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SCOUT'S TAKE

Pros: Clausen has an NFL arm and throws one of the prettiest deep balls of any quarterback in the nation. Just as impressive has been his toughness fighting through turf toe and a bruised hand, not to mention his clutch play in the fourth quarter. Many of Notre Dame’s wins have been of the come from behind variety.

Cons: He doesn’t always use the whole field and many of his numbers come courtesy of acrobatic catches made by his talented wide outs.

Skinny: Coaches will surely take note of his ability to make plays in pressure situations, as well as at less than 100 percent. Even so, the signal caller is not quite a finished product. Clausen will have to make a decision at the end of the season, he could be a top 10 overall pick should he declare.

NEWS

02.28.10 - We all know Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausen played through a painful toe injury last fall. Now we find out just how painful. Hurt in the third game, Clausen played the remainder of the season with what Notre Dame officials mistakenly called turf toe -- but what Clausen later discovered was two torn ligaments in the big toe on his right foot. Painful? You bet. In fact, Clausen had to take painkillers for every practice and had his practice time reduced to one day per week. Still, he finished with 28 touchdown passes and four interceptions and emerged as one of the top two quarterbacks in this year's draft. – CBS

02.04.10 - Clausen has a reputation for being brash and cocky. For example, he arrived at the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend in April 2006 in a Hummer stretch limousine to make his oral commitment to Notre Dame and predict he'd help the Fighting Irish win four national titles.  He had a below .500 winning percentage at Notre Dame because he was operating behind a less-than-stellar offensive line and the team's defense wasn't nearly as strong as the team's offense. No QB in this draft — and many current NFL QBs — can match his arm strength and accuracy. Clausen played in a pro-style offense at Notre Dame under Charlie Weis. – Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

01.10.10 - Renowned quarterback guru Steve Clarkson weighed in on Jimmy Clausen. As the player’s personal position coach, Clarkson acted as Yoda to Clausen’s Luke Skywalker during the quarterback’s development from kid-with-a-dream to high school wunderkind at Oaks Christian to three-year starter at Notre Dame. “From the moment he decided to attend Notre Dame, he’s been under scrutiny and the bright lights and he’s handled it all perfectly,” said Clarkson. “I don’t know of any college quarterback who has ever been under more pressure than he has, but he has proven that he’s a great quarterback. He played under the ideal coach (Charlie Weis). I know he’s ready to play at the next level.” He underwent surgery last week to repair torn ligaments in his right toe, and will be unable to work out for league coaches and talent evaluators until March. As it turns out, Clausen played his final 10 games for the Irish with the serious injury. – Ventura County Star

01.04.10 - Injury could be big setback for ClausenApparently, Jimmy Clausen's turf toe in 2009 was more like torn-ligament toe, and as a result the former Notre Dame quarterback reportedly won't throw for NFL teams until early April. The Clausen camp told ESPN.com's Tom Friend that Clausen will have surgery Tuesday morning to repair the damage, and that will sideline him two to three months. Clausen first injured the foot Sept. 19 against Michigan State, and it was classified as "turf toe" by since-fired Irish coach Charlie Weis for the duration of the season. Clausen, who opted to skip his senior season at Notre Dame, is considered likely to be a first-round pick in the upcoming draft, though his slotting varies with each projection. – Chicago Tribune

12.07.09 - After careful consideration from former Notre Dame head coach Charlie Weiss, quarterback Jimmy Clausen has decided to forego his senior season and declare for the 2010 NFL Draft, according to ESPN. Clausen is a first round pick according to the NFL Draft Bible and carries a higher grade than any player at his position in the senior draft class.

11.26.09 - Notre Dame QB Jimmy Clausen will skip his senior season and enter the NFL draft in April. This report comes a day after news broke that the Clausen family has sold its South Bend home, a sign that Jimmy planned to leave Notre Dame after this season. The Redskins have already sent scouts to South Bend to take a look at Clausen. Drafting a QB with their first round pick despite glaring needs on the offensive line and at running back is exactly the type of bone-headed move we've come to love from Dan Snyder & Co. - ESPN

11.12.09 - So far, Notre Dame head coach Charlie Weis describes Clausen's defining moment as this season's 24-21 victory over Purdue. Clausen had to leave that game because he was hobbled by turf toe, but returned with the game on the line. On Notre Dame's final drive, he completed 6 of 9 passes for 69 yards, capping the drive with a 2-yard touchdown pass to Kyle Rudolph with 24.8 seconds to play. "Until that game, the only question marks you could have with this kid were: Could he run that 2-minute drive at the end of the game to win? And did he have that all-day toughness that most of the great ones have?" Weis said. "In that game against Purdue, those two things both matriculated. I think he showed toughness and showed that he could have that great drive to win a game at the end of the game."

11.10.09 - Clausen is putting together quite a statistical junior season—well on pace to career highs in yards (3,693), touchdown passes (27) and completion percentage (67.9 percent). Even more impressive is his three interceptions (on pace for four) after he threw the ball to the other team 17 times as a sophomore. Quarterback Jimmy Clausen throwing to wide outs Michael Floyd and Golden Tate make Notre Dame one of the most feared teams in the nation when they take to the air.

11.05.09 - Clausen continues to be one of the most impressive quarterbacks in college football. He has led his team to multiple fourth-quarter-comeback victories while battling a season-long case of turf toe. Clausen is very accurate, completing 66.9 percent of his passes against just two interceptions. He is second in the nation in passing efficiency and eighth in passing yards per game. Clausen needs another great performance against Navy this week to hold on to the top spot.