The ESPN draftnik showdown between Mel Kiper and Todd McShay regarding the fate of Jimmy Clausen ended with McShay scoring a slam-dunk victory. McShay predicted that Clausen wouldn’t be a top-ten pick; eventually, Clausen wasn’t a top-40 selection. (Rosenthal, by the way, predicted that Tim Tebow would be picked before Clausen. Under the terms of our wager, I’m required to mention that once per week for the remainder of my natural life, plus 21 years.)
But Kiper is sticking to his guns. “I had him as the fourth-best player,” Kiper said in a post-draft conference call. “That’s my rating. That’s my opinion, and I’ll stand by it. We’ll see what happens three years from now.’'
A lot can, and will, happen in three years. With Clausen picked by a team coached by a duck who scheduled his millennium party for 2001, the former Notre Dame quarterback could get lost in the shuffle if/when the Panthers have a new coach who doesn’t share Kiper’s assessment.
And then Clausen will simply be just another Brady Quinn.