Thursday, August 30, 2007

Facebook + unfounded speculation + Observer article + opponent blogging = DD as the starter

EDIT: MSNBC weighs in on the quarterback controversy, adding an additional nugget of uncertainty to the whole report of Demetrius starting (see bolded text below)

From MSNBC:
According to two internet reports, Notre Dame's starting quarterback on Saturday against Georgia Tech will be ... Demetrius Jones.
The 6-4, 213-pound sophomore is know more for his running ability than his passing.
If the reports are correct, he would have beaten out heralded freshman Jimmy Clausen and junior Evan Sharpley for the position.
NBCSports.com's John Walters weighs in that Clausen received most of the snaps during practice the other day in front of the students.
So, is it Jones? Only time will tell and everyone will know for sure when the Irish take the field to face the Yellow Jackets Saturday at 3:30 on NBC.

This report would tend to refute the claim by Jones' coach that DD was receiving the bulk of the snaps this week. If Clausen has been receiving the bulk of the snaps, he'll be the starter. Now I'm waiting for Evan Sharpley's 3rd grade teacher to weigh in with a rumor that he'll be the starter.

EDIT: Demetrius' high school coach is telling reporters that Demetrius got the bulk of the snaps in practice this week, which (if true) confirms that Demetrius is indeed the starter on Saturday. Coach Weis said in a press conference earlier this week that the starter was receiving the bulk of the snaps in practice for the past week and a half.

So the buzz this morning is that the blogosphere has outed Demetrius Jones as the starter, for what that's worth.

The "sources" of this information are Demetrius' Facebook page, wherein random friends congratulate him on being named the starter, and the Robot Charlie blog, which posted briefly that they knew who the starter was before taking it down 5 minutes later. This was picked up by the Ramblin' Wreck blog, and the AOL Sports blog shortly thereafter.

But this morning, the unfounded rumor from the blogosphere was given some legs when the Chicago Trbune reported that the blogs had reported that DD was the starter.

Normally I would dismiss this as wild speculation, but the Observer article from earlier this week nearly outright stated that half of the student population knows who the starter is, but that the newspaper was prohibited from reporting on it.

If that many people know who the starter is from Sunday's open practice, and the blogosphere (and even random online quizzes) are coalescing around Demetrius as the starter, I'm willing to believe it.

Clausen's "minor" procedure just before summer camp didn't heal itself overnight, and my wild and completely unfounded internet speculation is that he just isn't ready to make all the throws. Demetrius can't make ALL the throws, but he has something that Clausen doesn't - blazing speed. And I've said before that I thought Sharpley was a longshot to win this race.

So, take this for what it's worth, but it looks like Demetrius will be the starter, at least to start the year. What this means for us is covered pretty well over on OC Domer's blog. This may not bode well for our shot at gettng to 10 wins and making Mark May dress like a leprechaun, but it does mean that the entire season is going to be exciting and dramatic. There will be some exciting plays made by DD with his legs, but his throwing ability relative to Clausen means that every interception thrown will be immediately followed by a shot of Clausen waiting in the wings.

Only 2 days, 3 hours, 30 minutes left.

EDIT: The earliest and most reliable source I could find for the source of Demetrius Jones' nickname is an article from early in the recruiting cycle for him. Check it out here. Another version of his nickname is given on Wikipedia. Everyone agrees that he is also called D-Train.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

how does the acronym "DD" = Demetrius Jones?

"DJ"? what am i missing?

Anonymous said...

I've wondered the same thing myself. But I think some people have nicknamed him "DoomsDay" or something like that.

mike said...

I believe it was "Robot Charlie" not "NDCHOOCHOO".

Wacko said...

DD was a nickname he brought wth him from high school.

The origin story behind the nickname has two theories I've seen floated online:
(1) His grandmother gave it to him, when he was getting into trouble.
(2) He got it for pulling double duty in football and basketball.

Either way, it's one of his nicknames, and has gotten lots of press.

Wacko said...

Thanks, mike - I always get those two confused.

Anonymous said...

Double Disaster