Is new golden boy a silver bullet for Irish?

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- It was in a sticky heat on Monday that heralded freshman quarterback Jimmy Clausen walked across campus toward his first fall football practice at Notre Dame.

He wore sandals and a red T-shirt, rolled up to mid-chest. He carried one football shoe in each hand.

It marked a beginning, for sure, but of what?

More than being the answer for Irish football right now, Clausen is just one of many questions.

Although it has been reported as fact by some news outlets, including the South Bend Tribune, Notre Dame still does not officially acknowledge that Clausen had minor surgery on his throwing arm in June.

However, third-year Coach Charlie Weis put to rest the notion that Clausen will be stashed and saved for another year.

Weis declared the quarterback position a three-man contest among Clausen, junior Evan Sharpley and sophomore Demetrius Jones.

Clausen, a freshman from Westlake Village Oaks Christian High and one of the most touted prep quarterbacks in a generation, is not yet allowed to speak with reporters.

For now, that’s Weis’ job.

“If people want to talk about procedures and being gone for the year, OK, he’s out there practicing today like I said he would be,” Weis said.

“Would I say when we’re teeing off on Sept. 1, would Jimmy Clausen be capable of being our starting quarterback and slinging it 30 or 40 times, the answer would be ‘yes.’ ”

Weis might not name a starter until right before the opener against Georgia Tech. He says, for one thing, it gives his opponent more to think about. He also says he doesn’t know which of the three will emerge.

“If I still have three guys in the running, then I’m obviously not comfortable who the one guy is yet,” Weis said.

Jones is considered the most athletic of the quarterbacks, Clausen the best pure passer with Sharpley somewhere in between.

First-year quarterbacks coach Ron Powlus was careful not to single out Clausen even though Powlus, more than a decade ago, came to Notre Dame with similar hype from high school.

Beano Cook famously said Powlus would win two Heisman Trophies at Notre Dame. Powlus didn’t win one.

“Sure there were high expectations, sure things were said,” Powlus said of his career. “But that is life as the Notre Dame quarterback. You’re in the spotlight. People get to say what they want to say. Opinions come and go. That’s life in this position. Didn’t bother me then, doesn’t bother me now. My advice to our guys is, ‘Don’t worry about what the media’s saying about you.’ ”

The mystery might start with who is going to replace Brady Quinn, a four-year starter at quarterback, but it doesn’t end there.

The Irish also must replace their starting tailback and two starting receivers. They have a new defensive coordinator, Corwin Brown, and are switching from a 4-3 to a 3-4 alignment.

Notre Dame is coming off a 10-3 season that ended with consecutive blowout losses to USC and Louisiana State.

The 2007 schedule starts out strong: home against Georgia Tech, at Penn State, at Michigan, home to Michigan State. The Irish also play both UCLA (Oct. 6) and USC (Oct. 20) again this year.

Some think eight wins would be a good year, but they don’t call it “rebuilding” here.

“May God strike me dead if I use that word,” Weis said. “I’ll never use that word. . . . You know, I have nine fifth-year seniors that came back for another year. Don’t you think I owe it to them to try and win this year?”

Weis has won 19 games in his first two years and taken his team to consecutive BCS bowls. He says he has stabilized the program despite presiding over the school’s eighth and ninth consecutive bowl losses.

Expectations here, though, are different.

“They’re never low,” Weis said.

Ara Parseghian, Dan Devine and Lou Holtz each won a national title in his third year as Notre Dame coach.

Tyrone Willingham got fired after his third.

Reporters were allowed to watch the opening 20 minutes (mostly stretching) of Monday’s first practice but were whisked off before Clausen got a chance to float his first pass.

“Buckle up your chin straps,” one Irish coach ordered as the team split off into group drills.

The words, heading into 2007, seemed appropriate.

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chris.dufresne@latimes.com