Sep 4, 2007, 17:42 GMT
South Bend, IN - Notre Dame head coach Charlie Weis didn't wait until the last minute to announce his quarterback for this Saturday's game against Penn State, tabbing freshman Jimmy Clausen as the starter.
Weis did not reveal his starting quarterback for the season-opener against Georgia Tech until game-time and Demetrius Jones struggled as the Fighting Irish fell behind and eventually dropped a 33-3 decision.
Jones completed just 1-of-3 passes for four yards and ran 12 times for 28 yards. He fumbled twice and four of his other six series ended without a first down.
Evan Sharpley was next on the depth chart, entering the contest late in the second quarter with the Irish down 16-0, and threw for 92 yards on 10-of-13 passing. He was sacked seven times, but led the offense to its only points on the team's first series of the third quarter.
Clausen finally got the nod in the fourth quarter and completed 4-of-6 passes for 34 yards.
Weis said Clausen was ahead of the other two after spring practice, but surgery to remove a bone spur from his throwing elbow put the California native behind during August workouts in preparation for the season.
'At the end of the spring he was the leader of the competition,' Weis said during a press conference Tuesday. 'Then after the spring he had that spur taken off. We felt he was going to be ready to throw full-speed by September 1, but wasn't ready to do everything on a daily basis until September 1. We got caught in that gray area, where we really couldn't consider him as the starter for the opening game.'
Weis wouldn't say whether Clausen would be the starter for the rest of the season, but added that he was 'not looking to play musical quarterbacks.'
The three-point effort against Georgia Tech marked the fewest points for a Notre Dame team since Weis took over before the 2005 season.
© 2007 The Sports Network
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