Frosh phenom Clausen not just one of the guys

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- With one knock on the dorm-room door, Gary Gray entered Jimmy Clausen's world.

When the freshman cornerback got up to answer, he expected to see a friend standing in the hallway. Instead, he met an autograph seeker who'd brought along a couple of kids for an intrusive signature hunt of Gray's roommate, Clausen.

"That was kind of random for me," Gray said. "It was kind of weird."

But very little has been normal for Clausen since he arrived here last winter for early enrollment at Notre Dame. There were immediate questions about the quarterback's health, followed by a rumored elbow surgery this spring and then a minor scrape with the law over the summer.

It seems everywhere Clausen turns he walks into the spotlight. The results have turned him into something more than your typical college freshman.

Gray says that's not fair.

"They think he's arrogant, stuff like that," Gray said. "He's just a regular 19-year old kid."

Well, almost.

When Clausen arrived for Notre Dame's freshman media day inside the Guglielmino Center, he took a seat at the front of the room, a spot usually reserved for Charlie Weis, assistant coaches or captains.

While the rest of the rookies held court in small groups, Clausen faced a media horde that included a reporter from HBO.

"A lot of people don't really know who I am," he said. "That's why I'm here today. I want you guys to get a chance to get to know who I am as a person and a player."

But those revelations came with limits, as Clausen opened with a prepared statement to address both his right elbow and summer legal scrape.

The quarterback admitted he underwent an arthroscopic procedure on his right elbow after spring practice to remove bone spurs, one that has required plenty of rehabilitation.

Weis said Clausen has been working with the starting offense all through camp, but the quarterback described himself as "day to day" heading into the season.

During an open practice last week, Clausen was the one quarterback who didn't zip the ball downfield.

On the legal front, Clausen said he exercised "bad judgment" and was at the "wrong place at the wrong time" regarding a June citation from Indiana's excise police for transporting alcohol as a minor without a parent or guardian. Clausen already has entered a pretrial diversion program that should let him avoid a misdemeanor charge.

As for Clausen's chances to win the competition to replace Brady Quinn, the freshman fit right in by revealing nothing about Notre Dame's future under center. Weis said this week that he has made his quarterback pick, but he's keeping the hopefuls in the dark into next week.

Clausen said if he doesn't win the job by Sept. 1, he will keep fighting for it all season.

"If I'm not the starting quarterback or someone else isn't the starting quarterback we're going to keep going out, practicing every day and getting better," Clausen said. "It doesn't matter who's on the field and playing as long as we win games."

While guarded at times Friday, Clausen said he hopes the more people get to know him the more they'll see an average college student instead of remembering the former prep phenom.

His commitment news conference at the College Football Hall of Fame that included a stretch Hummer limo and police escort probably won't be forgotten -- and Clausen didn't answer questions about how that event shaped his image.

"I'm not really going to comment about that," Clausen said. "That was something in the past and I'm focused on the future and focused on Notre Dame football and this upcoming season.

"I'm just a laid-back kid from California. I like hanging out with the guys, having a lot of fun, being a college student and a college athlete."

Now Clausen can get back to that. Notre Dame's freshmen won't be available to the media again until a late October bye week, meaning there's time for Clausen to become known more for his play than his hype.

To Clausen's credit, he said he's aware of what's said about him outside the Irish program, both good and bad. Thus far, his college experience has been about avoiding the blitz -- whether it's from a linebacker, analyst or fan.

"It's kind of hard to ignore," he said. "Some people like me and some people hate me. I just deal with that. They don't really know me. If they did know me, then they wouldn't hate me. Once they figure out who I am, they'll figure out I'm a good person."