Weekend rewind: Is Jake Locker better than Jimmy Clausen?
I had intended to devote this space to the Big 10. It could have been a gruesome day for the league, if Wisconsin hadn’t pulled away from the Citadel, if Michigan had lost to Notre Dame, if Ohio State had lost at Washington.
Instead, the Big 10 showed some pop (for once).
But then, flipping between the Washington and Notre Dame games, I started to wonder: Who would I rather have as my quarterback for the next 2.5 years, UW’s Jake Locker or Notre Dame’s Jimmy Clausen?
Both are freshmen (Locker a redshirt, Jimmy Clausen a true).
Both are carrying the hopes of their once-proud programs.
Both are linked as their schools are linked: Locker plays for Tyrone Willingham, Jimmy Clausen for the school that terminated Willingham.
Jimmy Clausen, the mega-recruit, the next great Charlie Weis quarterback (supposedly).
Or Locker, who was a heralded recruit but nothing like Jimmy Clausen.
Quarterbacks are, to an extent, only as good as their support. Jimmy Clausen is working behind a young offensive line and doesn’t have many (any?) playmakers around him.
Locker has a veteran line and a bit of talent at tailback and receiver, but make no mistake: He’s the Huskies best option on every play, whether he’s throwing or running.
Locker also has an advantage in that this is his second year in the UW program, while Jimmy Clausen is a rookie in Charlie Weis’ system.
So I ask: Who would you rather have as your quarterback this season, next season and the season after that? Simple question. Throw everything else aside: Who would you rather have?
I’d take Locker, frankly. He’s bigger, he’s a better runner, and I love his release. He throws a live ball. He’s tough; he’s got poise — more poise than Jimmy Clausen. I want Locker over Jimmy Clausen right now, and next year, and the year after.
Not that Jimmy Clausen won’t be a very good quarterback, possibly an All-American by the time he’s through (although football people I trust said he wasn’t even the best prep QB in SoCal last fall: that would have been Aaron Corp, who played for Orange Lutheran and is now at USC).
But good as Jimmy Clausen could be, I’d rather have Locker.
Your thoughts?
***Winners
Mississippi State’s Sylvester Croom: The third-year coach gets a huge, huge win (at Auburn) and keeps his critics quiet for the time being.
Florida, pounds Tennessee 59-20: Gators make Vols look as bad as their other two victims (Troy and Western Kentucky).
Michigan tailback Mike Hart, guarantees win, then runs for 187 yards: More than that, he gave the Wolverines what they needed most: leadership.
Oregon, hammers Fresno State after big win over Michigan: Ducks looking like they’re a legit challenger to USC, along with Cal and maybe Arizona State.
Oregon, again: Of course, the Ducks looked like a legit challenger this time last year, then finished in the tank.
Temple, loses to UConn on a TD with six seconds left: Just to get that close — to UConn, to anybody — is a victory for the forever winless Owls.
Oklahoma, beats Utah State 54-3: If you haven’t been scoring at home, Sooners have won their three games by a combined 184-26. Poor Tulsa.
Ohio State quarterback Todd Boeckman: In his first road start (at Washington), he completes 14-25 passes, for 218 yards and 2 TDs. He might not be Troy Smith, but he’s no Justin Zwick.
Stanford, shuts out San Jose State: Trust me, the defense hasn’t improved by 500 yard. SJSU is that bad right now.
***Losers
Notre Dame, goes third game without an offensive touchdown: Imagine how bad the Irish would be if they didn’t have an offensive genius calling the plays.
Notre Dame, again: The Irish scored 34 fewer points on Michigan than Appalachian State.
UCLA, pounded at Utah (a winless team with a backup quarterback): I didn’t think the Pac-10 could have a worse loss than Oregon State-Cincy. How wrong I was.
UCLA, again: I didn’t think Karl Dorrell could have a worse loss than 52-14 at Arizona, but how wrong I was.
Auburn, dumped at home by Mississippi State: Not that the faithful make comparisons, but ‘Bama’s 3-0 and Tommy Tuberville’s gonna be feeling the heat.
Big Ten, takes a bad loss: It wasn’t all good for the conference. In case you missed it, Minnesota lost to Florida Atlantic.
Arizona Coach Mike Stoops, bad home loss to New Mexico: In installing the spread, he forgot that you gotta play defense, too.
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