At Notre Dame, Change Is Coming

Exactly one week after the announcement of Charlie Weis' departure comes the second least surprising declaration of all time.

At a 2 p.m. press conference, Notre Dame offensive standouts Jimmy Clausen and Golden Tate declared themselves eligible for the NFL Draft.

The sight of perhaps the nation's most potent QB/WR tandem announcing that they would each give up their senior season to enter the draft could shake most programs to the core, but amid the chaos that is the Notre Dame football program, today's announcement is simply par for the course.

Clausen came to Notre Dame with the subtlety of a hammer blow to the forehead. Arriving in a stretched Hummer Limo at the College Football Hall of Fame, Clausen proudly declared his desire to win four titles for the Irish.

He will leave school after only his third season with no championships and only one bowl appearance on his resume. Still, despite his 16-18 career record as the Irish starting QB, he will be remembered as one of the best ever to don the Blue and Gold.

In his three years at the helm of the Irish, Clausen posted 60 touchdowns and only 27 interceptions. He threw for 8,148 yards, completed 61.7 percent of his passes, and grew into the leader of a very good offense.

In fact, over his tenure at Notre Dame, Clausen played better than the record would indicate. Many times he rallied his team to win, making big plays seem routine.

More than anything he seemed to learn that he needed to be coached. In each of his years with Notre Dame his QB rating improved, along with his completion percentage, yards, touchdowns, and TD-to-INT ratio.

In 2009, Clausen showed that he had matured beyond some of the on-field pitfalls that had cost him dearly in 2008. His coach said that Clausen "didn't miss a read all year." The stats don't argue.

In his junior and final year Clausen completed 68 percent of his passes for 3,722 yards, 28 touchdowns and only 4 interceptions. His stats were the second best of all FBS passers.

Even more remarkable is that of his four interceptions, three bounced off his intended receiver's hands prior to being picked.

In a statement released to the press announcing his departure, Clausen said that he sat down with his family and Coach Weis and discussed his future. Following the meeting, his decision was clear.

"Coach Weis told me whether he was going to be here or not be here, it was time for me to go," Clausen said. "He thought I've improved so much since I came to Notre Dame. So, I'm taking his advice, and I'm going to head out."

Clausen's favorite target over much of the last two years will also be playing on Sundays in 2010.

Golden Tate came to Notre Dame as a player without a position. After not making it as a running back in the spring of 2007, Tate slowly transitioned to wideout.

He had a big year in 2008 making the most of every touch, but exploded in 2009. Scoring in every way short of an interception, Tate was one of college football's most electric players. He ran the wildcat, returned punts, and on occasion threw the ball.

Notre Dame's Mr. Everything's stock will never be higher, and with a new coach and new quarterback next year, there is no reason for Tate to stick around.

The losses of Notre Dame's two most visible players are still only some of the big changes that will take place between now and kickoff next September.

Biggest is the vacant coach position.

Brian Kelly, everyone's odds-on favorite to replace Weis will arrive in South Bend tomorrow for his long awaited "sit down" with Jack Swarbrick.

"It would take a pretty special situation" says Kelly of leaving Cincinnati, who he has just led to a second consecutive Big East title and BCS bowl.

Tomorrow will determine if Notre Dame is the kind of "special" that Kelly is searching for.

For Kelly, what remains at Notre Dame may present the right fit.

From a facilities and funding standpoint, you won't find many universities more endowed than Notre Dame. A historic Stadium, plush new football training center and practice complex, and a beautiful campus to host recruits don't hurt in selling the university.

Also helpful to Notre Dame's hopes of landing Kelly (in addition to a blank check) is what the Irish will return on offense.

Quarterback Dayne Crist is built to run Kelly's type of offense. He can throw, run, throw while running, and run an option.

The receiver and tight end corps were left loaded by Charlie Weis, with standouts Michael Floyd and Kyle Rudolph both returning along with a host of younger players with a ton of athletic talent. Running backs are deep and talented, and the offensive line's best players will be returning.

The big on-field questions for the incoming coach to answer surround the defense.

Kelly's defense is also suspect at Cincinnati, requiring the Bearcats to outscore Connecticut, Illinois, and Pittsburgh while giving up over 30 points in each game, and allowing more than 40 to both UConn and Pitt.

The biggest change that needs to come to South Bend for next year is toughness.
Throughout the Weis era, Notre Dame never developed that killer attitude. There was never a swagger, never the fierce play that has been absent since the Holtz era.

Notre Dame is often beaten by teams it should bury. Often safe leads fade into tight victories or losses. Too often the Irish must rely on late heroics when the game should have been put to rest long ago.

Notre Dame must once again be feared, not just revered.