I admit I didn't go back and look up the story but if he broke the law, arrest him and try him. The NCAA doesn't have to do that, they just took away his eligibility. My point was he wouldn't be allowed to play college football next year so why should the NCAA/NFL's collusion agreement prevent him from persuing a living. I also have said this in threads about the NBA draft. It probably serves a kid better to be earning a very good living, getting the advantage of professional coaching and the experience observing the professional game than living in a dorm playing against college kids. If a team drafts Claret (I think they would get a 3 year deal with a team option on the 4th) You rehab, feed and train that kid for 2 years and you may develop a monster. Roster restrictions and salary caps restrict the numbers of players you afford do this with but NBA or NFL you could stash one maybe two away. Look at Priest Holmes, Kurt Warner, Jake Delhomme, Michael Redd, Kwame Brown,He Hate Me, some top players take years to reach their professional peaks. Does anyone think we won't see Willis McGahee again? So, he didn't quit the NCAA they suspended him so this won't be a precedent that will destroy the quality of play in college football. He has proven 2nd. round value as compared to Hollings and McGahee so he will make make a large sum of money. though not guaranteed. It's a win/win.
i was just hoping that he would be a 1st rounder so the cowboys could get him or push kevin jones down to the cowboys. oh well.
They didn't suspend him just because of the false police report. They also suspended him because he broke NCAA rules by accepting compensation. They didn't have to do it, no, but he didn't have to break the rules either. http://www.nbc4columbus.com/sports/2468541/detail.html
Priest Holmes, Ahman Green, Ladainian Tomlison, Clinton Portis, What do they have in common, all smaller than Clarett. Come on guys, you act like he's Quinten Richardson.
What do they have in common? faster than clarett What do they have in common? they all were able to get through one or more college seasons. etc etc etc
No, especially because I think Clarett is overrated and will be embarrassed. There's no guaranteed money for NFL players unlike NBA players, plus the physical and mental leap is too great for over 99% of high school players.
Dude we can argue this round and round but the too small and didn't play enough arguments don't hold water. You're right Priest wasn't drafted, so what, how much money is he making now. So I don't think NFL GMs will make that mistake again. Clinton only played one full year and came out early, guess what he was drafted in the first round. If Maurice does well in workouts he will be drafted high. Get over it.
They hold water when there are 3-4 guys ahead of him with as good/better resumes minus the baggage. He thought he had done enough to go pro before he started messing with his eligibility last year. He believed his own press clippings and told ESPN mag that. I wouldn't be surprised if that was the reason, subconsciously at least, why he committed the NCAA violations. He thought he was better than the system. Well, if he was that much or a prodigy, then he would be trying to figure out whether or not he was going to be the 1, 2 or 3rd pick overalll, not speculating as to whether he can get into the first round. And what the heck are you talking about re: Clinton Portis playing one season? He played for 3 seasons, and split time/was the backup during his sophmore season. http://www.nfl.com/draft/2002/profiles/portis_clinton.htm
I gotta tell ya I believe that anybody in the USA that can get someone to pay them for legal work they should be able to do it Gene, I'm with you. If he did something that is a crime, punish him. Just because it might detract from college sports is no reason not to let someone work. Hey maybe the NCAA could argue "tortious interference with business". But wait, the NCAA is not a business!
Even though Sam has already corrected you, here is a look at who were the main rushers at the University of Miami since 1998: 1998 - Edgerrin James 1999 - James Jackson, Clinton Portis (was a freshman at the time) 2000 - James Jackson, Clinton Portis (they shared about half the time) 2001 - Clinton Portis (his junior season) 2002 - Willis McGahee 2003 - Frank Gore (until he got hurt), Jarret Payton, Tyrone Moss Also, I think you meant Quentin Griffin and not the Clipper, Quentin Richardson when you were talking about undersized. But anyway, Portis was always a special back and he was the best receiver of the running backs when he was a freshman - way more advanced than James Jackson. My prediction is that someone will draft Clarett, but it won't be in the first round (probably Al Davis will draft him) and unless they are patient with him, I don't see him doing anything in the NFL.
This is my only reason for defending him. I sware this board is filled with a bunch of haters. Why do they want him to fail, so they can continue to enjoy College Football. Please, Get over yourselves.
Maybe people are afraid that it will cause a rash of players leaving after their freshman year or even before their freshman year to the NFL and thus delude the college football game like it has to college basketball. To me, nothing is greater than NCAA football. It is going to royally suck if there are 4 or 5 or even more leaving way too early, simply because they think they are ready.
I don't think Clarett is near the freakish athletes Tomlinson, Portis, or Holmes are. That would suck if even 4 left early. That's also somewhat realistic. Probably even less than 4 are truly ready each year though.
Several points I have to disagree with from the people who think this is bad. First, this will not cause a rash of early exits from College or High School to the Pros. Kids are simply not physical enough to make the jump, and NFL scouting is some of the most intense in professional sports. Even if kids start declaring themselves early, they will not go in the high rounds because now adays, NFL teams need draft picks who can play now. The worst thing this can do is create a minor league system, and I think most kids would enjoy the perks of playing big time college football rather than some minor league no one cares about. Second, for those good enough to leave after one or two years of college, this won't affect the level of play in the NFL. Baseball and Basketball are sports were specific skills are need to be polished before moving on to the professional level. In Football, you can either run the football or not, tackling doesn't change from Pop Warner to the pros, and so on. College Football doesn't really enhance the skills of these player as much as Minor League Baseball or College Football. Football skills are more about repitition rather than skill development, unless you're a quarterback, or even offensive lineman. Lastly, both the NFL and College Football are so hypocritical on this topic its not funny. How can Chris Wienke win a Heisman as a 29 year old collegiate athlete, yet a nineteen year old can't play professional. Either the 29 year old is too old old to be on the field with kids, or the nineteen year old is old enough to be on the field with him. You can't have it both ways. So if College Football is really against this, then it needs to be stricter on its age requirements.
