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04-22-2006, 03:29 PM
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#1 | ||
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College Starter
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Toronto
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Jimmy Clausen is IRISH!!!!
Irish eyes attract Clausen to South Bend
By Tom Friend ESPN The Magazine Last fall, on the first day Jimmy Clausen was allowed to be recruited face-to-face by a college football coach, he was sitting in his high school English class. And got a tap on the shoulder. "Come downstairs," he was told. "Coach Weis is here." That's when the romance escalated between Notre Dame and the No. 1 quarterback in the nation. While other coaches were recruiting the Class of 2006 that day, Irish head coach Charlie Weis -- at 8 a.m. on a weekday -- was staking out the jewel of 2007. "Charlie could have visited any high school senior in the country that morning, but he went to see a high school junior," said a source close to the recruitment. "That left an impression on Jimmy." The reward came Saturday. Clausen, now a high school senior-to-be and the most acclaimed California prep quarterback since John Elway, verbally committed to the Fighting Irish during a news conference at the College Football Hall of Fame. He chose Notre Dame over USC, so he could be mentored by the QB guru Weis. Clausen is the front-runner to replace Heisman candidate Brady Quinn as the Irish starter in 2007. "The deciding factor on this whole thing was Coach Weis," Clausen told ESPN prior to his news conference. "If you look at what he's done with all the guys he's coached, like Tom Brady, and what he's doing right now with Brady Quinn in one year, it's pretty special ... I'll never forget that day he showed up at school. I didn't know he was coming. School starts at 7:45, and right at 8 o'clock, he was in my coach's office, waiting to see me, and even though I wasn't allowed to speak to him, I thought that was really special, because he was the first guy there." Clausen, 6-foot-3, 207-pounds, has thrown 88 touchdowns and only l1 interceptions in his past two seasons at Oaks Christian School in Westlake Village, Calif., his team averaging 53 points a game. He is 27-0 as a starter, has completed 68 percent of his passes over the last two years and has thrown for 7,234 career yards. He is the younger brother of recent Tennessee quarterbacks Casey and Rick Clausen, although both say their kid brother is more accurate, more unflappable and more polished. "He's better than both of us right now," Rick Clausen said. Clausen, a 3.3 student who has taken courses at Ventura (Calif.) Junior College so he can graduate early from high school, will enroll at Notre Dame this coming January and will be eligible for next year's spring practices. He has been working out four days a week with a strength coach, has put on 20 pounds over the last four months and says he is committing early to the Irish so he can lure other premier recruits to South Bend. Three of the top wideouts from the Class of 2007, Arrelious Benn of Washington D.C., Duval Kamara of Hoboken, N.J. and Deonte Thompson of Belle Glade, Fla., are on the Notre Dame campus Saturday, for the Irish spring game, and Clausen will ask them, and others, to join him. Also on hand Saturday will be Clausen's high school teammate, Marc Tyler, who gained 2,196 yards and scored 39 touchdowns last season. He is the son of former Rams halfback Wendell Tyler. Weis, the former Patriots offensive coordinator, first saw film of Clausen last summer as a sophomore, and quickly made him his No. 1 recruiting priority. The Clausen family then took an unofficial visit to South Bend. According to Jimmy, Weis assured him he was the only QB he'd recruit from the Class of 2007. "The first time I met him, he was real straight-forward with me, and that's the one thing I love about coach Weis," Clausen said. "He's going to tell you what's on his mind, whether you want to hear it or don't want to hear it. That's the thing I like. "We went down to Notre Dame that day, and told me I was his guy, and he was going to recruit me during the whole process. And that's pretty much what happened. He said I was his guy from Day 1. He stuck to his word, showed up at my high school and I was the only guy he offered. That was pretty special, too." Weis' loyalty to Clausen was severely tested last December. Mitch Mustain, the No. 1 QB prospect from the class of 2006, de-committed from Arkansas, re-opened his recruitment and asked Weis to take him. But Weis refused, saving the spot for Clausen. "Again, he stuck to his word," Clausen said. "He didn't go with Mitch Mustain because I was his guy and he wanted me." Weis had previously signed two other QBs from the Class of 2006 -- Zach Frazer of Pennsylvania and Demetrius Jones from Chicago -- but they were mostly insurance in case Clausen chose USC. And, for a spell, the Trojans appeared to be at the top of Clausen's list. He and the USC quarterback Matt Leinart had each grown up with the same quarterback coach, Steve Clarkson, and the Trojan QB coach, Steve Sarkisian, was a longtime acquaintance. When Clausen attended the USC-Notre Dame game in South Bend last fall -- the instant classic decided on Leinart's impromptu QB sneak -- he admits he left the stadium imagining playing against Notre Dame someday. USC intrigued Clausen at the time because of their overall talent level, and Clausen admits he was uncertain whether Weis could recruit similar athletes to Notre Dame. But, later, the Irish landed two mammoth offensive linemen, 6-foot-8, 305-pound Sam Young of Fort Lauderdale and 6-foot-5, 360-pound Chris Stewart of Klein, Texas. Those kind of recruiting coups eased his concerns. "That's one thing that I was worried about, 'Can they recruit guys in?' '' Clausen said. "And coach Weis just said, 'I can get guys in.' And, again, I'm trusting him that he's going to stick to his word. He stuck to his word with me the whole time, so I think he'll do the same for that. I want to play with the best athletes, and that's just what I want to do. SC has the best athletes right now in college football, and I want that to change, and I think I'm starting to change that by committing to Notre Dame." USC recruited Clausen feverishly until the end. He had visited with head coach Pete Carroll as recently as Wednesday, and Leinart called his cell phone, too, but he never wavered. Some of Clausen's critics at USC suspect Clausen chose Notre Dame because the Irish starting QB job will be vacant in 2007, and USC's won't. Highly touted Mark Sanchez is expected to take over for Leinart this coming season. "That's not a factor at all," Clausen said. "Most people are probably going to think that's a factor, but it's not. I'm the kind of guy who likes to compete, and that's what I'm all about, is competing and getting better and stuff like that. ... So, if Mark Sanchez does play this year and that's the place I wanted to go, I'd go there." Instead, he insists he made an unemotional "business decision" to attend Notre Dame based on Weis' pedigree. Current Patriots QB Tom Brady has spoken with Clausen, assuring him he won't find a more superior tutor, and Clausen agrees no one can groom him for the NFL like Weis can. "Yeah, this is a business decision," Clausen said. "My two older brothers did this, and their dreams were to get to the NFL, and their dreams pretty much got shattered. And I think that's what's making me work so hard is to get there, because they didn't get the chance, or opportunity to. I think that's what drives me the most. The NFL is what I want to do, that's how I want to make a living, and after seeing my brothers not get to the NFL, every time I want to stop lifting a weight, it just makes me keep lifting. It drives me a lot. "If you want to go to the NFL, you've got to want to work. You want to be the best you can be. And that's what I'm striving for. I guess I'm the No. 1 player in the nation this year, and I hope to stay that way, and I'm going to keep working as hard as I can to keep that stature. And once I get into college, I want to be the No. 1 player in college. And hopefully I can get to the next level and become the No. 1 player there. "And part of getting there is choosing coach Weis. Honestly, I think it pretty much just just came down to coach Weis for me. Any high school quarterback would want to play for coach. There's something about him. He's from New Jersey, so he's got a little swagger to him. Kind of like me." here is the rivals story on the commitment
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FOOL- Toronto Marlboros FOOL Classic Champions 2073, 2078, 2079, 2114, 2116, 2117, 2129, 2152, 2155, 2169, 2192 46 35 FOOL H- New York Giants World Champions 1914, 1928 BBCF: Notre Dame TML |
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04-22-2006, 03:44 PM
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#2 |
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Pro Starter
Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: Burke, VA
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Yay - he's the next Ron Pawlus. w00t
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04-22-2006, 04:50 PM
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College Starter
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Federal Way, WA
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He is not even a HS senior yet and he is already billed as the favorite to start at QB for ND his freshman year in college? Yea, no pressure there.
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04-22-2006, 04:57 PM
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#5 | |
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Hockey Boy
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Royal Oak, MI
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Quote:
My thoughts exactly.
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Steve Yzerman: 1,755 points in 1,514 regular season games. 185 points in 196 postseason games. A First-Team All-Star, Conn Smythe Trophy winner, Selke Trophy winner, Masterton Trophy winner, member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, Olympic gold medallist, and a three-time Stanley Cup Champion. Longest serving captain of one team in the history of the NHL (19 seasons). |
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04-22-2006, 05:05 PM
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High School Varsity
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Sylvania, Ohio
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04-22-2006, 05:55 PM
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#7 |
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Banned
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Placerville, CA
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This kid will revolutionize the way I don't watch Notre Dame football.
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04-22-2006, 06:15 PM
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#8 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: Whittier
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Supposedlt the best prep QB from California since Elway. I think he'll be fine personally but he's only going to ND because of a kid named Mark Sanchez
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04-22-2006, 06:40 PM
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High School Varsity
Join Date: Dec 2005
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Quote:
 Seriously though I feel Clausen may not be the ''savior'' everyone thinks he will be. I'll predict he will be good, but not great. |
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04-22-2006, 07:04 PM
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#10 | |
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Coordinator
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Scottsdale, Arizona
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Underachievement The tallest blade of grass is the first to be cut by the lawnmower. Despair It's always darkest just before it goes pitch black. Demotivation Sometimes the best solution to morale problems is just to fire all of the unhappy people. http://www.despair.com/viewall.html |
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04-22-2006, 07:37 PM
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#11 | |
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Coordinator
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Concord, MA/UMass
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Quote:
not 1... not 2... but 3 Heismans!!! Seriously, I don't even know if he'll be starting in 2007 - Sharpley, Jones and Frazer are good QB's in their own right and they'll have the advantage of more time in the system. Either way, with Charlie at the helm ND will be at or above USC's level within 3 years. |
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04-22-2006, 08:12 PM
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Bonafide Seminole Fan
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Florida
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Quote:
Exactly. He reminds me of Willie Williams who was older then everyone in his jr. and sr. so he flat out dominated. Yet when he got to college he hasn't made much of an impact at Miami.
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Living in an Oligarchy. |
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04-22-2006, 08:28 PM
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#13 | |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Michigan
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Quote:
Except Willie Williams has the mental capacity of a 5 year old |
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04-22-2006, 08:37 PM
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#14 | |
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College Starter
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: SE
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Quote:
If Clausen is anything like his brothers....good luck. 
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GM RayCo Raiders-est. 2004-2012 Charter member of the IHOF-RayCo GM GM Tennessee Titans PFL 2011-2014 GM Tennessee Titans FOWL 2020-2025 |
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04-22-2006, 08:44 PM
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#15 | |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: Whittier
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Quote:
I dont think he's afraid of competition, I think he wants to start as soon as he can and Notre Dame gets him the most exposure as well. Sanchez is supposedly the real deal but another legacy who was a freshmen too late in life in Josh David Booty, is at SC as well. Besides, Charlie Weis or Tim Sarkisian? |
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04-22-2006, 08:50 PM
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#16 |
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College Starter
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: CT via PA via CA via PA
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Wow, I wonder how Zach feels. I live right near him; he played for a rival HS (I coach HS basketball)...there were rumors that he was reconsidering ND before.
Now, I wonder how this changes things. Penn State is no longer an option, due to them getting Pat Devlin. |
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04-23-2006, 06:35 AM
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#17 | |
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Bonafide Seminole Fan
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Florida
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Quote:
Wrong.
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Living in an Oligarchy. |
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04-23-2006, 07:15 AM
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#18 |
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Coordinator
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Big Ten Country
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So it's okay to drag kids out of class to recruit them? Student athletes, my foot!
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Pride and Prejudice -- an FOF9 Lions dynasty, starting 1966 |
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04-23-2006, 10:04 AM
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#19 |
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College Prospect
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: Austin, Texas
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his videos arent super impressive
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04-23-2006, 10:31 AM
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#20 |
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College Starter
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Toronto
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your a extremly critical bunch
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FOOL- Toronto Marlboros FOOL Classic Champions 2073, 2078, 2079, 2114, 2116, 2117, 2129, 2152, 2155, 2169, 2192 46 35 FOOL H- New York Giants World Champions 1914, 1928 BBCF: Notre Dame TML |
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04-23-2006, 11:15 AM
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#21 | |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: Whittier
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Quote:
Oaks Christian was built as a football school |
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04-23-2006, 09:19 PM
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College Benchwarmer
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Cinn City
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Quote:
Nobody has been annointed. Frazer will get his chace, as will Sharpley, Wolke and Jones. The nice thing is, ND has QB depth for the first time since the early 90's. Someone may very well transfer, but someone else will come in and take their spot. Norm Chow stockpiled blue chip QB's at USC. Now it's time for Charlie to do the same. Personally, I'm rooting for Frazer or Jones to surprise a lot of people. As for the comparisons, Ron Pawlus began his ND career by shattering his collar bone. Then played most of his college career under Bob Davie's coming out of the option era offense. Jim Colleto did bad things to offensive football while at ND. Quick, name three receivers during Pawlus' years as a starter. Needless to say, Clausen(or Jones or Frazer) will play in a much more QB friendly system with much better receivers. Did somebody really make a Mirer comparison and intend it as a joke? NFL or not (he was a ROTY candidate) he was great at Notre Dame. |
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04-23-2006, 10:55 PM
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#23 | |
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Pro Starter
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Dayton, OH
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Let's not forget though, Tennessee is where good QBs go to die. Aside from Manning, what other QB has played better when he left UT than when he started? |
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04-24-2006, 08:14 AM
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FOFC Survivor
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Wentzville, MO
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Quote:
Casey Clausen. If you watched tape at least, you would see Clausen was absolutely horrible his freshman year. At least my his senior year he was a little bit better. In fact, Kelly Washington nearly replaced Clausen during Clausen's soph year when he struggled against Syracuse (I believe that's who we played that year).
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Cheer for a walk on quarterback! Ardent leads the Vols in the dynasty forum. |
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04-24-2006, 08:23 AM
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#25 | |
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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: Behind Enemy Lines in Athens, GA
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Quote:
Tee Martin
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"I lit another cigarette. Unless I specifically inform you to the contrary, I am always lighting another cigarette." - from a novel by Martin Amis |
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04-24-2006, 08:27 AM
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#26 | |
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FOFC Survivor
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Wentzville, MO
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Quote:
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Cheer for a walk on quarterback! Ardent leads the Vols in the dynasty forum. |
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04-27-2006, 08:31 AM
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#27 |
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Coordinator
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: PNW
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He looks like a dork.
http://www.trojanwire.com/football/nice-hair-dork.php |
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04-27-2006, 09:30 AM
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#28 | |
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College Benchwarmer
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: San Diego
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Of course competing with Sanchez just got a whole lot easier following his suspension for sexual assault accusations. |
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04-27-2006, 09:36 AM
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#29 | |
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Coordinator
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: PNW
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Quote:
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04-27-2006, 09:40 AM
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#30 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: Whittier
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He's suspended until further notice, but he isnt missing much right now
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04-27-2006, 09:40 AM
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#31 | |
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College Benchwarmer
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: San Diego
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Quote:
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=2423430 I'm not jumping to any conclusions about the accusations, but for now at least, he's suspended. |
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04-27-2006, 09:43 AM
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#32 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: Whittier
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Most schools will suspend players once an arrest occurs
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04-27-2006, 10:56 AM
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#33 |
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College Prospect
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: Austin, Texas
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i'm glad this got bumped. i watched him a little more closely and i take back what i said
the problem i have with him is that the videos don't really show him in duress, at least the ones i saw. its him sitting back and throwing a good ball to an open reciever. he's also extremely well coached and older than everyone on the field, so i guess i just have to wait and see what he does against other well coached peers granted, he throws a nice pass, but i have a problem calling him the best in the country at this point |
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04-27-2006, 11:08 AM
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#34 |
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High School JV
Join Date: Jun 2005
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Looks like he has all the tools from the videos I've seen of him. If he has a better brain than his brothers, he will be a god to the ND fans. I don't trust his DNA, however.
Last edited by watravaler : 04-27-2006 at 11:08 AM. |
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04-27-2006, 11:09 AM
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#35 | |
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College Starter
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Toronto
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Quote:
I hear what your saying, rankings are rankings, you take them with a grain of salt. If Weiss actually did turn down the Mustain kid, then i think that speaks volumes. I trust Charlie's judgement, and coaching, and i expect Clausen to excel. Im very biased though. Who would you call the best junior in the country right now?
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FOOL- Toronto Marlboros FOOL Classic Champions 2073, 2078, 2079, 2114, 2116, 2117, 2129, 2152, 2155, 2169, 2192 46 35 FOOL H- New York Giants World Champions 1914, 1928 BBCF: Notre Dame TML |
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04-27-2006, 11:31 AM
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#36 | |
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Bonafide Seminole Fan
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Florida
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Quote:
John Brown Marvin Austin Noel Devine Just to name a few
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Living in an Oligarchy. |
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04-27-2006, 01:08 PM
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#37 | |
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College Starter
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Toronto
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Quote:
And would you include Clausen in that group, because the consensus is he is at the top.
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FOOL- Toronto Marlboros FOOL Classic Champions 2073, 2078, 2079, 2114, 2116, 2117, 2129, 2152, 2155, 2169, 2192 46 35 FOOL H- New York Giants World Champions 1914, 1928 BBCF: Notre Dame TML |
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04-27-2006, 03:10 PM
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#38 |
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College Prospect
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: Austin, Texas
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at qb? i have no idea. i've only seen clausen, brantley, mallet, and chiles, who likely won't stay at qb. brantley is my favorite of the group, because he's so freaking accurate, and can throw on the run. but i'd have to plead ignorance on that one
mustain was in the same boat as clausen. sure looked good sitting back and throwing to all those d-1 recievers. but don't be fooled, if you didn't already have frazier and that other guy, mustain would be irish right now instead, but he waited too long and go stuck at arkansas marvin austin is a good pick, out of everyone. but if i had to pick on guy i'd want texas to get, and they did, thankfully, it would be ot tray allen. simply the best ol prospect i've ever seen. he's at a premium position, against great competition, and flat out dominates. he's also extremely nimble for someone his size. i would've traded all 5 of texas' previous ol commitments or him |
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04-27-2006, 03:19 PM
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#39 | |
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College Benchwarmer
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: Lexington, KY
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04-27-2006, 07:26 PM
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#40 | |
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Bonafide Seminole Fan
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Florida
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Quote:
Honestly I think his name is getting him a tiny boost in the rankings. Clausen is a top 5/10 player but I am not sure if he is #1. Just my opinion... Of the QB's I have seen I would rank them 1. Brantley 2. Clausen 3. Mallet 4. Korn 5. Paulus
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Living in an Oligarchy. |
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04-28-2006, 08:33 AM
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#41 | |
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College Starter
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Toronto
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Quote:
Fair enough, all im going on is what i've read, i havent seen video of anyone. US high school football doesnt get much play in Toronto.
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FOOL- Toronto Marlboros FOOL Classic Champions 2073, 2078, 2079, 2114, 2116, 2117, 2129, 2152, 2155, 2169, 2192 46 35 FOOL H- New York Giants World Champions 1914, 1928 BBCF: Notre Dame TML |
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