Clausen Among Irish Greats -- Almost

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- The list starts with Gus Dorais, who joined somebody named Knute Rockne to perfect the forward pass. From there, the honor roll of Notre Dame quarterbacks includes Heisman Trophy winners Angelo Bertelli, Johnny Lujack, Paul Hornung and John Huarte.

Ever hear of Daryle Lamonica, Terry Hanratty and Joe Theismann? They also were Fighting Irish stars who evolved into eternal stars of college football history, and Jimmy Clausen will sparkle with them.

It's just that Clausen has to make it official.

There is that little game on Saturday at Notre Dame Stadium, where Clausen can solidify his distinction as the nation's best quarterback along the way to pushing the Irish toward a record eighth Heisman winner overall. All he has to do is slay pesky Southern Cal by remaining a master at football miracles.

If such a thing happens for Clausen, combined with a few more games smothered in pixie dust, he will soar into the elite of the elite among Notre Dame quarterbacks. Not only that, he will finish his career with the Irish -- probably sooner than later -- as the 21st century Joe Montana.

If you don't believe me, ask Joe Montana.

Hello, hello.

Is anybody on the other end of the phone?

"Oh, you know. I never like to look at things in that way, because I never try to compare people to other people," said Montana, from his home in southern California, where -- by the luck of the Irish, I guess -- he lives in the same housing development of Westlake Village, Calif., as Clausen and his family.

The Notre Dame icon of the past and the evolving Notre Dame icon of the present have talked often. Their houses are less than a punt away from each other. In addition, Montana's oldest son, Nate, was a walk-on quarterback for the Irish until he transferred to Pasadena City College this summer. "When Nate was still here, every time Joe would came out to watch him practice and things like that, the three of us would always go inside and watch film," said Clausen, speaking to FanHouse outside of the locker room at the Notre Dame football complex. "For me, it always was a time to pick [Joe Montana's] brain for little things involving what we were watching. It could be something from a game or a practice, just different things."

Montana downplayed his role with Clausen. Then again, that's what Montana does. He is notoriously modest, and Clausen did have those two older brothers who were quarterbacks for big-time college programs. Plus, Clausen's parents tossed all of that money at noted quarterback guru Steve Clarkson.

Since Clarkson began working with Clausen as an eighth grader, you would expect nothing less than the guy going 42-0 as a starter for his high school team before functioning at least in the vicinity of goodness in college.

The fact that Clausen is in the vicinity of greatness at Notre Dame, of all places, means something else is happening here.

Which brings us back to Montana, still telling the world to ignore that Pro Football Hall of Famer behind the curtain. He said Clausen's growth is attributable to Clausen and to Notre Dame coach Charlie Weiss coming to his senses.

"The thing that's kept Jimmy alive is his ability to throw the ball downfield, and early on [during his Notre Dame career], they were making a living on throwing fades," said Montana, with a punch to Weis' ego -- and play calling. "They've gotten away from doing that all the time. Eventually, people pick up on that.

"The bottom line is, Jimmy's got a great understanding of the game, and he can throw all the passes that are necessary, and that's what has been changing over the [three] years that he's been starting. He's gotten guys who can make plays now, and he also understands that you have to move the football. It doesn't always mean throwing as hard as you can and as far as you can."

No doubt, Weis has helped more than hurt Clausen. While Weis' effectiveness as a head coach remains debatable, his skills as a developer of quarterbacks isn't. He was Tom Brady's mentor for the New England Patriots. He also turned Clausen's predecessor, Brady Quinn, into a first-round pick.

That said, did I mention Montana lives in Clausen's neighborhood?

This is the same Montana who won four Super Bowls with the San Francisco 49ers. He was the MVP in three of them. He also was an accomplished miracle worker in the pros, even beyond The Pass that produced The Catch. He first showed his ability to revive the dead at Notre Dame with improbable comeback victories against North Carolina, Air Force, Purdue and Pittsburgh .

Then there was the 1979 Cotton Bowl, where Montana suffered from hypothermia on an icy, windy, frigid day in Dallas. He eventually emerged from the locker room after sipping chicken soup to lead Notre Dame from a 34-12 deficit inside the final eight minutes against Houston to a 35-34 victory.

He threw the game-winning touchdown with no time left.

It's worth recalling all of that now, because Clausen has been a Montana clone this season, most famously at Purdue. Despite suffering from turf toe, he limped from the sidelines down the stretch to lead Notre Dame on a 72-yard drive. He completed six of nine passes, including a fourth-down rocket from Purdue's 2 to his briefly open tight end in the end zone for the game winner in the final seconds.

In fact, Clausen is a key reason Notre Dame has surged from behind to win its last three games by seven points or less. More specifically, when the Irish have been tied or trailed this season, he has thrown eight touchdowns and no interceptions.

That's Joe Montana stuff.

"When you have an understanding of time, that's probably the most important part of being able to come back, because if time always seems short, you're in trouble," said Montana , chuckling. "If 33 seconds seems like a long time for you, then you're doing OK, and I think that's the type of mentality that Jimmy has. No matter how much time is left, he's still able to think about the clock, and the number of timeouts, and where the ball needs to be thrown and what should be done."

Guess where Clausen got a lot of that from?

Montana won't tell you, but Clausen will.

Said Clausen, "Certain throws that I make now, it comes from the times when we talked things over while watching tape. When defensive guys are trying to undercut things, you don't always have to throw a line drive. You can kind of float it over the top. Different reads. What defenses are going to do in different situations. To be honest, whenever me, Nate [and Joe Montana] were together for those sessions, I was just trying to gather as much information as I could whenever he was talking."

Nate Montana, by the way, wants to return to Notre Dame from junior college next spring when the quarterback picture isn't so crowded. In other words, even though Nate is closer to Rudy than his father in ability, he gets it: Clausen will be such a Notre Dame legend at the end of this season as a junior that he will bolt for the NFL next spring.

Surely, since Clausen leads the nation in passing efficiency among other things, he knows these are his final playing days at Notre Dame.

"Not one bit," Clausen said, quickly and calmly, when asked by another reporter. "The only thing I'm thinking about right now is going out to practice later today and beating USC on Saturday. That's about it."

That's a lot. With Clausen on the other side, USC has outscored Notre Dame 76-3 during the past two seasons.

Come Saturday, it sounds like Clausen needs a few Montana moments.

Or maybe just a few Clausen moments.

Terence Moore is a national columnist and commentator for FanHouse. He is a frequent panelist on "Rome Is Burning," an ESPN show hosted by Jim Rome, that is seen Monday through Friday at 4:30 PM ET. Moore spent more than three decades working for major newspapers, including 26 years as an award-winning sports columnist for the San Francisco Examiner and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He resides in Atlanta.