This is the first part of a position-by-position breakdown for the 2008 Notre Dame football team.  Running back will be up next...

Position: Quarterback

Projected Starter: Jimmy Clausen (Sophomore)

Backup(s): Evan Sharpley (Senior), Dayne Crist (Freshman)

2008 Outlook: Sophomore Jimmy Clausen enters the season as the starting quarterback for Notre Dame, and barring an injury or complete meltdown, figures to be the starter for the foreseeable future. Clausen started a number of games in 2007 and performed well considering his freshman status and surrounding cast. With his shoulder at full-health right now, Jimmy looked like a different quarterback in the spring and hopes to continue that into the regular season. While his arm impressed people in high school, it was his toughness that surprised people in his freshman season. Despite getting pressured on virtually every play, Jimmy played tough and played through a lot of pain. Now that he is a few pounds bigger, the team will be counting on him to stay healthy for the entire season and to be the leader of the offense. And while ND's lineplay was an obvious problem and led to a number of quarterback sacks, Jimmy has to do a better job of avoiding pressure and throwing the ball away.

One thing that will be different for Clausen this year is fan perception. He no longer will have the excuses of last year and it will be interesting to see his development under that kind of pressure. He's a gifted quarterback and could become a terrific college football player, but we'll need to see improvement from him and the entire team for that to take place. Filling the shoes of Brady Quinn is no easy task; Brady was a terrific quarterback and natural born leader. Clausen has just as much talent as Quinn, but there are still questions about his leadership role on the team. Last year's team was begging for a leader to step up on both sides of the ball and this year it points to Clausen to be that guy. It will be interesting to see if he can be that type of guy and lead Notre Dame to a successful football season.

Sophomore QB Jimmy Clausen will look to lead the Irish in 2008

Notre Dame has a solid back-up in Evan Sharpley, who saw significant action in 2007. He manages a game well and has the support of his teammates and should be guy you can count on if needed. Freshman Dayne Crist was one of the top players in his class, but most hope he redshirts this season so that he can preserve a year of eligibility and have 2-3 years left when Jimmy moves on. It will be interesting to see what Weis does, but one would assume if Jimmy stays healthy, Evan would be the back-up and there would be no need for Crist to see the field.

Grade: B. Out of all the problems from the 2007 season, quarterback was probably not the biggest. That's not to say that a Brady Quinn-led team would have lost 9 games like Demetrius/Jimmy/Evan did, but there were bigger issues than the QB. Clausen looked like a different player in the spring and has more than a full year under his belt. Coach Weis is confident in him and expects him to play like an upperclassman despite his sophomore status. He comes in as the undisputed starter, but if things don't go well, there are two eager QB's waiting over his shoulder. 2008 should prove to be a pivotal point in Clausen's development and if he exceeds expectations, the sky is the limit. The QB position is probably the most important position on a Weis-led team and the success of the 2008 campaign could rest on Clausen's shoulders.