Maurice Clarett Episode II

[offiss]

Originally Posted by sportscurmudgeon

offiss:

The NCAA did not blackball Clarett. Maurice Clarett hired an agent to represent him in his athletic career. No one had a gun to his head forcing him to do that. And the NCAA rule is that NO ONE who hires an agent gets their NCAA eligibility back. That is not a rule that applies only to Clarett; the NCAA bans EVERY athlete who does that. By the way, that is why Williams (the USC WR) ALSO did not play college football last year.

Clarett made a decision. That decision had consequences. He then suffered those consequences when his decision was deemed to be wrong by a series of judges in Federal courts. That is what would happen to you or me if we made a decision that a Federal judge decided was not in keeping with the law. Clarett is not a victim of an NCAA blackball.

Now the NFL may be a totally different story ... Particularly when Williams get drafted early in the 1st round and if Clarett is not drafted at all.

If I'm an NFL GM, I would NOT take Clarett because I think he is the 2005 version of Ron Dayne - except Dayne was and is faster. They are about the same size and have very similar running styles and both looked really good in college. But if I'm an NFL GM, I'm not trying to build a college football team.

SC, Clarett took a shot at entering the NFL and lost that's correct, but just because judges ruled against him doesn't make it right, why do think the NCAA and the NFL fought him every step of the way? It was to stuff their own pockets with cash, it was age discrimination how dare they tell this kid he's not allowed to make a living, and then say oh by the way your no longer afforded an education either, talk about having a student and a human beings best interests at heart? What a JOKE! Then we happen to find out that the school who decieded they were rightous enough to pass judgement on a kid who wants to play pro has more skeletons in their closet than Clarett. Bottom line who wants to tell me Claretts grads were scholarship material? He was recruited as a football player illegally and then everyone blows a gasket when the monster THEY created wants to leave the lab.

As for M.Williams he recieved the rawest deal of them all, only after a judge ruled that underclassmen could enter the NFL draft did he hire an agent and prepare for the draft, that decision we know was overturned, yet the NCAA in all their wisdom thumbed their arrogant nose at the kid and said hit the road, In other words he's told he's not allowed to make a living in the NFL, not becuase he's not good enough, but because basically they said we haven't made enough money off of you ourselves even though we aren't going to give you a nickle of that revenue you generate. And to insure nobody else ever challenges us again we are now kicking you out of college. What HYPOCRITES! How many years have we heard these colleges tell us about player's who left for the usfl and left college early will not make it after football without an education? This education that they valued for the college student that they are so interested in him recieving because they care so much about what happens to him after his high paying NFL carreer is over, now say screw you and your education because you tried to play in the NFL! Williams played by the rules that were in force at the time he declaired, it's not his fault someone changed the rules.

As for the Clarett, Dayne comparison? I don't see it, Clarett hits the holes very hard and is very shifty in the hole, and powers his way through the smallest of openings. Dayne on the other hand played deep in the backfield in college and never really had to hit the holes with force he just break a lot of arm tackles and outrun everbody, Dayne is probably the weekest back I have seen at his size he has no leg drive whatsoever, he approaches the line half heartedly and waits for contact which he usually finds, holes close quickly in the NFL, I still think Daynes problems are all in his head, but I will guarentee you Clarett will attack opposing defenses. I don't think we will do it but IMO Clarett would be an ideal back for Gibbs, if we have a chance to take this kid from the 4th rd and on I say we do it.