SOUTH BEND — Maybe someday Jimmy Clausen will make headlines for something he actually does on the football field — not for ornate announcements with stretch Hummers, not for clandestine elbow conditions, and, most recently, not for a minor scrape with the law.

It has recently come to light that the University of Notre Dame freshman quarterback was cited for transporting alcohol as a minor in connection with a June 23 incident at a local liquor store.

Indiana State Excise Police cited the 19-year-old Clausen and a 23-year-old outside the Belmont Beverage store at 1621 South Bend Ave., near the Notre Dame campus, police said.

Excise police were in an unmarked car outside the store to catch minors attempting to get alcohol, said Lt. Tim Cleveland, a police spokesman.

Clausen, the nation’s No. 1 recruit in the last recruiting cycle and currently battling for the starting quarterback job at Notre Dame, received a misdemeanor citation, police said. The 23-year-old, a recent Notre Dame graduate, was cited for inducing a minor to possess alcohol, an infraction.

Clausen, through the university, declined comment Friday. Notre Dame head coach Charlie Weis also declined comment.

The 23-year-old entered the store and bought two 1.75-liter bottles of Smirnoff vodka and a 200-milliliter bottle of Jack Daniel’s whiskey, police said, as well as a case containing 30 cans of Natural Light beer.

Clausen remained outside the store in a Chevrolet Tahoe along with another Notre Dame freshman, who was not cited. Because the older man bought the alcohol, police said, the store was not cited.

The 23-year-old did not return a phone message Friday left with his father.

Clausen entered a pretrial diversion program with the St. Joseph County prosecutor’s office, said Linda Scopelitis, who directs the program.

Under the terms of the agreement, signed on July 11, Clausen agreed to pay a $170 fee and to not commit a similar offense for a year, Scopelitis said.

If Clausen meets those terms, he will not face a misdemeanor charge for the June incident, she said. But if he is cited for the same offense within a year, he will face two misdemeanor charges.

Such diversion agreements generally require people to perform community service or attend alcohol education programs as well, Scopelitis said, adding that the prosecutor’s office relies on the university to provide alcohol education for its students who enter the diversion program.

Clausen must also likely deal with the university’s layer of justice, as well as that of Weis. The Office of Residence Life and Housing is responsible for serving as hearing officers for student disciplinary issues, and issues such as this typically end up in that arena.

Clausen’s splash of a recruiting announcement in April of 2006 at the College Football Hall of Fame, orchestrated by a public relations firm, slammed the Californian into college football’s consciousness.

He enrolled early at Notre Dame, in January, in order to better compete for the vacant starter’s job at QB with sophomores Demetrius Jones and Zach Frazer and junior Evan Sharpley. Frazer, the odd man out after spring practice, has since transferred to Connecticut.

The condition of Clausen’s right (throwing) elbow in spring practice was the source of much speculation, particularly after his father, Jim Clausen, publicly acknowledged a chronic elbow condition. Clausen then underwent surgery in May but has been practicing with the team since Aug. 6. The extent to which he has recovered is uncertain.

The Irish open the season at home Sept. 1 against Georgia Tech.