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Last Second Pass
Clarett's boorishness is boisterous behavior
Now it will take a lawsuit battle for him to blaze the trails for underclass NFL hopefuls. Where does the madness stop?
Let's be frank here. Ex-Buckeye
star Maurice Clarett is nothing
but a barnyard chicken-hawk.
Yeah, you know, the little Looney
Tunes brown-bird who tries to fight
anything and everything in his way.
Or, if you will, he’s a little like
Scrappy Doo.
If it wasn’t for somebody holding
him back, he’d be getting into a fight.
Now, he's suing the NFL for not
letting him declare for the draft.
—— ■ II |
COURTESY OF THE (OHIO STATE) LANTERN/ELIZABETH NIHISER
After being suspended for the season by Ohio State, sophomore tailback Maurice Clarett is weighing in his chances at mak
ing history by taking the league to court and testing the NFL rule that players have to be out of high school three years.
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But this is only after Ohio State sus
pended him the rest of the season for
accepting thousands of dollars in
improper benefits and then lying to
NCAA officials.
“Aww, c'mon, lemme at 'em. ”
The NFL has a rule which states
that draftees have to be out of high
school for three years before they can
enter the draft pool.
And now that Clarett cannot play
Division 1-A football, he's looking for
Chris' Column
something else to take down with him
-be it DTI or the NFL’s draft clause.
With the recent hype of the NBA’s
number-one pick, Lebron James, it
looks as if Clarett has a legitimate shot
at being the pied piper for many too
young NFL prospects.
Already, Clarett’s got the hype to
go along with the game. For example,
you can buy a $4.99 plaque on eßay
that features Clarett (in a Heisman
position) and James with “ON FIRE!”
2001 ACC standings
Conference Overall
W L Pt* OP W L Pts OP
Florida State 4 0 142 30 5 0 189 37
Virginia 2 0 54 24 3 1 120 71
Clemson 1 0 39 33 1 104 64
Wake Forest 1 1 62 51 3 2 138 111
N.C. State 1 1 71 72 3 2 217 157
Maryland 0 1 10 35 3 2 155 75
Duke 0 2 7 83 2 3 73 138
Georgia Tech 0 2 16 53 2 3 70 97
North Carolina 0 2 34 84 0 4 108 171
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inscribed above them.
Does anybody realize that these
players have yet to play professionally?
Grambling State coach Doug
Williams walked into a press confer
ence holding a jersey with the former
Buckeye’s number on it.
This led to accusations of indirect
contact with Clarett, an NCAA viola
tion. Williams replied by wondering,
“What is ‘indirect contact’ anyway?”
But, who doesn't want Clarett? He’s
got hype and a whole pile of talent.
With the situation as it stands,
Clarett's name is on the tips of thou
sands of tongues. But most of them are
saying that he needs to stay in college.
And I think Williams would concur.
And the NFL wouldn’t mind if
Clarett did stay. Picture the NFL as
Foghorn Leghorn -
“Now pay attention to me boy, I'm ain t
just talking to hear my head roar. ”
Obviously, the sophomore has tal
ent, or else he wouldn't have spear
headed the Buckeye offense to a
national championship, gaining 1,237
yards and 18 touchdowns - both
team freshman records.
But don’t forget, N.C. State's T.A.
McLendon had 1,101 yards and 18
touchdowns in 2002.
That’s not too far from Clarett’s
marks, and there’s no talk that
McLendon is contemplating going to
the NFL.
So, the questions continue to swirl.
DTH Sport Saturday
By Chris Gilfillan
Assistant Sport Saturday Editor
•Will Clarett win his suit against
the NFL?
According to ESPN.com, in the
opinion of the Congressional
Research Service, the NFL’s action is
a violation of anti-trust laws.
•With that in mind, does Clarett
have the game to get into the NFL?
Clearly a yes. He’s got moves. He’s
got heart, and he’s got vision. Did I
mention all of the hype?
•Does Clarett have the talent to
jump to the NFL right now?
Probably. Most pundits consider
him to be a likely second-round pick.
•Will D-II get Clarett to the NFL?
Maybe. There’re plenty of players
who have gone to the draft from D-11,
includingjerry Rice. He’s obviously
doing the right thing by staying
enrolled and maintaining his scholar
ship.
•Finally, does Clarett have the
strength for the NFL?
A big no. With no ill intent toward
Clarett, there aren’t many 19 or 20-
year-old backs that could handle it,
especially one that missed the
Cincinnati game last season due to
arthroscopic surgery on his knee.
Not only that, but the NFL game is
a way of life. He’s gonna have to
cope, bad knee and all, with getting
banged up day in and day out.
Tampa Bay coach Jon Gruden said:
“Personally, I don’t want any 18- or
19-year olds in my locker room. This
won't end with Clarett... if he comes
in you will see a bunch of kids trying
to do the same. This league is differ
ent; it's not the NBA or MLB."
So let’s not doubt here that
Clarett’s got talent.
And he’ll probably be a trailblazer.
On the other hand, he’s no martyr
for underclassmen everywhere, he’s
just looking for a way out.
Somebody’s got to hold him back.
Step on his tail or something.
Contact Chris Gilfillan
at cgilfill@email. unc.edu
In 2
Weeks
Arizona State comes to Chapel Hill
October 14 looking to avenge last sea
son's 38-35 loss at Sun Devil Stadium.
UNC is hoping to get in a shootout and
have Darian Durant's right arm carry
the Tar Heels to victory.