Sounds like there's a scandle brewing in the land of Buckeyes over Maurice Clarett, grades, tutors etc. Life is hard at the top they say.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football/...rett_report_ap/

[ July 13, 2003, 01:45 PM: Message edited by: HornFan ]

Not surprising, given his vocal criticism of the athletic depatrment last year regarding leave to attend a funeral and air tickets. Make yourself a target, expect to be shot at...

My best friend here in St. Louis, who is a diehard Ohio State alum(& can't wait for the Texas/Ohio State home and home series in a couple of years), is completely shocked at these revelations, if true. He went to the National Championship game, and was pleasantly surprised when they won. He had told me that even the most loyal Buckeye fans thought that Miami would blow them out of the water!! He actually called me from the stadium at halftime and at the end of the game!! That was pretty cool!! He and I both agree that Clarett is a good player, but discipline wise, he just doesn't get it.

I personally didn't like the situation last year when he attempted to challenge the NFL's three year college completion policy where players can't declare for the NFL until they have completed at three yrs in college. He thought that he was ready for the NFL halfway through his freshman season. What an arrogant ass****!! No disrespect to my friend, but I hope the NCAA throws the book at him!! I don't like athletes like him, because they give the great sport of college football and athletics in general a bad image!! :mad: He is definitely not a team player, but a pretty good individual one!!

[ July 14, 2003, 11:25 AM: Message edited by: SmoothRon ]

WOW!!! This could seriously upset the apple cart in Buckeye land!!! I have to say, if this did happen as alleged, it totally ruins my impression of Coach Tressel. He has portrayed himself as a squeaky clean coach, but if this was allowed, that totally changes things. And, I have to say that I agree about Maurice Clarrett, that he is NOT a team player. His comments to the media over the season last year, and over the off-season just emphasize that Maurice is in this for himself, and only himself. To play College Football successfully, there is no "I" in team. While the Buckeyes have had success this 1st year with him, watch for his position with the team to deteriorate if he continues with this attitude. And, one thing that will for sure not help get his ego under control, he is the pre-season pick of many to win the Heisman Trophy this year, in a very weak field of pre-season candidates. If his attitude continues, he will tarnish the image of the Heisman Award. Hopefully someone more suited for the ideals of the award will emerge thoughout the 2003 College Season.

Exfballplayer

[ July 22, 2003, 08:52 AM: Message edited by: exfballplayer ]

Great points, exballplayer!! I totally agree with you, and I just heard on ESPN last night that Tressel is encouraging the NCAA to investigate this situation, so as to not perceive the internal investigation as a cover-up!! Good on his part, because I look at him as a stand-up type of coach.

[ July 22, 2003, 10:20 AM: Message edited by: SmoothRon ]

Woody Hayes would have never put up with the likes of Maurice Clarett, I can tell you that.

DC Buckeye: You are so right in that what Universities and Head Coaches tolerate today would NEVER have been acceptable in the days of Woody Hayes, and Bo Schembechler. (sp) And in some ways, the Coaches and the Universities have no one to blame but themselves for tolerating what they have for the last decade in behavior for "star players." And it doesn't stop there. Players graduate from College and move into the Pro Sports, and graduate up in the crimes, or misbehavior that they commit. Someone needs to stand up and say ENOUGH!!! But too many people are afraid to, cause they fear that it will cost their University wins, which means, it will ultimately cost the university in "lost cash."

I want to say that after reading the link in the above entry, I COMMEND Coach Tressel in his stance of welcoming an NCAA Investigation to clear the matter up. Even though I have never been an Ohio State fan, I commend the program for having something that is a rarity nowadays -- an Upstanding Coach who places integrity over winning!!!

Exfballplayer (David)

OSU is holding Clarett out of team practice until they resolve the question of his eligibility.

AD Andy Geiger and Coach Jim Tressel: "Clarett will not participate in preseason football camp until, and unless, all issues related to his eligibility regarding his amateur status have been resolved."

"The school's release also included an apology from Clarett in connection with events related to the theft from a car at the Woody Hayes Athletic Facility on April 17, and a statement from Clarett's attorney, Scott Schiff, saying that the car was a borrowed vehicle and that Clarett exaggerated the value of some items reported stolen from it.

The NCAA has investigated a police report filed by Clarett which said cash and thousands of dollars of stereo equipment owned by him were stolen from the car.

"The NCAA knows all about this. The statement reflects what Maurice told the NCAA," Geiger said."

I don't have a good feeling about this. All this drama. It's just not worth it.

i have to agree about the absolute arrogance that clarett displays. it only distracts the team from the task at hand. in some ways i hope he has to sit out awhile and maybe this will help him evaluate his "worth" to the program. and the team did manage to win games last year without him. i say bench the beast!

and it really fries my jock when academics are secondary to the game (i AM a teacher...)

is anyone buying this crap about him borrowing someone else's car and the stuff belonging to someone else and him overestimating the value?

i don't think maurice anticipated the questions about how he happened to acquire all that stuff. i don't know too many college students that walk around with 800 dollars in their wallets...

Can we say NCAA penalties against the defending National Champions! That is, if they can self-impose some penalties on themselves, thus thwarting the NCAA from penalizing the school. Wow, what a mess!! Clarett is such a talent on the field, but his decision making is that of a complete idiot!!

[ August 01, 2003, 08:29 AM: Message edited by: SmoothRon ]

Hey guys:

I just want to say that, looking back on some of the interviews that Clarett gave in the first part of the 2002 season, I cant help but laugh. Now, I am not laughing at the Ohio State program, cause I find it heart breaking that a school that worked so hard to rebuild their program, could actually have it all torn down because of an arrogant jackass. But I remember this one interview that Clarett gave to ABC's Brent Musberger, in which he said, "My biggest hero and idol is Eddie George. I believe I represent that same hard working attitude that George continues to show in his great career." Well Clarett, you are no where near George, as Eddie George is a class act, it is very hard to find someone who kept his private life under such control as George has. I hope that Clarett never uses that line again, as I find it a huge disservice to Eddie George.

Exfballplayer

P.S. Stay tuned for Big Ten Predictions, you can already kinda get an idea of where I stand on Ohio State, so tune in for the rest, sometime this week.

wink :cool:

I really hate this for OSU. This is so, human? And quite sad. Ditto on all the posts about OSU working so hard to climb back, and now some player upsets everything. This is really terrible.

I think that only works if your head football coach's last name is Fulmer.

GatorJamie: That was funny!! It reminds of some of the same actions of a now unemployed former Texas A&M coach by the name of RC Slocum, who was replaced by former SEC coach, Dennis Franchione of Alabama!! He probably will never enter the state of Alabama the rest of his life after his abrupt controvesial departure. I am a Texas alum, BTW, and like the Tenn/Fla rivalry, the Texas/Texas A&M one is just as fierce.

[ August 04, 2003, 08:15 AM: Message edited by: SmoothRon ]

Thanks, Ron. You may appreciate this re rivalry: there is a truck in my neighborhood with an orange (not burnt) "T" window sticker and a license plate that says "GATR H8R". I see him about once a month and smile and do The Chomp. Just saw him this morning on the Beltway. He grinned and rolled his eyes.

Hook 'em!

gj

Just saw this on ESPN.com:

Wow!!! This will certainly put OSU in a precarious position for the BCS.

Clarett is such a jerk for putting his teammates through all of his dramas and problems. He should just leave. But I don't think the suspension will have too much of an impact on the team's performance. Last year, Clarett only played in 4 or 5 games because of a shoulder injury.

Yeah Buckeye -- he should leave now -- way too much of a distraction. This is a real test for Tressel to see how well he can keep the team focused.

But I just counted -- a six game suspension would include the one at Wisconsin - where he ran for 133 yards last season.

As for impact on the team's performance, I just heard these stats on Sports Center -- OSU averaged 50 yards fewer per game without him last season -- one yard less per carry -- that can be pretty substantial in a close game.

[ August 23, 2003, 04:28 AM: Message edited by: DCBucky ]

Well, it looks like Clarett will be out for the entire season. I suppose he will either elect to challenge the NFL 3 yr rule or play for the Canadian Football League. He has no one to blame for all of this except himself.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/da...rett.b9aac.html

Here's the espn.com story.

Sources: Clarett told he likely will sit out year.

I agree. He has nobody to blame but himself. How long before lawyers are involved?

Jim

I hope Clarett gets the book thrown at him.

Hey Guys:

Well, honestly the Maurice Claurett decision handed down is the best thing for Ohio State Football. He will NOT be allowed on the sidelines, and the team can finally concentrate on doing what they are there for: PLAYING FOOTBALL. Coach Tressel has done a great job so far handling this circus surrounding Claurett, and I promise you, no one is happier about this decision than Tressel, because he can finally focus all this attention on the team and their defense of the National Championship. If Claurett had been permitted to still practice and stay on the sidelines, he would have been taking the attention away from the great play of Ohio State. It already happened to Ohio State during the Washington game. I swear those ABC Cameras spent more time focusing in on Claurett than on the game - to the point that Keith Jackson finally said, "I am sick of hearing about Claurett. Can we not finish this game without mentioning that name?"

I hope that Ohio State's program does not suffer serious blows because of the stupidity, and ego of one immature player.

David
Exfballplayer

Interesting op ed piece from today's Yahoo sports on L'Affaire Clarrett:

Op Ed on Clarrett

I agree with the writer and the majority of opinions expressed here: the sooner this guy goes, the better. And I wouldn't count on his being all that great up North either; the Bucks did just fine - maybe even better - without him last Saturday.

Interesting editorial there on Yahoo. There is also an editorial in the Columbus Dispatch today (a subscription site, unfortunately) that takes a bit of a different take on all this. While I have been saying all along that Clarett screwed up royaly, and I still believe that, the Columbus Dispatch is saying that Ohio State and the coaching staff are partly to blame for not keeping an eye on this kid. Specifically, here's Clarett, 19 years old, incredibly talented on the field, possibly one of OSU's greatest players of all time, living on his own for the first time, in Columbus no less (I know, it ain't NYC, but it ain't Youngstown, either), and nobody says anything to him when he drives to practice in a car that does not belong to him? Considering what was at stake, Tressel should have been a bit more in touch with what Clarett was up to, according to the Dispatch. I can sympathize a little bit with the editorial, but I still think Clarett thought that the rules didn't apply to him. But sadly, they do. Does anybody know if Clarett has the option of transferring to another school? If so, with my luck, it would be Wisconsin or Michigan.

No way he has the smarts for either - or for a try at a real OSU for that matter.

Well what if somebody like Texas Tech said they'd take him? They took Bobby Knight, didn't they?

That they did, although Knight at least managed to complete his education along the way. Here's the latest on Clarrett's "exit strategy."

Link to Yahoo Sports story

Indeed. Bobby Knight actually graduated from Ohio State, while Clarett, unfortunately probably never will.