Jimmy Clausen enters NFL Draft

To the surprise of no one, Notre Dame junior quarterback Jimmy Clausen announced today that he will enter the 2010 NFL Draft.

“After the season, in talking to my parents and obviously Coach Weis, I just feel it’s the right time,” Clausen told ESPN.com on Monday before a scheduled 2 p.m. ET news conference in South Bend. “Coach Weis told me whether he was going to be here or not be here, it was time for me to go. He thought I’ve improved so much since I came to Notre Dame. So, I’m taking his advice, and I’m going to head out.”

Clausen had a sparkling season for the Fighting Irish. He completed 68 percent of his passes for 3,722 yards, 28 touchdowns and only four interceptions. Even more remarkably, three of the picks were on tipped passes.

At 6-foot-3 and 225 pounds, Clausen has a solid NFL frame. The only catch there is that he’s already bulked up 35 pounds since high school and adding more weight might be difficult.

Coming from the Charlie Weis pro-style offense, Clausen should enter the NFL a step ahead of other quarterbacks coming from a spread offense. Clausen’s mechanics are sound and his arm strength can make just about any throw.
He even showed plenty of grit as a junior, playing through a foot injury that required him to wear a plate in his shoe during games. Clausen emerged as a leader early in his career, a trait that will make him even more enticing for general managers.

Clausen’s 2009 season was consistently spectacular all year. He only threw for less than 200 yards in one game and never completed less than 55 percent of his passes in a contest. He finished second in the nation in quarterback rating at 161.4.
Clausen also had the good fortune as a junior to be surrounded by perhaps the best receiving corps in college football. Wide outs Michael Floyd and Golden Tate, as well as tight end Kyle Rudolph, might all be first-round draft choices. Floyd and Rudolph, sophomores, can’t enter the draft until 2011. Tate hasn’t made his NFL intentions known.

Stay tuned: We’ll have a full scouting report on Clausen this evening.