Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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54 APRIL 2025 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED S ometime during Rick Mirer's start‑ ing career at Notre Dame (1990‑92), I became uneasy with having a "Golden Boy" quarterback on the roster. It's nothing personal. In fact, I generally have empathy for him because a) if he's not starting or excelling right away, he's ridiculed as "a bust," b) if he's produc‑ ing laudable numbers but the overall team isn't vying for national title contention, he's "not a winner," or c) if he is winning but not producing gaudy stats, he's told he'd "excel more in a different system." For Mirer, it was the latter two at Notre Dame. Although 28‑7‑l as the starter, he suc‑ ceeded Tony Rice, who was 24‑1 his last two seasons. And while Mirer was an ef‑ ficient quarterback in Lou Holtz's run‑ oriented offense, there was endless chat‑ ter about how his drop‑back skills were wasted, or how he would thrive much more at someplace such as Miami. It was involuntary on Mirer's part, but his pres‑ ence often overshadowed the overall pro‑ gram, especially when a color analyst such as Bill Walsh described the sophomore Mirer as college football's best QB prospect since Roger Staubach in the early 1960s. Similar to aspiring supermodels, the higher a Golden Boy QB ascends, the more delight there is to expose any flaws. The same month the Mirer era was com‑ pleted at Notre Dame, Ron Powlus hopped aboard. His college football debut in Sep‑ tember 1994 was trumpeted as akin to Lew Alcindor's (later Kareem Abdul‑Jabbar) college basketball introduction at UCLA in 1966. Thirteen years later, the Alcindor‑ Powlus connection has been substituted with Jimmy Clausen heralded as the high‑ school football version of LeBron James. Powlus had a more than respectable college career, the type 99 percent of high school athletes wouldn't mind living. Yet, the parameters of success defined on the outside have made Powlus a recycled story every February by columnists who point to him as an example of the folly that comes with recruiting hyperbole. Have you ever noticed how the more magical and "fun" seasons at Notre Dame occur when an unproven, non‑ NFL‑type or nascent quarterback, through superior coaching and a hun‑ gry, talented supporting cast flourishes? John Huarte had totaled only 50 min‑ utes in his career prior to his senior year in 1964, but won the Heisman Trophy. In 1966, Coley O'Brien led the Irish to a na‑ tional title. Joe Theismann was an after‑ thought as a 1967 recruit. Tom Clements was not coveted by the NFL, which didn't draft him even though it had 17 rounds and 442 picks back in 1975, but he epito‑ mized a classic college quarterback while propelling the 1973 national title run. Joe Montana was fourth team as a freshman — and that was just on the ju‑ nior varsity. He completed 42.4 percent of his passes as a sophomore, sat out his junior year with a dislocated shoulder and was third team as a senior … yet ral‑ lied the Irish to a national title. We received endless letters or recom‑ mendations prior to the 1988 season that Tony Rice should be shifted to receiver, running back or defensive back. He was deemed an incompetent passer (42.7 per‑ cent in 1987), while Golden Boy recruit Kent Graham languished on the bench. Yet Holtz hit the mother lode with Rice. When Powlus broke his collarbone one week before the 1993 opener, Notre Dame Nation lamented a season's pre‑ mature death. Instead, the ultra‑unher‑ alded senior Kevin McDougal, Mirer's backup for three seasons, became Notre Dame's career pass‑efficiency king. "Fun" campaigns also occurred under Jarious Jackson (1998) and Matt LoVec‑ chio (2000), both of whom engineered surprising 9‑2 regular‑season finishes as first‑time starters with much to prove. The same with Brady Quinn in 2005, who blossomed under the tute‑ lage of new head coach Charlie Weis. Anytime someone informs you that he will tell you the world's funniest joke, give you a sample of the world's great‑ est pizza, or introduce you to the most beautiful woman, chances are you will feel a letdown. Same in football and quarterback expectations. Now, the pendulum swings back to more modest aspirations in 2007 (at least on the outside), despite the presence of Clausen. Yet the prevalence of youth and the unknown also arouses the curiosity and, potentially, fun factors in 2007. I cringed last April when Clausen talked about winning four national titles, be‑ cause that inevitably will be used against him in the future by those aching to knock a Golden Boy off the pedestal. Generally, a Golden Boy QB can be more appreciated at places where football is overshadowed, i.e., Stanford (John Elway), Kentucky (Tim Couch) or Louisville (Brian Brohm). Then again, a Vince Young went the classic route: redshirted/learning as a freshman, finding a niche as a sopho‑ more, blossoming as a junior and peak‑ ing as a senior. If Clausen can follow the same path, sign me up — even if three titles short of his aspiration. Clausen is the prime figure in the 2007 Notre Dame QB derby … but maybe De‑ metrius Jones is the ideal dual‑threat col‑ lege quarterback, such as a Clements in the 1970s or a Young recently … or maybe Zach Frazer or Evan Sharpley can emerge from nowhere a la O'Brien or McDougal. All are at a point in their careers where they can become pleasant surprises. The tough part comes after they've pro‑ duced results over the course of a sea‑ son. That's part of what can potentially bring intrigue, and maybe even some fun, into the 2007 campaign. ✦ BEST OF THE FIFTH QUARTER ✦ LOU SOMOGYI ✦ APRIL 2007 Gold Standard Not Always Based On Glitter EDITOR'S NOTE: The late, great Lou Somogyi possessed an unmatched knowledge of Notre Dame football, and it was his mission in life to share it with others. Those of us at Blue & Gold Illustrated would like to continue to provide his wis- dom and unique perspective from his more than 37 years covering the Fighting Irish for this publication. Jimmy Clausen was heralded as the high-school football version of NBA superstar LeBron James when he arrived at Notre Dame in 2007. PHOTO BY JOE RAYMOND