The first hint was a cryptic e-mail bearing a 310 area code contact number.
"A major college recruiting announcement will be made this coming Saturday ... at the College Football Hall of Fame."
Okaaaay. Meaning what, exactly?
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| Jimmy Clausen still has another season of high school ball before he plays a down at Notre Dame. (AP) |
Out stepped -- most notably -- a well-polished, spike-haired high-school junior quarterback flashing three huge high school championship rings on his right hand.
In terms of entrances, Jimmy Clausen outdid Don King, Don Corleone and Don Quixote combined.
"He's not a showboat," said Jeff Freedman, of the L.A. public relations firm that sent out the e-mail.
Oh.
Well, if JC Superstar isn't a showboat, then Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis doesn't know football. Which is nonsense on both counts. But, to be fair, don't try to link these two together during Saturday's events.
All Weis did was show interest in the prospect from Westlake Village, Calif., who many think is the No. 1 player of the 2007 recruiting class. The Irish coach did a heck of a job recruiting and landing his prize.
Team Clausen took it from there. What happened in South Bend on Saturday thrust the utter absurdity of the recruiting process to another dimension.
Jimmy Clausen took the stage at the Hall on Saturday before a crowd of 300 drooling Domers and proudly announced his commitment to Notre Dame. The goal: "... to get four national championship rings," he said.
He didn't really say that, did he? You'd think that he/they would learn. Ron Powlus, in 1993, was the last ND quarterback recruit this celebrated. He couldn't even win measly Heisman Trophies.
