2008 Woodie Awards
FOOTBALL: Into the Lions' den
Freshman Jimmy Clausen continues journey from top recruit to starting quarterback
Chris Khorey
Issue date: 9/7/07 Section: Irish Insider
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Last fall, Jimmy Clausen was the biggest name in high school football. His games would sometimes draw more tan 10,000 people.
When Clausen makes his first collegiate start Saturday, it will be in front of 10 times that many.
A year ago, Clausen was beginning his senior year of high school. Now he's wading through his second semester of classes at Notre Dame, with classmates and teammates who hope he can be the answer for a team that lost a lot of confidence after opening the 2007 season with a crushing 33-3 home defeat at the hands of Georgia Tech.
Clausen not only has to pick up the pieces, but he must do so in front of a predicted 110,000 Penn State fans bent on revenge after last year's 41-17 drubbing by the Irish and behind an offensive line that allowed nine sacks last week.
But, according to Bill Redell - Clausen's high school coach at Oaks Christian in Westlake Village, Calif. - if any freshman can handle it, it's Clausen.
"What really helps is that his brothers [Casey and Rick] played at Tennessee, and he's been in a stadium like that," Redell said. "He knows what it's like."
Clausen's current coach, Charlie Weis, is confident as well.
"I think he's ready to run the offense," he said. "I think he was always ready mentally."
A superstar recruit
Clausen, a four-year starter at Oaks Christian, went 42-0 under center while throwing for over 10,000 yards and 146 touchdowns.
By his junior season, scouts hailed him as as the top quarterback recruit and one of the best high school players in the country.
Clausen's reputation as a top-level recruit also got Penn State coach Joe Paterno's attention.
"We knew a lot about him as a high school player, and he was an outstanding high school football player," he said.
But just as his recruitment intensified, it came to an abrupt end. Clausen committed to Charlie Weis and Notre Dame on April 22, 2006 - the day of the Blue-Gold Game in South Bend.
When Clausen makes his first collegiate start Saturday, it will be in front of 10 times that many.
A year ago, Clausen was beginning his senior year of high school. Now he's wading through his second semester of classes at Notre Dame, with classmates and teammates who hope he can be the answer for a team that lost a lot of confidence after opening the 2007 season with a crushing 33-3 home defeat at the hands of Georgia Tech.
Clausen not only has to pick up the pieces, but he must do so in front of a predicted 110,000 Penn State fans bent on revenge after last year's 41-17 drubbing by the Irish and behind an offensive line that allowed nine sacks last week.
But, according to Bill Redell - Clausen's high school coach at Oaks Christian in Westlake Village, Calif. - if any freshman can handle it, it's Clausen.
"What really helps is that his brothers [Casey and Rick] played at Tennessee, and he's been in a stadium like that," Redell said. "He knows what it's like."
Clausen's current coach, Charlie Weis, is confident as well.
"I think he's ready to run the offense," he said. "I think he was always ready mentally."
A superstar recruit
Clausen, a four-year starter at Oaks Christian, went 42-0 under center while throwing for over 10,000 yards and 146 touchdowns.
By his junior season, scouts hailed him as as the top quarterback recruit and one of the best high school players in the country.
Clausen's reputation as a top-level recruit also got Penn State coach Joe Paterno's attention.
"We knew a lot about him as a high school player, and he was an outstanding high school football player," he said.
But just as his recruitment intensified, it came to an abrupt end. Clausen committed to Charlie Weis and Notre Dame on April 22, 2006 - the day of the Blue-Gold Game in South Bend.