Instantly, as Chateau Clausen welcomed three visitors in mid-June, it became agonizingly clear that Michael Floyd needed to work on his first step.
Floyd and Notre Dame teammates Golden Tate and Kyle Rudolph were in Southern California at the behest of Irish quarterback Jimmy Clausen, ready to fill the last week before summer school with chemistry-building workouts and camaraderie-boosting trips to the beach.
First, there was the matter of sleeping arrangements. That’s when Floyd fell victim to a hostel takeover.
“When they got in the house, my mom was like, who wants the room downstairs?” Clausen said Saturday, laughing. “Golden was like, I do, I do. [Floyd and Rudolph] went upstairs, and Kyle saw one bed and jumped on it. Floyd just laid on the ground.”
Floyd did have a sleeping bag, but then the week was about a different kind of comfort. The Irish say they’re striving for offensive balance, but that doesn’t preclude identifying strengths — and Notre Dame’s chances for a captivating 2009 are inarguably up in the air.
Clausen accounted for all but 18 of the 3,190 passing yards returning. More than 89 percent of the receiving yards return, with Tate coming off a 1,080-yard, 10-touchdown season, Floyd setting three major school receiving records for freshmen and Rudolph emerging as a tight end threat.
“It obviously all starts with the offensive line and defensive line, but when Jimmy and his ‘boys’ are clicking on all cylinders, it’s fun to watch,” safety Kyle McCarthy said. “They have all the talent in the world.”
They just needed to continue to hone it. So this spring Clausen suggested his teammates visit for a week of work with his personal trainer, Ryan Capretta, and former NFL receiver Rob Moore.
Days began around 7:30 or 8 a.m. with weight lifting, followed by drills on route-running and other nuances — “little ins and outs we may never have thought of before,” as Rudolph put it.
The quartet threw for nearly eight hours per day. They maintain that one week alone helped synchronize their passing game.
“Usually Jimmy comes back from working with his trainers and coaches, trying to teach us,” Tate said. “A quarterback trying to teach a receiver footwork — we’re just like, uh-uh. We went out there, worked with some guys, figured out some stuff that can make us quicker, faster. We came back all on the same page.”
Said Clausen: “There are things Golden does better than Mike, and that Mike does better than Golden. Same with Kyle. They were telling me when they see a certain thing, what they’re going to do, and I’m telling them what I see. We were just going back and forth.”
No one denies the need for a significant upgrade to the Irish running game. But it’s Clausen and Co. that can vault Notre Dame from average or merely good to more.
That begins with solidarity, which is fostered by dragging Tate away from In-N-Out Burger or laughing when Floyd flees the sun to nap in the car. The trip was a chemistry experiment. Now Notre Dame will see if it explodes.
“If you like the people who you play with,” Floyd said, “you’re more likely to be better players on the field.”
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Clausen vs. Quinn
Is Jimmy Clausen on the precipice of a jump to elite status in 2009? Here’s how his sophomore season compared with the second year for the last star Notre Dame quarterback, Brady Quinn. %% Clausen Quinn
2008 Year 2004
268 Completions 191
440 Attempts 353
60.9 Percentage 54.1
3,172 Yards 2,586
25 TD 17
17 Interceptions 10
132.5 Passer rating 125.9
%% ———
bchamilton@tribune.com
