Report: Clausen had elbow procedure
It would appear Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausen wasn't completely healthy after all.
ESPN.com, citing unnamed sources, reported Wednesday that Jimmy Clausen, a California high school star, recently underwent a procedure on his throwing elbow. Notre Dame would not confirm the report, but football spokesman Brian Hardin said Jimmy Clausen will be ready for fall practice Aug. 6.
In March, Jim Clausen Sr. told the Sun-Times that his son had an undisclosed injury to his throwing arm and wasn't fully healthy.
''We've been aware that this was an issue,'' the elder Clausen said during a phone interview March 19. ''He played 15 games with the problem [in high school] this past season, so you know he's a competitor. But at the end of the season, he started to lose some velocity.
''At some point, if it's causing that much discomfort, we'll see what other option is best.''
Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis disputed the initial claim made by Jimmy Clausen's father, saying the heralded freshman quarterback was ''full-go'' for spring drills. Weis went on to say he would be the only one to comment on the health of his players.
Weis was unavailable for comment Wednesday. A message left for Jim Clausen Sr. was not immediately returned.
Jimmy Clausen, the most highly touted Irish recruit since Ron Powlus, is one of three quarterbacks competing for the starting role. The other two are sophomore Demetrius Jones from Morgan Park and junior Evan Sharpley.
Weis praised Jimmy Clausen's ability to make all the throws during spring practice, and Jimmy Clausen was the most impressive of the three in terms of accuracy during the spring game.
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