NEW YORK -- By the time the call finally came, he wasn't pacing anymore. He wasn't worried. Or nervous. Or any of the emotions that might occur when a dream turns bad.

Former Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausen was just playing some pool at his grandfather's house in Palm Springs, Calif., putting the stress and worry behind him, when his brothers heard the ring.

``They screamed at me and handed me the phone,'' Clausen said during a conference call Friday. ``That was a pretty big moment for me.''

On the other end of the line, where the Panthers were on the clock with the 48th overall pick in the draft, Carolina coach John Fox provided a late conclusion to one of the two biggest slides in the NFL Draft.

Clausen, who was projected by many as the second-best quarterback in the draft, would be selected 47 spots after the first quarterback -- Sam Bradford -- was picked by the Rams. He is still expected to compete for a starting job with unproven Matt Moore.

Texas' Colt McCoy, who was another solid collegiate quarterback slated to go at some point shortly after Clausen, wasn't selected until the third round -- 85th overall -- by the Cleveland Browns. Both players were expected to go far sooner.

Clausen said he even thought it was possible he could go No. 4 overall to the Redskins.

``My agent was telling me some of the teams wanted to get up, that the Steelers wanted to get up and make a trade into the top 10, that the Redskins wanted to take me at four and swap with St. Louis,'' Clausen said. ``There were a bunch of different things my agent was telling me.''

It isn't exactly known why either of the two quarterbacks endured such drastic slides, especially when teams such as Minnesota and Kansas City were rumored to be in the market for a quarterback. Clausen is considered NFL-ready, but questions about his leadership have been following him for months -- even years -- now. The prospect said he is ready to get a fresh start and prove that he is capable of being a true leader.

``I think I'm a great leader and teammate,'' Clausen said. ``I don't know everything that was being said, but it's over now. I'm a Carolina Panther. I couldn't be happier than I am right now.''

Considering the money he will likely miss out on, Clausen could probably muster some more happiness in a few other situations. But by the time the slide ended, Clausen simply sounded relieved to be off the board.

``It's definitely going to be in the back of my mind every single time I step on the field, every single time I'm in the facility working out and watching film, to make me that much better,'' Clausen said. ``It's a dream come true and I just can't wait to get there.''

Clausen seemed humbled by the slide, but he will need to maintain that attitude if he is going to win over his locker room in Carolina. Last week, Clausen came under more fire when he blamed one of his wide receivers during a film-study breakdown during an otherwise fun appearance with ESPN analyst Jon Gruden. McCoy defended the comments Friday after he was drafted.

``That's just the nature of football,'' he said. ``I make mistakes, other guys make mistakes, but at the end of the day, you've just got to come together and learn from your mistakes and get better each and every day, each and every week, you've just got to get better, on the practice field and during games.''

McCoy is believed to be more of a pro project than Clausen, but under the direction of Mike Holmgren in Cleveland, it seems like a good landing spot for him as well. So while neither player will end up with the type of contract they might have gotten had they not dealt with these types of slides, both should have the chance to succeed in the league.

``I am where I'm supposed to be, and that's Cleveland,'' McCoy said. ``It's a blue-collar town, and that's how I am.''