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Clausen doesn't wow at Pro Day Story Highlights
Jimmy Clausen displayed good velocity, but timing was sometimes off
Overall pace of Clausen's workout wasn't as fast as Sam Bradford's
More pro-day workout updates from Illinois and Florida
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Jimmy Clausen threw more than 50 passes for NFL scouts Friday in South Bend.
AP
Jimmy Clausen's Friday workout for half the league's franchises was solid but it's unlikely scouts came away from Notre Dame thinking he had stamped himself as a Top 10 pick.
The scripted workout was run by former NFL offensive coordinator Marc Tresman, now head coach of the Montreal Alouettes, and included more than 50 throws from Clausen. By our count, all but two passes were completed.
Clausen displayed solid velocity and speed on his short and intermediate throws. The ball quickly arrived to receivers and his passes displayed a lot of pop. For the most part he was accurate. Late in the workout he delivered some nice strikes down the field.
Yet while most of Clausen's passes were on the mark, the timing of his throws seemed off at times. His pass placement also was nothing out of the ordinary.
Pass catchers were intermittently extending vertically or reaching backwards to make the grab. On a number of occasions Clausen overshot his downfield targets. This is in stark contrast to the workout turned in by Sam Bradford, when receivers rarely broke stride to make the reception.
Clausen, coming off a toe injury, displayed only average footwork and quickness rolling outside the pocket then throwing on the move.The overall tempo and pace of the workout seemed to be lacking compared to the display scouts saw in Norman, Okla., on March 29.
Clausen will now visit a number of franchises around the league as teams prepare for draft day. As the workout ended one could not help but think the Washington Commanders made the proper choice by trading for Donovan McNabb rather than potentially using the fourth pick of the draft to acquire Clausen.
• Jon Asamoah
After suffering a hairline fracture in his shoulder blade at the Senior Bowl, Illinois guard Jon Asamoah worked out for scouts on Thursday and turned in an impressive performance. Two dozen teams were on hand, including nine offensive line coaches. Asamoah surprised those in attendance with his athleticism and movement skills.
His 40 was timed as fast as 5.04 seconds while his short shuttle clocked 4.51 seconds. Asamoah's vertical jump was 27-inches and broad jump 8'11''. He completed 22 reps on the bench press, not a great number. Asamoah resumed bench pressing for the first time just last week since initially injuring his shoulder blade.
Later in the workout Asamoah looked terrific in position drills. He'll now battle Mitch Petrus of Arkansas to be the second guard off the board in two weeks.
• Florida
Twenty teams were on hand in Gainesville Wednesday as Jermaine Cunningham, who did not work out at the combine or the Gators first pro-day, took to the field.
Cunningham weighed in at 268, posted a vertical jump of 35-inches and broad of 9' 10.5'', both terrific marks. Cunningham pulled his quad running the 40 and struggled to break 4.9 seconds.
He was timed at 1.57-seconds over the first 10 yards, startlingly fast. By comparison, Sean Weatherspoon's fastest 10-time at the combine was 1.60 seconds while Daryl Washington's was 1.57 seconds.
Several NFL teams that run 3-4 defenses sent position coaches to watch Cunningham, who projects at both defensive end and outside linebacker in the NFL.
Linebacker Brandon Spikes was on hand but did not participate in the workout nor attempt to improve on his dismal 40 time from Florida's pro-day.
Read More: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/football/nfl/04/09/clausen/#ixzz0kdlCWne5
Get a free NFL Team Jacket and Tee with SI Subscription
Notre Dame football: Coach calls Clausen Pro Day ‘brilliant'
By ERIC HANSEN
Tribune Staff Writer
Follow me on Twitter
SOUTH BEND - It wasn't perfection, but it was pretty close - even if one of the most important sets of eyes watching, St. Louis Rams head coach Steve Spagnuolo, postured and cliched his way out of a strong opinion.
Above all, former Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausen showed the NFL scouts, coaches and front office personnel Friday at his private Pro Day audition that his surgically repaired foot was healed enough for him to appear at the top of his game.
“I think he even looked better today than at anytime last season,” gushed former teammate Golden Tate, a first-round NFL Draft hopeful himself and one of four receivers to catch passes Friday at Notre Dame's Loftus center.
It isn't uncommon for such high praise to emanate from these highly scripted quarterback workouts. But given where Clausen has traveled, playing most of the 2009 season with two torn tendons in his right foot then undergoing surgery in early January, his moment in the spotlight took on added importance.
Clausen threw 59 passes to Tate, Robby Parris, David Grimes and running back James Aldridge, 57 of them going for completions. The longest was a spectacular 55-yard throw and catch to Tate.
The only misses were a couple of passes that were too strong for Parris to catch up to. Clausen simulated mostly going under center, but he did throw a couple of times out of the shotgun.
Roughly half of the NFL's 32 teams sent a representative to watch in person. UND.com streamed the workout live to anyone else who was interested.
“It was a brilliant workout,” said Marc Trestman, a longtime NFL assistant coach, now head coach of the Canadian Football League's Montreal Alouettes and the man who helped Clausen script and run Friday's Pro Day.
“He was highly accurate. The guys who worked out for him did a tremendous job. I mean, there were only two balls on the ground and they were legitimately very, very good throws.
“He showed an explosive throwing motion. He made all the throws. I give him a lot of credit. I'm sure he impressed a lot of people today.'
The Rams, who hold the draft's top pick and who are thought to be leaning toward taking Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford, had the largest and most regal of contingents. In addition Spagnuolo, general manager Bill Devaney and offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur made the trip to South Bend.
The seven round draft itself kicks off with the first round April 22. The final six rounds will be spread over April 23 and 24.
Among other notable faces in the media-heavy crowd Friday were Buffalo Bills general manager Buddy Nix, Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator Jeremy Bates - formerly of USC and Minnesota Vikings offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell.
New Kansas City offensive coordinator Charlie Weis, Clausen's head coach at ND, originally was going to run the workout, then simply attend, but some of the parties involved decided that it might turn out to be too much of a distraction.
A handful of current Irish players - including backup QB Nate Montana, linebacker Manti Te'o and tight end Kyle Rudolph looked on.
“I haven't thrown a ball in front of anybody since the Stanford game (on Nov. 28),” Clausen said. “I just wanted to go out there and show them that my foot's come along. It's like 75-80 percent right now, but it feels great throwing the ball. I'm not in any pain. Just go out there and have a lot of fun.”
Jimmy Clausen displayed good velocity, but timing was sometimes off
Overall pace of Clausen's workout wasn't as fast as Sam Bradford's
More pro-day workout updates from Illinois and Florida
PRINT EMAIL Buzz up! FACEBOOK DIGG TWITTER RSS SHARE
Jimmy Clausen threw more than 50 passes for NFL scouts Friday in South Bend.
AP
Jimmy Clausen's Friday workout for half the league's franchises was solid but it's unlikely scouts came away from Notre Dame thinking he had stamped himself as a Top 10 pick.
The scripted workout was run by former NFL offensive coordinator Marc Tresman, now head coach of the Montreal Alouettes, and included more than 50 throws from Clausen. By our count, all but two passes were completed.
Clausen displayed solid velocity and speed on his short and intermediate throws. The ball quickly arrived to receivers and his passes displayed a lot of pop. For the most part he was accurate. Late in the workout he delivered some nice strikes down the field.
Yet while most of Clausen's passes were on the mark, the timing of his throws seemed off at times. His pass placement also was nothing out of the ordinary.
Pass catchers were intermittently extending vertically or reaching backwards to make the grab. On a number of occasions Clausen overshot his downfield targets. This is in stark contrast to the workout turned in by Sam Bradford, when receivers rarely broke stride to make the reception.
Clausen, coming off a toe injury, displayed only average footwork and quickness rolling outside the pocket then throwing on the move.The overall tempo and pace of the workout seemed to be lacking compared to the display scouts saw in Norman, Okla., on March 29.
Clausen will now visit a number of franchises around the league as teams prepare for draft day. As the workout ended one could not help but think the Washington Commanders made the proper choice by trading for Donovan McNabb rather than potentially using the fourth pick of the draft to acquire Clausen.
• Jon Asamoah
After suffering a hairline fracture in his shoulder blade at the Senior Bowl, Illinois guard Jon Asamoah worked out for scouts on Thursday and turned in an impressive performance. Two dozen teams were on hand, including nine offensive line coaches. Asamoah surprised those in attendance with his athleticism and movement skills.
His 40 was timed as fast as 5.04 seconds while his short shuttle clocked 4.51 seconds. Asamoah's vertical jump was 27-inches and broad jump 8'11''. He completed 22 reps on the bench press, not a great number. Asamoah resumed bench pressing for the first time just last week since initially injuring his shoulder blade.
Later in the workout Asamoah looked terrific in position drills. He'll now battle Mitch Petrus of Arkansas to be the second guard off the board in two weeks.
• Florida
Twenty teams were on hand in Gainesville Wednesday as Jermaine Cunningham, who did not work out at the combine or the Gators first pro-day, took to the field.
Cunningham weighed in at 268, posted a vertical jump of 35-inches and broad of 9' 10.5'', both terrific marks. Cunningham pulled his quad running the 40 and struggled to break 4.9 seconds.
He was timed at 1.57-seconds over the first 10 yards, startlingly fast. By comparison, Sean Weatherspoon's fastest 10-time at the combine was 1.60 seconds while Daryl Washington's was 1.57 seconds.
Several NFL teams that run 3-4 defenses sent position coaches to watch Cunningham, who projects at both defensive end and outside linebacker in the NFL.
Linebacker Brandon Spikes was on hand but did not participate in the workout nor attempt to improve on his dismal 40 time from Florida's pro-day.
Read More: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/football/nfl/04/09/clausen/#ixzz0kdlCWne5
Get a free NFL Team Jacket and Tee with SI Subscription
Notre Dame football: Coach calls Clausen Pro Day ‘brilliant'
By ERIC HANSEN
Tribune Staff Writer
Follow me on Twitter
SOUTH BEND - It wasn't perfection, but it was pretty close - even if one of the most important sets of eyes watching, St. Louis Rams head coach Steve Spagnuolo, postured and cliched his way out of a strong opinion.
Above all, former Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausen showed the NFL scouts, coaches and front office personnel Friday at his private Pro Day audition that his surgically repaired foot was healed enough for him to appear at the top of his game.
“I think he even looked better today than at anytime last season,” gushed former teammate Golden Tate, a first-round NFL Draft hopeful himself and one of four receivers to catch passes Friday at Notre Dame's Loftus center.
It isn't uncommon for such high praise to emanate from these highly scripted quarterback workouts. But given where Clausen has traveled, playing most of the 2009 season with two torn tendons in his right foot then undergoing surgery in early January, his moment in the spotlight took on added importance.
Clausen threw 59 passes to Tate, Robby Parris, David Grimes and running back James Aldridge, 57 of them going for completions. The longest was a spectacular 55-yard throw and catch to Tate.
The only misses were a couple of passes that were too strong for Parris to catch up to. Clausen simulated mostly going under center, but he did throw a couple of times out of the shotgun.
Roughly half of the NFL's 32 teams sent a representative to watch in person. UND.com streamed the workout live to anyone else who was interested.
“It was a brilliant workout,” said Marc Trestman, a longtime NFL assistant coach, now head coach of the Canadian Football League's Montreal Alouettes and the man who helped Clausen script and run Friday's Pro Day.
“He was highly accurate. The guys who worked out for him did a tremendous job. I mean, there were only two balls on the ground and they were legitimately very, very good throws.
“He showed an explosive throwing motion. He made all the throws. I give him a lot of credit. I'm sure he impressed a lot of people today.'
The Rams, who hold the draft's top pick and who are thought to be leaning toward taking Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford, had the largest and most regal of contingents. In addition Spagnuolo, general manager Bill Devaney and offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur made the trip to South Bend.
The seven round draft itself kicks off with the first round April 22. The final six rounds will be spread over April 23 and 24.
Among other notable faces in the media-heavy crowd Friday were Buffalo Bills general manager Buddy Nix, Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator Jeremy Bates - formerly of USC and Minnesota Vikings offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell.
New Kansas City offensive coordinator Charlie Weis, Clausen's head coach at ND, originally was going to run the workout, then simply attend, but some of the parties involved decided that it might turn out to be too much of a distraction.
A handful of current Irish players - including backup QB Nate Montana, linebacker Manti Te'o and tight end Kyle Rudolph looked on.
“I haven't thrown a ball in front of anybody since the Stanford game (on Nov. 28),” Clausen said. “I just wanted to go out there and show them that my foot's come along. It's like 75-80 percent right now, but it feels great throwing the ball. I'm not in any pain. Just go out there and have a lot of fun.”
DAL @ GB
