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SPARTANBURG, S.C. -- Whether Jimmy Clausen wanted spotlights or not, they always found him. But Thursday, the process of learning to be an NFL quarterback began quietly, as he took his first snaps of Carolina Panthers training camp.
There would be no stretch Hummer entrance as when he signed with Notre Dame. Instead, he and the other three quarterbacks walked onto the practice field at 8:20 a.m., signed a few autographs and began the day's work. It was still enough to have him beaming afterward, calling his day "a dream come true."
He opened camp with the third team, as he has all spring, staying behind holdover undrafted quarterbacks Matt Moore and Hunter Cantwell.
"When I went to Notre Dame there were three quarterbacks ahead of me," Clausen said. "Whenever you get your reps, you have to go out there and make plays. I think that's the biggest thing. When your name gets called, whether it's one play or five plays, it doesn't really matter. You have to produce and make plays.
"My goal is to go out each and every day and improve what I need to improve and do everything I can to help the team improve. If I do that things are going well."
Clausen didn't stay down long at Notre Dame, earning the starting job by the second game, and going onto rank first or second in 32 different passing categories in three seasons.
Here, however, he's starting from scratch and working through some rough patches. There was a bobbled snap early in a walk-through, a few floated passes that might have gotten his running backs killed in a game.
But there were also enough moments that made you see his potential. He's particularly sharp throwing intermediate routes, and while he might not have the arm strength of Moore or Cantwell, he has sufficient pop on all his passes. He also showed a sense of the pocket, deftly avoiding a rush before tucking the ball and running when he found no one open.
He's also developing a reputation as a student, spending hours in the film room as he tries to refine his game.
"Familiarity," Panthers coach John Fox replied when asked what his rookie needed to work on. "Like anything, the first time you do it it's a little more foreign than the second and third time. It's just a matter of reps and getting game looks in game conditions. That's critical for any quarterback."
Clausen admitted some "pre-practice jitters," but hopes that his background in a system similar to the Panthers offense helps him catch up quickly. But he's still getting used to the speed of defensive players, recalling a minicamp pass which was picked off by Chris Gamble — even though Gamble had slipped before breaking on the ball.
"I feel like I'm in a good position right now playing in an offense that I did at Notre Dame for three years," he said. "It's a similar offense here in Carolina, but at the same time you've got to get used of the speed."
