Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausen will not be able to do any drills at the NFL Scouting Combine next week in Indianapolis, agent Gary Wichard said Tuesday, because he's recovering from surgery to repair tendon damage in his right toe.
Clausen confirmed the news during an interview on "The Sirius Blitz" on Sirius NFL Radio.
"I'm planning on doing all the interviews and, obviously, being seen by the doctors so they can see my toe, but my toe isn't ready to go right now," Clausen said.
Clausen will have his foot examined Thursday, and if all is deemed well, the quarterback could have a pro day at Notre Dame in early April, roughly two weeks before the draft. But if Clausen has a setback, his ability to go through some drills -- dropping back, rolling out, setting and throwing -- could be pushed closer to draft day in private workouts.
Even though he can't go through drills, Clausen said he's looking forward to attending the combine.
"I'm really excited to go down to Indianapolis next week so teams can get to know me as a person," Clausen said. "And I think after they get to know me as a person, they'll see the truth from what the perception is out there about me."
Film evaluation will be important to any team evaluating Clausen because his injury has hampered him from doing any football-related work since he had the procedure in January. Clausen said former Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis, now the Kansas City Chiefs' offensive coordinator, believes he's ready for the NFL and encouraged him to apply for the draft after his junior year.
Clausen, who's 6-foot-3 and 223 pounds, is projected to be one of the top three quarterbacks in the draft. He played with the injury, which was diagnosed as turf toe, for most of this past season and classified it as "tremendous pain."
"It's probably the most painful thing I've ever had to go through," Clausen said.
Clausen threw for 3,722 yards and 28 touchdowns with just four interceptions last season. He had 60 touchdown passes in three seasons at Notre Dame.
