Notre Dame's Clausen expected to start Saturday

Posted October 02, 2007 11:00 pm

By Adam Rittenberg

If healthy, Jimmy Clausen will start at quarterback for Notre Dame on Saturday against UCLA, coach Charlie Weis said Tuesday.

Clausen suffered a hip injury in the third quarter against Purdue and was replaced by junior Evan Sharpley, who rallied the Irish in the fourth quarter. Both players will get reps with the first team in practice.

"I'm not 100 percent sure what Jimmy is going to look like," Weis said in a pre-practice news conference. "He's supposed to be set and ready to go. Some guys are set and ready to go, and they don't play for another two weeks. Other guys that are set and ready to go, they're ready to go that day."

Weis said he wouldn't platoon his quarterbacks against the Bruins.

"They're fairly similar in their style of play," Weis said of Clausen and Sharpley, "so one has got to be (the starter) and one has got to be (the backup)."

• Wide receiver David Grimes (ankle) is questionable for the game and defensive end Justin Brown is probable after missing the Purdue game with an undisclosed injury.

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