RIVALRY DIVIDES A HOUSE.Byline: RAMONA SHELBURNE Ramona Shelburne is an American sports journalist currently writing for the Los Angeles Daily News. Shelburne was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. She attended El Camino Real High School in Woodland Hills, California where she was a class valedictorian. LOCAL WESTLAKE VILLAGE - Marshall Jones pondered the question for a couple seconds, glanced over at Jimmy Clausen James Richard "Jimmy" Clausen (born September 21, 1987, in Thousand Oaks, California[3]) is an American football player. He is a quarterback at the University of Notre Dame. in his practice jersey and smiled. ``Yeah, I could hit him,'' Jones said, chuckling. ``Hopefully I'll get a chance to show him how I can hit next year. I can't hit him now because he's got (the yellow jersey) on.'' Marc Tyler Marc Tyler (born September 27, 1988 in Palmdale, California) is an American football running back for the University of Southern California Trojans football team. High school career Tyler attended Oaks Christian High School in Westlake Village, California. took far less time in answering. Frankly, he got kind of excited about the idea. ``I could hit him. Definitely. He's a quarterback. You always love to hit the quarterback,'' said the USC-bound running back/linebacker. Clausen took it all in stride Adv. 1. in stride - without losing equilibrium; "she took all his criticism in stride" in good spirits , sidestepping the trash-talking rush as cooly as he does in games. ``It'll be fun playing against Marc and Marshall next year,'' said the Notre Dame-bound signal caller. ``They're two of the best players in the country. ... Both of them might even be playing on the defensive side next year.'' Approximately one year from today, in a late afternoon game in South Bend South Bend, city (1990 pop. 105,511), seat of St. Joseph co., N Ind., on the great south bend of the St. Joseph River, in a farming and mint-growing region; inc. as a city 1865. , Ind., Clausen could be dropping back into the pocket, reading the USC An abbreviation for U.S. Code. defensive coverage and get blindsided by his best friend ... Tyler. You know, the guy who lived down the hall from him their first three years at Oaks Christian High of Westlake Village, the guy he handed the ball off to a thousand times and sipped Jamba Juices Jamba Juice is a high-end chain of smoothie restaurants headquartered in Emeryville, California with over 640 locations operating in 21 states, the District of Columbia and the Bahamas. Over 400 locations are company-owned, with the remainder being franchised. with at lunchtime. If not Tyler, Jones is happy to be the USC safety nailing Clausen on a blitz blitz n. 1. a. A blitzkrieg. b. A heavy aerial bombardment. 2. An intense campaign: a media blitz focused on young voters. 3. . You know, the guy he has lived down the road from his whole life, the guy he has found on hundreds of screen passes out of the backfield over the years and ate pasta with at pregame meals. All three will watch Saturday's USC-Notre Dame game with different eyes this year. In the past, it was just another big college football game. But with Tyler, the No.1 running back in the country, and Jones, one of the top safeties in the nation, having verbally committed to USC and Clausen, the No. 1 overall player in the country, having verbally committed to Notre Dame Notre Dame IPA: [nɔtʁ dam] is French for Our Lady, referring to the Virgin Mary. In the United States of America, Notre Dame , this is more than just a game. ``Every game I watch this year, I look at it like I'm going to be out there next year,'' Tyler said. ``This game more than any (of them).'' Jones is planning to attend the game at the Coliseum Coliseum: see Colosseum. . Tyler -- who suffered a broken fibula fibula (fĭb`yələ): see leg. in last week's playoff game Noun 1. playoff game - one game in the series of games constituting a playoff game - a single play of a sport or other contest; "the game lasted two hours" playoff - any final competition to determine a championship and is walking with crutches -- will try to make it to the Coliseum and watch from the field in a wheelchair. If he can't do that, he'll watch the game at Clausen's house. Tyler and Clausen have spent many Saturday afternoons watching college football in front of the Clausen family's big-screen TV. They lived together -- during the week -- for three years because Tyler's family is from Lancaster and the drive to Westlake Village is too far to make every morning. Tyler lived in the LSU-themed room, which was decorated in honor of Clausen's brother Rick, who played for the Tigers. Clausen lived in the Tennessee-themed room, which was decorated in honor of his older brother Casey, who played for the Volunteers. At nights, they'd help each other with their homework, watch TV and talk football. On the weekends, Tyler was Clausen's favorite receiver for his workouts with private quarterback coach Steve Clarkson. ``We're still like brothers,'' Clausen said. ``I think we'll always be like that, even though we're going to different schools.'' If Clausen had his way, they would've both been playing for the Fighting Irish next year. Clausen pulled out all the stops to woo his best friend to Notre Dame. He even brought Tyler along on the unofficial visit during which Clausen verbally committed to Notre Dame at a lavish ceremony. ``I worked hard on Marc,'' Clausen said. ``But in the end, he had to make the decision that was best for him and I'm happy for him.'' Clausen might have played it cool in the interview session when he was asked how his future rivalry with Jones and Tyler will go, but he's not as shy on the practice field. ``We all talk smack back and forth,'' Clausen said. ``All the guys on the team who are going to different colleges joke around. It's fun now, but it'll be better next year when we're playing against each other on Saturdays.'' ramona.shelburne@dailynews.com (818) 713-3617 CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Oaks Christian teammates, from left, Marshall Jones, Jimmy Clausen and Marc Tyler show their college football allegiances. Andy Holzman/Staff Photographer |
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