[Ralphy Boy]

Originally Posted by Tribal Warfare

I agree if their is dissension amongst the ranks, I'd definitely pull the trigger. The kid has what it takes, Clausen has a solid physical skill set, leadership intangibles, and is very accurate.

Uh, did you read this?

I grew up in Ojai, California, just up the highway from Clausen's high school alma mater of Oaks Christian in Thousand Oaks, California.

Clausen had a storied high-school career and that's putting it lightly.

He was 42-0 as a prep starter. He led Oaks Christian to their first-ever state title. He threw for 48 touchdowns his senior year. He was USA Today's Offensive Player of the Year.

He was the Golden Boy that everyone wanted.

But ask any parent, student, player, or coach who played with or against Jimmy Clausen, and you'll probably hear the same thing.

Arrogant jerk.

His reputation was awful at any school he played against. He quite simply thought he was better than everyone else and showed it.

He was the beneficiary of a great offensive line and a superb running back named Marc Taylor, who was also rated USA Today's top schoolboy running back.

There were entire games he never got pressured.

Then, there were the whispers that he was just like his father—a Todd Marinovich-fatherly-type who lived and breathed for his son's football career. He had Jimmy under the tutelage of Steve Clarkston, the celebrated "Quarterback Whisperer"—a private coach for parents who can afford to give their kid the best that money can buy.

He was a true freshman starter at Notre Dame.

His first two seasons at Notre Dame were, in truth, fairly mediocre. The Notre Dame teams were awful.

His junior season he finally delivered on his earlier promise. He finished the season with 3,722 yards passing, a 68.8 percent completion rate, 161.42 passer rating, 28 touchdowns, and four interceptions. Notre Dame finished 7-6 his final year.

Look closer at a lot of his games. He made an amazing amount of miscues to lose games in the final minutes, as opposed to say, Joe Montana, who seemed to shine in the fourth quarter.

His record was a pedestrian 16-18 as a starter.

I don't think that was an accident.

From before he stepped onto the field, he rubbed many people, and teammates, the wrong way, from his mega press conference as a high school senior, to his arriving at Notre Dame in a stretch Hummer, to his reputation as a cocky and brash jock.

I'm not sure that inspires anyone within a locker room.

Even his post-game interviews seemed to suggest that it was everyone else who was responsible for Notre Dame's losing ways.

After a close loss to Navy, he was quoted as saying, "Well, I did everything I had to do to win the game."

In other words, my teammates are a bunch of losers.

Ask anyone in San Diego and they'll probably say that Ryan Leaf had all the ability in the world.

It was his attitude that did him in.

Same thing with Jimmy Clausen.

If I were the General Manager of an NFL team, I would avoid Jimmy Clausen like the plague. Never mind a first-round pick; I wouldn't waste a seventh-rounder on the guy.

In fact, I'd make sure he was as far away from my locker room as humanly possible.