The list of doubters when it comes to Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausen seems to be growing. But ESPN draft guru Mel Kiper isn’t one of them. In fact, he now projects Clausen to the Redskins with the fourth overall pick.
Some draft analysts – notably ESPN’s Todd McShay — also doubt Clausen’s leadership skills, Kiper does not. He likes that Clausen played with two torn ligaments in his toe, among other things. Kiper said he spoke with ex-teammates about Clausen and said he was willing to get in players’ faces to push them, adding that some told him if Notre Dame had more players with his work ethic, they would have won a championship. Others have painted a different picture of Clausen as a teammate. We talked to a former college scout for an NFL team the other day who liked Clausen, but not in the first round.
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And Kiper said North Carolina defensive tackle Marvin Austin called Clausen the best quarterback he faced in his career.
“Jimmy is as competitive as it gets,” Kiper said. “His accuracy is outstanding; his arm strength is good. … To me, there are no questions about his competitiveness and leadership.”
As for picking him, narrowly, over Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford? It didn’t help that Bradford missed most of last season, has not taken snaps from under center and would have been more under duress this season given losses at receiver and the offensive line.
“The issues I have with Sam is that we haven’t seen him in an NFL setting, where there’s pressure and you have to throw into small windows,” Kiper said. “Bradford and Clausen are right there; you just have to decide which one you want.”
