Irish turn to Sharpley vs. USC
SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- A healthy Evan Sharpley trumps a hurt Jimmy Clausen.
That was the rationale Charlie Weis followed Tuesday in making his second quarterback switch of the season, benching his highly touted and highly bruised freshman for a career backup.
Sharpley's start against No. 13 Southern California on Saturday will be the junior's first, not that Weis will forecast a second, third or fourth. When pressed on Notre Dame's long-term quarterback direction, the coach bristled in angst.
"How would I know if (the change) is permanent?" he said. "I don't know that answer. It's a permanent switch for the USC game. Evan is the starter. I'm not changing tomorrow and picking Jimmy as the starter."
Considering the musical-chairs scenario Weis has created, it's difficult to know what's next for the renowned quarterback guru. He opened the year with Demetrius Jones and a gimmick offense against Georgia Tech, only to yank the sophomore before halftime.
After turning to Sharpley and then Clausen against the Yellow Jackets, Weis tagged the freshman as his starter the next week for Penn State.
That might be as good as it gets for Clausen this season. The freshman is 81 of 141 passing for 618 yards, 1 touchdown and 5 interceptions.
Sharpley is 43 of 80 for 479 yards, 3 touchdowns and 2 interceptions.
Neither stat line sparkles, and that's part of the reason Sharpley treated the promotion with near indifference.
"I don't know if it's exactly how I thought it would play out," Sharpley said. "As a team we're dealing with it, and I'm a part of that."
There's little doubt that with Sharpley, Notre Dame stands a better chance to move the ball. The Irish have just four touchdown drives of at least 50 yards, and Sharpley has engineered three of them, all ending with a scoring pass. Clausen's one extended drive was a 5-play, 80-yard march against Michigan State that the running game powered.
Weis said Notre Dame's early deficits accounted for those discrepancies, sidestepping the issue of whether Clausen is capable of efficient Saturdays. Weis admitted that Clausen is hurt, but he refused to declare the freshman injured, despite apparent aftereffects from off-season elbow surgery and a hip injury suffered at Purdue.
"I think that the separation between the two of them isn't big enough for a banged-up guy getting a nod over a fresh guy, and that's why we're going in that direction," Weis said.
For now. Even Sharpley knows he's auditioning as much as starting against USC. "I'm only looking one week at a time," he said. "That's how our team is looking."