Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/878660
www.BLUEANDGOLD.com OCT. 2, 2017 9 UNDER THE DOME JOE THEISMANN (1969) As a junior with previous starting experience, the future NFL MVP, Su- per Bowl champ and College Foot- ball Hall of Fame member opened the season by connecting on 6 of 12 throws with three interceptions and one touchdown in a win over North- western. A week later at Purdue he strug- gled even more while going 14-of-26 passing for 153 yards in a 28-14 loss. Theismann threw a school-record 18 interceptions in only 219 attempts as a junior. For perspective, consider that in 2006 senior Brady Quinn (more on him later) went 226 straight throws without a pick. In the season review in the student magazine Scholastic, the assessment for the 1970 season was "don't be surprised if No. 7 (Theismann) isn't the starter," especially because a freshman named Jim Bulger was re- portedly impressing in the practices. TOM CLEMENTS (1972) Like Theismann, he debuted with an inauspicious start, completing 4 of 11 passes for 42 yards with two inter- ceptions in the opener, and then in his next road game (at Michigan State) finished only 9-of-18 passing for 82 yards with another interception. In a home defeat to Missouri — which lost 62-0 the previous week to Nebraska — Clements connected on 7 of 17 tosses with two interceptions. The season concluded with a 40-6 loss to the Cornhuskers in the Orange Bowl in which the now more seasoned QB was 9-of-22 passing for 103 yards with three more interceptions. Somehow the Irish won the na- tional title the next season with Cle- ments leading the way. JOE MONTANA (1975 AND 1977) His first two starts as a 1975 soph- omore resulted in home losses in which he was 5-of-16 passing with three interceptions, and he led only one touchdown drive. That year he completed 42.4 percent of his passes — and an astounding eight of his 66 attempts were picked off. After sitting out 1976 because of a separated shoulder, Montana's first start in 1977 resulted in him complet- ing 8 of 23 throws with three inter- ceptions in a 16-6 win at home versus Michigan State. A week later against Army, he was 7-of-17 passing with two more interceptions. Good thing they stuck with him even though he was off rhythm at first. TONY RICE (1988) As a sophomore a year ear- lier while making six starts, Rice's completion percentage (42.7) was nearly identical to Montana's in his first year — and then in the first two games of 1988 he connected on 5 of 21 throws (23.8 percent) while also leading only one touchdown drive. Good thing Lou Holtz didn't have the quick hook, because during the final 10 games Rice's pass efficiency rating became one of the best in school history, including a phenom- enal 10.0 yards per attempt. BRADY QUINN (2003-04) Now holding most of Notre Dame's career passing marks, the future first-round pick barely com- pleted 50 percent of his tosses his first two seasons of action while post- ing poor passing efficiency ratings, including 6.4 yards per attempt and 25 interceptions. After the initial paying-one's-du- ties process, he became one of the more celebrated QBs in the college game with back-to-back top-five fin- ishes in the Heisman balloting. JIMMY CLAUSEN (2007-08) The deadliest accurate quarterback I've seen in 46 years of following the Irish, Clausen's freshman campaign (3-9) probably should not even be in- cluded because of the dumpster fire the entire operation was that season. However, even as a sophomore in 2008 — and despite nine starts as a freshman — Clausen was a work in progress while tying Theismann's 18-interception total in a season. The Irish lost his first road start that year, 23-7 at Michigan State. In his next road start, at North Carolina, Clausen started sharp, but when the Tar Heels adjusted in the second half and dropped seven defenders into coverage, he was flummoxed (his first throw in the second half was a pick-six that helped result in the loss). Later in a 17-0 loss at Boston Col- lege during a 6-6 regular season, he was 26-of-46 passing for only 226 yards (5.0 yards per attempt) with four more interceptions. Yes, this tends to be a pattern with quarterbacks going through devel- opment as starters, and Wimbush is no different. Whether he will reach the same level as the others is to be determined, but history shows that to make rash judgments on any new quarterback learning the starting ropes is premature. "He willed himself into finding a way to be successful [at Boston Col- lege]," Kelly said. "He's got that kind of will and want and desire to win. I love coaching a guy like that. "If teams are feeling as though playing man-to-man and turning their back on the quarterback is the way they want to defend us, he's go- ing to run a lot. … Having said that, if we see more zone coverages, he's going to have to be able to throw the football, too. We've got to continue to grow as an offense in both those phases." Growth and patience are always part of "The Process." ✦ Brady Quinn barely completed 50 percent of his tosses and averaged only 6.4 yards per attempt while throwing 25 interceptions in his first two seasons, but he went on to garner a pair of top- five finishes in the Heisman Trophy balloting his final two years. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME MEDIA RELATIONS