Tennessee QB has plenty of Cotton Bowl experience
DALLAS — Four years ago, Rick Clausen sat in the stands watching his older brother start at quarterback in the Cotton Bowl.
Two years ago, he watched the Cotton Bowl from the sideline as a redshirt freshman.
On Saturday, he’ll be the starter in the Cotton Bowl.
Sounds like a natural progression, right? Well, that timeline obscures a wild ride, one that probably has a few twists left even if Clausen leads No. 15 Tennessee past No. 22 Texas A&M on New Year’s Day.
Clausen’s odyssey goes back years, but consider just the past five months: He went into two-a-days fighting to be the starter, but wound up third-string. He moved into the lineup after two freshmen were hurt and might have been benched for this game if one of the youngsters hadn’t caught the flu.
“I’m just happy to play because it can be taken from you any time, as I found out earlier,” Clausen said. “You have to go out and make the most of it.”
The Volunteers went 9-3 this season despite shuffling quarterbacks. The Aggies are the opposite, with coach Dennis Franchione saying they’ve rebounded from 4-8 to 7-4 because of the stellar play of their QB, Reggie McNeal.
McNeal is a run-pass threat whose talent was obvious as a freshman, when he led A&M to an upset of No. 1 Oklahoma. Now a junior, his accuracy and decision-making are so good that Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer calls him “a defensive coordinator’s nightmare.”
Clausen is more of a case study.
He grew up in Thousand Oaks, Calif., in the shadow of his big brother, Casey. Rick didn’t become the starter in high school until he was a senior, once Casey went to Tennessee. The left-hander did so well that he, too, become a top recruit.
He chose LSU and was so eager to get started that he enrolled in January 2001. On his way to Baton Rouge, he stopped in Dallas to watch then-freshman Casey throw three interceptions in a 35-21 loss to Kansas State in the Cotton Bowl.
After redshirting, Rick played three games for the Tigers in 2002, even starting once. He didn’t play in the Cotton Bowl, a 35-20 loss to Texas, then transferred to Tennessee to join Casey for his senior season.
Rick had to sit out last season, so he ran the scout team while Casey led the varsity. Rick also learned every nuance of the playbook so he could try keeping the Clause name atop the depth chart this season. His bid ended in August when Fulmer opted to go with freshmen Erik Ainge and Brent Schaeffer.
“Coach, those freshman are really going to be good,” Clausen told Fulmer before he made his decision. “I understand.”
Clausen hardly played until Ainge separated his shoulder Nov. 6 against Notre Dame. Schaeffer had broken his collarbone the week before, so Clausen became the starter by default.
In three starts, he’s put up decent stats. His best numbers, though, are having gotten the Vols within three points of Auburn with 10:07 left in the SEC championship game.
“The past two games, I’ve seen a very poised quarterback who understands the game,” said A&M defensive coordinator Carl Torbush. “The more snaps he plays, the better he gets.”
Teammates admire Clausen’s perseverance and how much he’s worked with the freshmen QBs. It helps that Clausen is the son of a coach and hopes to one day become a coach.
Schaeffer’s collarbone has healed, but the flu kept him from practicing earlier this week. Still, coaches said he could be available Saturday. Ainge is out.
Ainge or Schaeffer is likely to start next season, even though Fulmer says Clausen “will be right in the mix.” Asked this week about having missed a chance to seize the job in two-a-days, Clausen’s answer is good summary of all his opportunities that have come and gone.
“Things happen for a reason,” he said. “There’s no point in looking back on it because we got to the SEC championship game and we won the Eastern division, so there’s not much more I could have asked for.”