[h1]Irish QB Jimmy Clausen and at least two teammates face alcohol-use investigation[/h1] [h2]Web photo puts Irish QB, teammates in crosshairs[/h2] By Brian Hamilton | Chicago Tribune reporter August 5, 2008
For the second time in a year, Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausen may have to explain his alleged participation in a situation involving alcohol.
And at least two other teammates might be doing some explaining with him.
Notre Dame will investigate possible school code violations after the Web site The Big Lead posted photos Monday that appear to depict Clausen, teammates Brian Smith and James Aldridge and one other individual attending what the site labeled "Beer Olympics."
The pictures are not dated, and while there is beer on the table in front of the players, the photos do not show the players actively consuming alcohol
No matter the date of the photos, at least two of the players would not be of legal drinking age: Clausen, who does not turn 21 until Sept. 21, and Smith, who does not reach 21 until 2010. Aldridge turned 21 on July 6.
A Notre Dame football spokesman said Monday there was no comment from the team for the time being. But du Lac, the school's guidebook for personal conduct, says that underage drinking and/or the participation in drinking games is cause for potential disciplinary action.
"The office of Residence Life will investigate possible violations of university policies when it is made aware of them, such as in this case," Notre Dame school spokesman Dennis Brown said Monday.
It could be the second alcohol-related run-in for Clausen, who was cited in June 2007 for transporting alcohol as a minor.
"I used bad judgment in being in the wrong place at the wrong time, and I've learned from my mistake," Clausen said during his first media appearance after the citation in August 2007.
As for the genesis of the photos, Jason McIntyre, owner and operator of The Big Lead, said Monday that a reader passed along the pictures last weekend. McIntyre said he has "absolutely no idea when they were taken."
Irish coach Charlie Weis has a history of suspending players whose cases are being reviewed by the office of Residence Life, but the most recent example, the suspension of defensive lineman Derrell Hand last season, followed Hand's arrest for allegedly soliciting a prostitute.
Originally Posted by Answer IV DMX
Two posts in a row by me but this has to be posted...
Lookin a lil overweight there doughboy
"I'm still committed to Clemson, but I've been looking around," he said." I feel I have to be fair to myself. LSU, Texas A&M and Oregon are schools that have sparked my interest. I don't have anything set up but I'll probably be taking some visits."
The 6-foot-2, heat-seeking missile attended LSU's camp with family member Russell Shephard, an LSU-commit.
"Russell is really working it for LSU," he laughs. "He's their best recruiter. I'm looking at them pretty hard."
Loston has also been spotted at Texas A&M. It's no secret that his best friend Rod Davis is on campus as an incoming freshman at Texas A&M.
"Rod says he is liking it up there," he said.
If he doesn't come back to A&M, I'd rather see him stay at Clemson. I'm not a fan of LSU at all (except for when they played Ohio State), anddon't wanna see him go there.
Also, USC heads, how do y'all feel about Randall Carroll? He seems to be intrigued by A&M's pro-style offense, and said that he wants A&M to behis last official visit...I wanna get some opinions before he becomes the bad guy for de-committing(jokes of course, I don't really expect him to end up at A&M...but itsure would be nice).
Originally Posted by DLo13
Short video on Oklahoma State's new facilities...
http://www.okstate.com/fls/200/stadium/stadium.html
Boone Pickens got money out the %%!. Can I get like .0001% of that?
Good news on the football front. One of the best QBs in the nation is down to three schools as Ryan Mossakowki narrows the list. It is now Alabama, Texas A&M and Kentucky, with Alabama having already gotten a commitment from an elite QB.
Just curious, would you say that to his face? Cuz I have a feeling that boy could flatten your $!+ like a pancake in a matter of secondsOriginally Posted by Answer IV DMX
Two posts in a row by me but this has to be posted...
Lookin a lil overweight there doughboy
he's gonna start....
* In at least one passing drill, Tyler Moeller was on the field with the first team defense, joining James Laurinaitis and Marcus Freeman at linebacker. Moeller is somewhere between a safety and a linebacker and could wind up as a good fit on passing downs.
* Donald Washington, still facing a possible suspension, did not seem to be running with the first team defense. Chimdi Chekwa looked to be working as the starting corner opposite Malcolm Jenkins.
* Running back Brandon Saine wore a yellow jersey that signifes limited practice contact and didn't seem to work into most of the drills with the other running backs. Jim Tressel did not mention Saine when asked about injuries on Monday.
* Big Ten Network analyst, and former Vanderbilt, LSU and Indiana coach Gerry DiNardo, on Terrelle Pryor.
"He's all arm," DiNardo said, noticing that Pryor was not striding toward his target on his passes. "He has a lot of mechanical work to do, as all freshmen do."
Pryor did hit fellow freshman DeVier Posey on a nice crossing route on one play. Hold that memory for 2009.
* Curtis Terry, now at fullback for good, appeared to be working with the first-teamers on offense.
* It looked like the Buckeyes were working out of the pistol formation at times, a formation they haven't used in the past. It puts the quarterback in sort of a shortened shotgun, with the running back lined up behind the quarterback instead of next to him.
* Jamario O'Neal made a nice leaping interception.
* Freshman J.B. Shugarts looked to be backing up Bryant Browning at right tackle. (I know some1 is happy)
**Edit
Good info above aswell.
TALLAHASSEE - On the eve of his 33rd season at Florida State, Bobby Bowden on Tuesday said a third consecutive mediocre finish might not necessarily be enough to send him into retirement but that the Seminoles this fall have "got to do better or I'm going to have to get out of here."
FSU begins preseason practice on Thursday with the hope, once again, of rebounding from a lackluster 7-6 record -- the team's finish in each of the past two seasons. During his spring booster tour and in recent weeks at various media gatherings, Bowden has hinted at retiring if his program endures another disappointing fall.
"I always hate to pin myself down," Bowden said in an interview on Tuesday. "I hate to say if we don't do this, I'm leaving. You know, you hate to say that. But yet, how many more [7-6 seasons] can you stand? I can't stand hardly anymore."
Bowden said the Seminoles "plan to improve" but they will begin practice with plenty of questions, some of which might not be answered for months. Among them:
* How will an offense that ranked 80th nationally a season ago improve behind an offensive line that returns just two players -- center Ryan McMahon and guard Rodney Hudson -- with any real Division I experience?
* And how will FSU be affected by the suspensions of approximately 10 players who will miss the first three games of the season as a result of their involvement in the university's publicized academic fraud scandal?
Regarding the latter, Bowden said he's anticipating the day when the case will be behind FSU instead of lingering over it. University officials are tentatively scheduled on Oct. 18 to meet in Indianapolis before the NCAA Committee on Infractions.
"Anytime you have something like that, you'd like to get it behind you," Bowden said. "So you know where you stand, you know? We've done everything we can do. We've done the things we think the NCAA would do. We suspended these boys four games. We didn't have to do that.
". . . [The] NCAA hasn't even had the trial yet, or whatever they do."
The NCAA did, however, notify Florida State in a correspondence dated June 10 that the case is still under investigation. Several media outlets, including the Sentinel, have requested that document but Florida State, citing state and federal privacy laws, has refused to release it.
Nonetheless, it's especially important for FSU to put the academic fraud case in the past so that its teams and coaches know how many scholarships it might soon be without. The university mandated unspecified athletic scholarship reductions as part of its self-imposed penalties, which won't become official until after the NCAA decides FSU's fate.
"You've got to know that, so you can build around that," Bowden said. "But I tell you what, it sure didn't hurt our recruiting last year . . . And evidently next year, we're getting more kids committed than we've ever had."
According to Rivals.com, the Seminoles have already received 18 commitments from the Class of 2009. Whether Bowden remains a year from now to welcome members of that class, though, remains to be seen.
Asked if he'd retire if FSU again finished 7-6, Bowden said, "I don't know. I won't say because it would get too much ink . . . I think a lousy year could maybe force me out. You know -- I'm talking forcing myself out."
FSU last December, of course, designated offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher to replace Bowden when he one day retires. These days, though, retirement is only a thought -- a possibility Bowden acknowledges yet still somehow seems distant, even after 32 seasons, two national championships and 300 victories at FSU.
"I'm just determined to get it back," Bowden said.
And if he doesn't? Bowden sat behind his desk, chewed on a cigar and seemed unfazed by the thought. He said, "I will be content with whatever's there because there's nothing else I can do about it. You know, I will strive like mad to get back in the top. And if it doesn't happen, and I get out, I won't have any reservations or anything like that.
"What happens, happens. Ain't nothing I can do about it."
