Jimmy Clausen will have surgery to repair torn ligaments in his right big toe and as a result will miss the NFL combine in February/March. The Notre Dame quarterback played the final ten games of his college career with the problem, but will take the opportunity now to get things cleared up before his pro-career. Clausen will throw for scouts during a pro-day to be arranged for April.
How will this affect his stock? Teams will admire his toughness to play through the injury in college. On the other hand, scouts will want to check the surgery has been successful and that this won't cause future issues. I've raised questions about Clausen's mechanics and first round credentials in the past - I'm not sure the surgery will necessarily hinder his grading in any substantial way.
10 comments:
as long as he throws for scouts, his surgery won't affect his stock any.... it's his mechanics that will.
Bradford could use this as an opportunity to blow past Clausen as the consensus #1 QB prospect by having a great combine.
He could do annonymous - he'll have a chance to work out at the combine and a pro-day. But he still has to impress, prove his shoulder injury was a one off and not a durability issue... he has to prove his mechanics are sound (he's not as slingy as Clausen, but it's still a bit side arm and could stand to be a quarter high in his release).
If he turns up at the combine and throws badly, that could actually help Clausen or - as I suspect might be the case - Ryan Mallett.
I don't like it. A pro day set up by his agent, with his doctor, on his track. There have been questions about his actual height. The idea of being able to see him side by side with other guys to showcase strengths and magnify weaknesses is what the combine is all about. The decision to have surgery could have been made weeks ago, and then he would be at the combine. It smacks of Crabtree last year not wanting to ruin his 1st wr status with actual numbers. I will bet right now that his pro day will turn out to be "limited drills".
He'll also no doubt be throwing to Michael Floyd and Golden Tate at his pro-day, significantly better than what he'd likely be throwing to at the combine and receivers he's familiar with.
I think Clausen is going to fall in the later 1st round someone is going to trade their 2011 first rounder to get him.
I can see Buffalo, St Louis, Cleveland or Washington trading back into the first round for him.
I see Clausen as a system guy who had two great WR's and a good TE to work with.
I think there are teams in the top ten that need a QB that will be interested him in the 20's or top of round two. I still believe that's where he'll fall. He could be a first round pick, but I will be surprised if it's as high as some believe.
I was wondering, do you think that this toe injury may have led to his poor mechanics that you witnessed, specifically throwing off his back foot and not properly stepping into his throws? I could see the pain and uncomfortableness of a toe ligament injury causing that possibly. Have you scouted any games prior to the injury to see if anything changed? love the blog, keep up the good work
It's a very good point annonymous and something I will look into. You tend to presume it's a mechanical issue because a lot of prospects have the same problem and he does throw off his front despite the injury. However, it's quite possible the injury bothered him enough to have an influence.
It doesn't, however, offer a reason for his slingy side arm release or his lack of passing range.
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