Notre Dame coach has depth at quarterback

By TOM COYNE

AP Sports Writer

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) - Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis got a laugh out of the first question asked of him on media day.

It wasn't about being on the hot seat after two disappointing seasons or about how the defensive line is young and inexperienced or about the fact the Irish have posted the three worst rushing seasons in school history.

No, it was about his confidence in backup quarterback Dayne Crist.

"That's kind of a subjective way to get going. We're presuming the starting quarterback is going to be bad right off the bat," he said, laughing. "What a way to go."

Weis can afford to laugh. Jimmy Clausen is entering his third year as starter, highly touted Crist is ready to play after not seeing the field as a freshman and fifth-year senior Evan Sharpley, the No. 2 quarterback the past three seasons, seems content with being the third-string quarterback.

It all means the Irish have more depth at quarterback than they have in years.

"I think we have a very comfortable situation here. I think they've all settled into their roles as to where they are," Weis said. "Not only do I have a quality gunslinger in Dayne, but I have a fifth-year guy in Evan who has experience back here too."

Crist, who has been friends with Clausen since middle school, was a five-star recruit coming out of Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks, Calif. This time last year he was lost trying to grasp Weis' complex offense.

"You'd just go in there and forget the play. You're just over-thinking. It really is information overload," he said.

Crist compared it to learning addition one year then "flunking physics" the next. Still, it's better than learning to run the offense under fire like Clausen did when he was thrown into being the starter in his second game at Notre Dame.

Crist feels a lot more confident about being prepared after a year of learning on the sidelines. He is trying to be as supportive of Clausen as possible while also trying to show the Irish coaches he is the best quarterback.

"I want to compete obviously within practice with other guys, because that's my nature. It's more this time around going in and try to push myself to the limit and really compete against myself," he said.

Weis had four quarterbacks with virtually no experience when Brady Quinn graduated after the 2006 season since Quinn rarely came out of the games and when he did it was usually for a rushing play. Weis said he will try to get Crist into a game this season and let him throw.

"You've got to give him an opportunity to go ahead and run the offense. Because how's he going to get ready to run the offense if you don't give him an opportunity to run the offense?" Weis said.

Sharpley has already had a chance to run the offense. He was Quinn's backup in 2006 and threw two passes, completing one for 7 yards. As a junior he started two games when Clausen was banged up and played in six others. He got into three games last season, completing 3-of-5 passes for 18 yards.

Sharpley thought he was done with football after last year's Hawaii Bowl. He played baseball for Notre Dame in the spring and was drafted in the 50th round by the Seattle Mariners. When Weis called Sharpley and asked him about coming back for a fifth year, Sharpley was interested.

Sharpley, who is from Marshall, Mich., already earned his history degree but still needed to complete his student teaching to complete his minor and is interested in being a football coach. So after hitting .333 with seven home runs and 29 RBI in 37 games in the Arizona Rookie League, Sharpley is back on campus preparing to be a student-teacher at a nearby high school and on the field.

"It may not even be to help the quarterbacks. It may be helping another position. It may be helping a young guy or someone who's possibly struggling during camp. I've been through that," Sharpley said. "I've pretty much experienced anything you can experience minus a couple of different things. But for the most part, I've done it. From that standpoint I think I'm going to be a great asset."