While perusing some spring football articles, I came across one courtesy of the AP talking about how Jimmy Clausen is trying to bulk up for this Fall. You remember Jimmy right? The hype machine of a quarterback from California who went to Notre Dame and promptly was buried under a mountain of defenders? Here, this video should jog your memory.
After a quarterbacking soap opera in the preseason, we saw Jimmy start every game for the Irish. Well, those games he was healthy for at least. What you see in that video is the main reason he missed a couple games last season. I’m no Notre Dame scholar, but that 2007 offensive line had to be one of, if not the worst in school history.
Thanks to backup Evan Sharpley, the only other scholarship quarterback on the roster until Fall, playing baseball right now, Clausen is getting all the reps and attention he can get. There were some reports recently that Brady Quinn got 19 of Charlie Weis’s 20 allowed coaching hours a week, so all that attention could help him improve greatly if he can improve to the degree that Quinn did. He’ll need the extra help to break through his familial ceiling, given that his brothers Casey and Rick (to a lesser extent) had nice college careers at Tennessee, but no pro success.
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The report is that he’s gained 18 pounds in the off season, putting him at 212 pounds on his 6′3″ frame. He’s a believer, saying the added bulk with help him with “speed, getting out of the pocket, breaking tackles and stuff like that.” If you notice, none of that has to do with being a pocket passer, the thing that Notre Dame recruited him to be. It amounts to an admission that he expects to spend a good deal of time under duress this season.
I don’t expect Notre Dame to go 3-9 again next season, since the extra year of experience for all of the young players will give them a boost. Just glancing at the schedule, the games against San Diego State, Stanford, Navy, and Syracuse all look like wins even if the team isn’t any better. I don’t know if enough other problems will be solved it hit 6 wins and earn a trip to the 1st Annual Nowhere Bowl in Lubbock, Texas, but with North Carolina, Washington, Michigan State, and Purdue on the schedule anything is possible.
The reports so far from Notre Dame’s spring game is that Clausen performed very well, and could be ready for a breakout season. We’ll see, but if that happens you can expect to hear something again about how it had to do with the time he spent eating cheeseburgers, err, bulking up this spring.
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7 months ago
Notre Dame wins at least six games next year, guaranteed. Clausen will play better, as will everyone else for that matter. Weis is too good a coach for another disaster like last year.
from 7 months ago
Perhaps, but wasn't Weis too good of a coach for a 3-9 season to happen in the first place? There's nothing inevitable about ND going to a bowl game.
from 7 months ago
My guarantee was more a bold proclamation by a stubborn fan than a logical assertion. But, I really think they will win at least six games: the four you mentioned, and then at least two "upsets." I think they'll start fast and then sort of fizzle, as has happened in the past.
3 months ago
I can understand why people hate Notre Dame. I can understand why people want to take shots at ND. There is plenty of ammo for people like David based on 2007.
What I do not understand is why people make shit up. In almost every post on ND, not written by someone who actually liked ND there are very basic mistakes made by the "writers". I just do not understand why people can not take the 5 minutes to use GOOGLE.
Clausen played in 10 games and started 9. Just curious why you would write something you were not positive on or take the 60 seconds to look it up. It is obvious you are not a scholar....
The 2007 o-line was the worst in school history. Pretty painful to say that but I feel it is the truth. The good news is they are much better AND they play much weaker groups of d-linemen this year.
FYI, using ESPN for accurate info is almost as bad as using the bleacher report.
3 months ago
The only reason Charlie went 3-9 last season was because he felt too confident that last year's team would be like his first two seasons. Ty's problem for not winning with THE SAME PLAYERS is that he was a horrible coach. Any wins were purely of the player's athleticism. But getting back on the article:
I don't know why players want to bulk up. In my opinion it just puts more fat on you, making you even slower than before (except in Jimmy's case, it won't have any effect on him). You need to gain muscle (also pounds, but much more helpful on the field). to gain any speed, or whatever gaining pounds is supposed to do for you.
from 3 months ago
Bulking up will help Clausen endure the hits that all quarterbacks take.
And have a look at this recent picture of Percy Harvin: http://www.everydayshouldbesaturday.com/2008/07/28/percy-harvin-has-a-gym-membership/
It is definitely possible to bulk up without adding fat.
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