 aerial yards are the second-highest season total by an Irish quarterback. He also showed some nifty footwork, scoring three times on the ground to finish with 3,627 total yards. What made those figures even more impressive was the fact that he played the final nine games with a nagging right turf toe injury that would require surgery to repair after the season. Over the past two seasons, Clausen kept the Fighting Irish relevant, as the rushing game and defense struggled to keep pace with the Irish's potent passing game. The numbers bear this out. During the 2008 season, the Irish ranked 100th in total offense, while ranking 34th in passing. In 2009, the offense ranked ninth in the nation in total offense despite ranking 86th in rushing. Clausen clearly was the cog that kept the Irish going. The Irish quarterback finished his career in second place on the Irish all-time list in passing yards (8,148), touchdown passes (60), completion percentage (61.3), total offense (7793), and completions (695). As a junior, Clausen ranked second in the nation in pass efficiency rating (161.42), third in passing yards (3722), seventh in touchdown passes (28), fifth in completion percentage (68.0), 10th in completions (289), and 11th in points responsible for per game (15.50). Clausen was named a finalist for the Manning award, semi finalist for the Maxwell award, and Davy O'Brien award. He also earned a 3.267 grade-point average in the spring `08 semester. As a sophomore, Clausen ranked 22nd in the nation in passing yardage (3172), seventeenth in touchdowns (25), 15th in completions (268), and 42nd in points responsible for per game (11.54). Later in the season, it was announced that Weis would not be returning as the team's head coach in 2010. Clausen and fellow All-American, wide receiver Golden Tate, announced a week later that they would forgo their final year of eligibility to enter the 2010 NFL Draft. The quarterback-receiver combination had shared team MVP honors at the Irish banquet.