Spotlight is on Conejo QBs when UCLA hosts Notre Dame
Olson will start for Bruins; Clausen's Irish status uncertain
By Thomas Gase tgase@theacorn.com

Ben Olson

It's a small world after all.

Although both Notre Dame and UCLA recruit nationally, when the universities' football teams face off Saturday at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, there's a good chance the two starting quarterbacks will be from Conejo Valley high schools located within a few miles of each other.

The Bruins' starting quarterback will be Ben Olson, who graduated from Thousand Oaks High in 2002. Notre Dame's starting quarterback the past month has been freshman Jimmy Clausen, a 2006 graduate of Oaks Christian.

Last Saturday against Purdue, Clausen suffered an injury to his left hip and was relieved by junior Evan Sharpley. Fighting Irish head coach Charlie Weis said this week that if Clausen is healthy, he'll likely start the game. UCLA head coach Karl Dorrell, however, isn't taking anything for granted.

"It looks like Clausen will be the starter if he's available to play, but we're preparing to play against both (Clausen and Sharpley)," Dorrell said. "Clausen looks like a very talented player, and he has the physical qualities to get the job done."

Jimmy Clausen

Since taking over behind center for Notre Dame in Week 1 against Georgia Tech, Clausen has completed 57 of 94 pass attempts for 474 yards and one touchdown. There's one thing, however, that Clausen hasn't done yet at Notre Dame that he did with Oaks Christian all the time- win a ballgame.

In three years as the starter for OCHS, Clausen was 43-0 while throwing 145 touchdown passes, a state record. At Notre Dame, Clausen's team is off to a 0-5 start, the worst beginning to a season in Fighting Irish history.

Clausen's former head coach at Oaks Christian, Bill Redell, believes the quarterback will improve.

"He's handling his situation very well," Redell said. "I talked to him after one of his starts, and he's having a rough time on a very young team. The pass protection for him needs to improve so he can have more time to throw the ball. The offensive line will get better in that program, and so will Jimmy."

Camarillo head coach Dennis Riedmiller has witnessed Clausen in action many times at passing camps and said he's been impressed with the young quarterback's play this season.

"He keeps getting up," Riedmiller said. "That shows me a lot. He has a great arm, and currently he's in a tough situation.

"You have to remember that he is still a very young kid- just out of high school- who has been thrown out to the wolves, so to speak. He's only going to get better. Notre Dame is not going to be the team they are now forever."

One person who can relate to Clausen's position is Olson, who was named the National High School Player of the Year by ESPN in 2002.

During Olson's time as a Lancer, he threw for 6,401 yards and 54 touchdowns. As a senior, the left-handed signal-caller threw for 2,989 yards and a thenschoolrecord 32 touchdowns.

Olson joined UCLA in the winter quarter of 2005 after redshirting his freshman year at BYU and then going on a two-year Mormon mission.

Although Clausen gets a lot of the headlines, former Thousand Oaks head football coach Mike Sanders believes his former quarterback is the best the area has produced.

"Whenever somebody mentions Clausen as the best quarterback to come out of the area in the last two decades, I have to cringe a little," said Sanders, who is now at Newbury Park High coaching defense.

"That's not saying anything against Clausen; I just prefer the guy that played for me. I think Ben had more of the physical tools and the better arm, but Jimmy had more experience."

Sanders said he often watches Olson on television and is reminded of the good times he had coaching him at TOHS.

"I remember the first two games of his senior year he was pressing to do better," Sanders said. "You could see it in his eyes. He finally got relaxed a little, and we went on to win 12 straight games. When you watch him now at UCLA, you can see a lot of that same desire in his eyes, to do well."

Another coach who remembers Olson well at Thousand Oaks is Royal High head coach Gene Uebelhardt, whose teams played against Olson once a year.

"Believe me, there was nobody happier to see Olson graduate from Thousand Oaks than myself," Uebelhardt said. "He was a great player on a great team.

"I'd known him since he was in Pop Warner, and he always reminded me of great local quarterbacks such as Joe Borchard from Camarillo and Jordan LeSecla of Newbury Park. I'm a big UCLA fan, so I'll finally be rooting for him this weekend."

Despite the comparisons, Olson said he has nothing against Clausen and that his only focus is winning the game against Notre Dame.

"No, there is no personal rivalry between me and Jimmy," Olson said. "I've worked out with him a couple times in the past, and he is a good guy."

Last week Olson rebounded well, after missing time with a concussion, by completing 14of-25 passes for 220 yards and two touchdowns. In four games, Olson has thrown for 922 yards and seven touchdowns.

"I feel great, and the injury feels fine now," Olson said. "I'm very excited to be playing against Notre Dame this week, and there are some things we feel we can exploit on offense. Hopefully we can get off to a good early start and come away with a win."

Olson and Clausen aren't the only local quarterbacks having impact years at their respective schools. Former Westlake High standout Rudy Carpenter is starting for the undefeated Arizona State Sun Devils.

With so many local players now making the grade at the college level, Sanders believes Ventura County is now viewed as a hotbed for college recruits.

"It's one of the best places, not just for Division I talent but also for the Ivy League schools," Sanders said.

"The reason for that, I believe, is because of the Ventura County Football Coaches Association, headed by George Contreras. Not only did the Association start one of the first combines for high school football, it's still one of the best."

Saturday's game will be televised on ABC at 5 p.m.