positives:
good footwork
polished on various handoffs (inside,outside,quick pitch,stretch)
comfortable under center and in shotgun
solid pocket awareness but not great
good field vision
good accuracy
quick delivery
good air under ball on deep throws
snappy deliver on short throws
good touch, doesn't usually overthrow on short stuff
good mobility but not a runner
shows the ability to improvise and not be stupid
good handle on reading defense and adjusting
understand line protection calls a definite plus
comfortable and polish in pro style offense and QB demands
no sign of arrogance or attitude on the field during games ... team mates
seem to react positively to him
(after a play saw Clausen run over and get helmet for team mate after it popped off during running play)
also another plus is that not only did his college run a pro style offense but they had a balanced offense who used the wildcat some. So Clausen doesn't have to throw the ball every down to stay in the flow of the game. He can hand it off 4 times straight and still turn around and throw a quality pass on the next play. Not all QB's can do that.
questions:
average arm strength
lack of superior arm strength leads him to "wind up" to get extra strength behind some of the harder throws
sometimes doesn't look backside outlet and will miss open RB/TE
when pressured sometimes Clausen will panic and miss the open receiver(must improve on this!)
overall
very polished and will be ready to start in NFL fairly quickly ... no more than 1-year leadup
worry about lack of overall upside because of arm strength that leads to slowed delivery. Short throws are fine, long throws with air underneath are fine but hard throws that go across field or in the 15-20 yard range could be a problem.
slowed delivery because of average arm strength could lead to turnovers and the inability to make the elite level QB throws
Stats
| 2009 STATS | | RATING | YARDS | TOUCHDOWNS | | 161.43 | 3,722 | 28 |
| | CAREER STATS | | YARDS | TOUCHDOWNS | | 8,148 | 60 |
|
ProfileStatsGame Log
| Stats Overview | Passing |
| YEAR | CMP | ATT | YDS | CMP% | YPA | LNG | TD | INT | SACK | RAT |
| 2007 | 138 | 245 | 1254 | 56.3 | 5.12 | 44 | 7 | 6 | 35 | 103.85 |
| 2008 | 268 | 440 | 3172 | 60.9 | 7.21 | 69 | 25 | 17 | 21 | 132.49 |
| 2009 | 289 | 425 | 3722 | 68.0 | 8.76 | 88 | 28 | 4 | 24 | 161.43 |
| 2009 Regular Season Game Log | Passing | Rushing |
| DATE | OPP | RESULT | CMP | ATT | YDS | CMP% | LNG | TD | INT | RAT | ATT | YDS | AVG | LNG | TD |
| 9/5 | Nevada | W 35-0 | 15 | 18 | 315 | 83.3 | 88 | 4 | 0 | 303.67 | 2 | 1 | 0.5 | 7 | 0 |
| 9/12 | @Michigan | L 38-34 | 25 | 42 | 336 | 59.5 | 37 | 3 | 0 | 150.30 | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 |
| 9/19 | Michigan State | W 33-30 | 22 | 31 | 300 | 71.0 | 54 | 2 | 0 | 173.55 | 7 | -1 | -0.1 | 9 | 0 |
| 9/26 | @Purdue | W 24-21 | 15 | 26 | 171 | 57.7 | 23 | 1 | 1 | 117.94 | 4 | -13 | -3.3 | 1 | 0 |
| 10/3 | Washington | W 37-30 | 23 | 31 | 422 | 74.2 | 77 | 2 | 1 | 203.38 | 8 | -32 | -4.0 | 6 | 0 |
| 10/17 | USC | L 34-27 | 24 | 43 | 260 | 55.8 | 45 | 2 | 0 | 121.96 | 9 | -4 | -0.4 | 11 | 1 |
| 10/24 | Boston College | W 20-16 | 26 | 39 | 246 | 66.7 | 36 | 2 | 0 | 136.58 | 6 | 1 | 0.2 | 6 | 0 |
| 10/31 | Washington State | W 40-14 | 22 | 27 | 268 | 81.5 | 50 | 2 | 0 | 189.30 | 2 | -9 | -4.5 | 0 | 0 |
| 11/7 | Navy | L 23-21 | 37 | 51 | 452 | 72.5 | 31 | 2 | 1 | 156.02 | 5 | -5 | -1.0 | 8 | 0 |
| 11/14 | @Pittsburgh | L 27-22 | 27 | 42 | 283 | 64.3 | 45 | 1 | 1 | 123.98 | 7 | -9 | -1.3 | 8 | 1 |
| 11/21 | Connecticut | L 33-30 | 30 | 45 | 329 | 66.7 | 39 | 2 | 0 | 142.75 | 4 | -9 | -2.3 | 4 | 1 |
| 11/28 | @Stanford | L 45-38 | 23 | 30 | 340 | 76.7 | 78 | 5 | 0 | 226.86 | 3 | -15 | -5.0 | 1 | 0 |