Jimmy Clausen a Bust after Only Two Years?

Ryan Williams, Domer Sports Report

Notre Dame Football
Editorial

Is Jimmy Clausen a bust or is he a maturing superstar?

I will save my opinion for the comment section and let you, the reader, make the call.

Clausen's sophomore stats looked like this: 268/440 60.9 percent for 3172 yards, 25 TDs, 17 INTs, 132.49 rating.

Let's take a look at the second full season of some of the more high profile QBs of the last five years. And we'll start with a couple Heisman Trophy winners.

We all know of Tim Tebow's accomplishments.

He has been one of the biggest game-changing players at his position. He seems to be able to put his team on his shoulders and will them to victory. (See Tebow's speech after Ole Miss loss last year.)

Tebow's sophomore year was phenomenal. It was his Heisman-winning year. His stats on the year read like a one-man show.

He completed 217 of 317 passes for 3,132 yards. He threw 29 TDs and only six INTs. He also rushed for 833 yards and 22 TDs. This gave him a ridiculous passer rating of 177.8.

How about Matt Leinart? Leinart's third year in the system, but second as a starter, was a National Championship winning year for USC.

It was also Leinart's Heisman Trophy-winning year.

Leinart completed 269 passes out of 412 attempts for 3322 yards. He threw 33 TDs with only six INTs. He had a well above average 156.5 QB rating.

Those two are examples of the best of the best. Now let's take a look at a couple mere mortals.

Mathew Stafford had a very good collegiate career. Good enough to garner the No. 1 overall pick in last year's NFL draft.

Stafford’s sophomore campaign netted him a completion percentage of 55.7 by completing 194 passes out of 348 attempts.

He threw for 2,523 yards with 19 TDs and 10 INTs which netted him a rating of 128.9.

And last but not least, let's compare Notre Dame's own Brady Quinn.

Brady’s sophomore season saw him complete 191 passes out of 353 attempts for 2,586 yards. He had a completion percentage of 54.1 percent.

Quinn threw for 17 TDs and 10 INTs that year, which led to a passer rating of 125.78.

These are strictly individual accomplishments and do not take into account the value of the surrounding team they played on.

Clausen is bested in every category by the two Heisman Trophy winners, but he beat out the other two QBs in every category with the exception of the interceptions.

So I ask you—bust or maturing superstar?