http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tm...u=/ap/20040205/ap_on_sp_fo_ne/fbn_clarett_nfl The thing is, even if the judge had ruled in favor of the NFL, Clarett may still have been able to enter the draft since he graduated from HS in December, 2001 and 3 years will have passed by the time the draft rolled around.
Then why did he have to sue? Anyways, based on his decisions, he seems to immature to handle success. He will definitely need some good mentors around.
What are teams saying about this decision? Are there any teams that say they would draft him? Mel Kiper Jr. said that if Maurice is in the draft, he's a second rounder.
Re: Re: Maurice Clarett ruled eligible for NFL draft IIRC, the wording on the eligibility rule is vague. I believe it says 3 seasons need to have "elapsed" after graduation which could mean either 3 whole seasons need to have begun and ended since his high school graduation or 3 seasons need to have completed. If it's the former, he doesn't make the cut, he does if it's the latter. Of course, I could be very wrong about this. EDIT: I always enjoy reading ESPN Page 2's Writer's Bloc. For all you soccer nerds out there, there is actually a proposal for promotion/relegation here, I kid you not: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?id=1728008
Skip is on the right track. It seems to be linked to his HS class, not the fact that he finished school early. In fact, he enrolled in classes early also and that allowed him to workout and play spring ball. As for the kid, Maurice, no matter how fast the people of Columbus forgot about you and now seem to hate you, I'd love to see you come back. He has been reported to have been taking classes, and would need to be/stay eligible to play football if Tress would decide to take him back. Non football issues aside, we don't even know if Tress would want him back, yet. Kids make mistakes and if he makes the grade, takes the required number of credits, pays back the money/use of good and Tressel accepts the young man's word, no matter what the haters say, he should be back. We got 2 RB in the signing period and return 2 senior RBs, too. But, you can't deny this kid's ability and heart. His body may not be ready for the NFL. He wasn't 100% for much of the championship season. A sidenote on the number of games...The Carolina Panthers played 24 games last season! As far as kids going pro, I'd say let them. I would stay in school and tell them to do so. Think of the long term here. But, I was not gifted with such choices, but have the years of experience to back me up. Arena Sidenote: Levante, it looks like the Columbus Destroyers will be playing their 1st game (ever) in Indy this weekend. I hope we develop a good rivalry with you guys.
I say why the hell not. So what if the 90% of kids who are 1-2 years out of high school are too small or immature? They won't get drafted - this isn't like the NBA where teams stash projects on their roster and give them 3 years to develop. With the exception of QBs, NFL teams simply don't draft projects. They will simply tell the players to spend time in the free farm system that we call the NCAA and put on some muscles. But when there is that rare 19, 20-year-old who is ready to play, then we won't have an artificial barrier preventing him from earning a living playing football or a willing employee from paying him a dollar or two. Age doesn't measure readiness. We have scouts with measuring tapes and scales and stopwatches for that. That said, I agree with Garcia. Clarett probably needs another season at The Ohio State to get back to match fitness and prove that he can last for a full season. Plus, in the non-guaranteed world of NFL contracts, he would be taking a huge financial risk if he goes in and gets drafted low. Larry Fitzgerald on the other hand...