It has become official by Coach Weis that True Freshman Jimmy Clausen has become the man to lead the Irish this week into Happy Valley. According to Charlie Weis, " At the end of the spring, he (Clausen) was the leader of the competition." Weis then went on to say that when the bone spur was taken from his elbow Clausen obviously needed time to rehab from the surgery. This apparently was the time when Jones and Sharpley made strides and landed the #1 and #2 spots against Georgia Tech. When asked,'" What are the things that you've seen that you've been pleased with that pushes Clausen to No. 1?", Weis responded with two keys: 1. Managing the team #2 his (Clausen's) arm is back to full go. Weis concluded his answer by saying," I think he (Clausen) gives us the best chance of winning."The future seems to be right now. I like the move by Weis to start Clausen this weekend. Don't get me wrong, I am very concerned about a true freshman getting his first start in front of 107,000 screaming, blood thirsty, white-shirt clad PSU fans screaming to have his head torn off.
But, Weis obviously is comfortable with this decision. If he hadn't been, there is no way he would jeopardize this prized recruit by sending him in front of a firing squad. The one key Charlie mentioned when asked about the things that he was pleased with Clausen was his management of the team. Leadership! This is what it seemed Notre Dame did not have on Saturday. Clausen is the QB to run Charlie's system. Jones ran the spread option last week because his best attribute is to run and create. Sharpley did well last week compared to Jones, but it seems as though Evan may be destined to play second fiddle to the starter during his time in South Bend. There is no doubt playing Clausen is the best chance to win this upcoming weekend. He had the quickest reads, the quickest releases, and supposedly the best arm. Why wouldn't you start him? Clausen is going to make mistakes. He is going against a PSU defense that I believe is as good as, if not better than Tech's. The linebacking core is one of the best in the country, and the secondary is very good and experienced. The key for Clausen is to not make too many costly mistakes at terrible times for the Irish. ND has to be able to....(gulp).... run the ball. Power football needs to appear for the Irish. this will set up the play-action pass and force Penn State to not sell out by blitzing all of the time like Tech last Saturday. This is also easier said than done. However, this seems to be the only way to give Clausen anytime in the pocket to find receivers.
I just pray the Offensive Line gets a lot of practice in this week because Penn State is going to blitz like there is no tomorrow.
