clarett lost his case...

[jfcohio]

6/7/04

Clarett running out of options

 

by JASON LLOYD  

This is what happens to pioneers who fail to find the new land.

While Mike Williams has ditched his agent and returned to Southern Cal saying all the right things to return to college football, Maurice Clarett stands in the darkness, a man without a nation and a running back without a team.

Williams merely walked through the door Clarett temporarily broke down. Now he could return to the Trojans next year and become the best receiver in college football.

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Clarett?

No one really knows.

''I think this is a tragic story,'' said Thom McDaniels, Clarett's old high school coach at Warren Harding.

McDaniels used to be close to Clarett. When Maurice had a problem in high school, McDaniels was there to listen and perhaps even fix it. Only this time, no solution seems possible.

The CFL is out, because players must make a two-year commitment to play in Canada. Clarett is only one year away from NFL eligibility.

The bridge back to Ohio State went up last fall in a bigger inferno than anything witnessed on High Street following a Michigan game. As proof, athletic director Andy Geiger said last week Maurice hasn't made any attempt to return, now that his court appeals appear fruitless.

So now what?

A few months ago, Clarett's name was everywhere. He was the reason the NFL's laws would crumble. He would bring down its unfair labor practices and make it possible for all underclassmen across the country to play on Sundays.

Now that the plan has fallen apart, Williams is the prodigal son returning to Los Angeles and Clarett has disappeared entirely. His attorneys vow more court appeals, but we get the picture.

McDaniels hasn't spoken to Clarett since the day after his workout for pro scouts in Columbus. He never bothers Maurice, instead waiting for Maurice's call. Only it hasn't come yet.

''If I did have the chance to talk to him, considering everything that's occurred, I would urge him to go play NAIA football,'' McDaniels said. ''Play. Just go play somewhere. I have contacts, I have people I could put him in touch with. Just go play somewhere this fall and get drafted next year.''

McDaniels wouldn't elaborate on his contacts because ''I haven't even had this conversation with him yet.''

But McDaniels makes a strong point.

Another year out of football could crush any chance Clarett has at a pro career. With the CFL and Division I no longer an option, Clarett has quickly fallen from the best college running back and a brash self-thinker to a defeated, meek young man who listened a little too closely to attorneys just trying to become famous.

''He's got an awful lot of others who are advising him and impacting his thinking, and I suppose they still have his ear,'' McDaniels said. ''In my opinion, that's why he's in the predicament he's in to some extent.''

McDaniels knew Maurice as a typical high school student, before the Texas Tech opener and the 262 yards against Washington State and the shouting match with Tim Spencer and the ESPN cover story and the public feud with Geiger before and after the national championship and the false police report and the ensuing battles with the NCAA and the Supreme Court.

Somewhere inside, he must still see Maurice as the 17-year-old kid so full of potential. Only that potential was benched last year and his options appear limited again.

''If you're going to sue the NFL, certainly you're hopeful to win,'' McDaniels said. ''But if you care about the kid, in the event you don't win, what's your plan? They didn't have a plan and I think that is very short-sighted and very ignorant on their part.

''They didn't care about the kid, I don't think I'm wrong to come to that conclusion. You get to make a name and some money if you win, but if you really cared about the kid, you would've had a Plan B to put in effect when your plan failed again and again and again and again.''

Barring a miracle reversal in court, Clarett's only remaining options appear to sit another season without football, or swallow hard and make the move to I-AA or lower. And depending on the type of damage Clarett did to his grade point average in his final quarter at Ohio State, who knows how much academic work it would take to make him eligible again? Summer sessions at various colleges are already starting.

Dropping down is really his best choice, but it would force Maurice to admit he made a mistake. That's harder for him than shaking two linebackers and a safety.

Maybe his old coach could convince him of that. But first he has to drop the attorneys, forget about the dream to defeat the NFL and make the call.

McDaniels is sitting by the phone waiting. Much like it has been for the past year, it's still Maurice's move.