DB Eugene Clifford (official thread)

[The S&G Dynasty]

Not really. Troy Smith got into a few fights his Freshman Year. Then he took money from a booster. However, he grew up and became a better man and player because of it. Let Gene become a Sophomore, and give college a second effort. Most of these college towns allow 18 and 19-years olds into bars, that is probably why he was in the tavern.

Yeah most college bars on campus let 18 yr. olds inside and some even serve alcohol to minors ala the holy grail. However gene isn't just a student at TOSU he plays football so he's held to a higher standard and has the spotlight on him 24/7. Even if the charges are dropped the bottom line is he was in a tavern which is somewhere he knows he shouldn't have been. Gene lacks focus, drive, and a positive role model in his life to guide him. Such a great talent gone to waste, it's time for TOSU to cut ties with eugene. Im sure gene wants to be just like any other college student who parties hard but the fact is gene can't be like everyone else because he is/was a D-1 athlete. Hopefully gene can get his life together and get a college degree regardless if he does anything on the football field in the future.

 

[Tjocelyn09]

Yeah most college bars on campus let 18 yr. olds inside and some even serve alcohol to minors ala the holy grail. However gene isn't just a student at TOSU he plays football so he's held to a higher standard and has the spotlight on him 24/7. Even if the charges are dropped the bottom line is he was in a tavern which is somewhere he knows he shouldn't have been. Gene lacks focus, drive, and a positive role model in his life to guide him. Such a great talent gone to waste, it's time for TOSU to cut ties with eugene. Im sure gene wants to be just like any other college student who parties hard but the fact is gene can't be like everyone else because he is/was a D-1 athlete. Hopefully gene can get his life together and get a college degree regardless if he does anything on the football field in the future.

I argee Gene needs to focus, needs, and drive. The seniors like Malcolm Jenkins, need to take these younger guys under their wing. I disagree that he is different because he is division-1 athlete. He is a student-athlete, notice that student comes first. When you think about these students who play sports as commodities, you take away their adolescence and their allowance to make mistakes as students do. He is a freshman, a year out high school. Let him get involved on campus and build his constitution. The university and the team will be better for it.

The coaching staff seen potential as a player. The Clifford's entrusted Tressel to supervise the growth of their child into a man. Giving up on him, instead of teaching him will result in a loss for both parties.

 

[Ttown]

One could argue that fans should wait until the charges are heard in court before screaming for the coaching staff to throw this kid off the team, but the fact that he is underage and in a tavern when he is on such thin ice anyway probably will be enough for the coaching staff.

It is a shame that a kid with so much talent has so much difficulty directing it positively. Perhaps the best lesson he could learn, at this point in his young life, would be that great athletic talent does not shield one from the consequences of inappropriate behavior.

Ohio State doesn't need the distraction during a national championship run. Guys gave up a lot of bucks to play for the Bucks one more time. Clifford doesn't need everyone watching his every step waiting for the next small incident.

It is a real shame, but whether he is convicted of these charges or not, it probably is time to wish Clifford well as he finds another university at which he can ply his skills and try to get a university degree.

I agree with Steve. Eugene has used up all his chances and should move his life along.

 

[The S&G Dynasty]

There is a huge difference between regular students and college athletes. Yes your right student comes before athlete. However if a student gets arrested or in trouble he pays a fine and thats it. Eugene has much more to lose he's getting his entire college paid for by TOSU to play football not get trashed/fight inside bars. He's had numerrous oppurtunities to make ammends and hasn't done so. And yes the older guys like james and malcolm should try to guide him into the right direction which i would find hard to believe that they havn't already done so manytimes. Not to mention the other colerain guys like connor smith and tyler moeller. The bottom lines is he's a college athlete playing football at TOSU university, and he's trowing his future away by acting like an idiot. And i don't care if he's 19/20 yrs. old he knows the difference between right and wrong and he my friend is in the wrong. Goodluck Mr. clifford

 

[Fungo Squiggly]

I argee Gene needs to focus, needs, and drive. The seniors like Malcolm Jenkins, need to take these younger guys under their wing. I disagree that he is different because he is division-1 athlete. He is a student-athlete, notice that student comes first. When you think about these students who play sports as commodities, you take away their adolescence and their allowance to make mistakes as students do. He is a freshman, a year out high school. Let him get involved on campus and build his constitution. The university and the team will be better for it.

The coaching staff seen potential as a player. The Clifford's entrusted Tressel to supervise the growth of their child into a man. Giving up on him, instead of teaching him will result in a loss for both parties.

AlexBooneFan? :susp:

 

[BuckTwenty]

I argee Gene needs to focus, needs, and drive. The seniors like Malcolm Jenkins, need to take these younger guys under their wing. I disagree that he is different because he is division-1 athlete. He is a student-athlete, notice that student comes first. When you think about these students who play sports as commodities, you take away their adolescence and their allowance to make mistakes as students do. He is a freshman, a year out high school. Let him get involved on campus and build his constitution. The university and the team will be better for it.

The coaching staff seen potential as a player. The Clifford's entrusted Tressel to supervise the growth of their child into a man. Giving up on him, instead of teaching him will result in a loss for both parties.

Eugene was lucky to still be on the team after his second (drug related) offense. He was given a third chance, and and after his latest transgressions, he's blown that chance as well. You want to give him a fourth chance, citing a moral high ground, but he's been under the tuteledge of the underclassmen and our coaches and it STILL isn't enough to get him to see the light. As much as I hate to say it, we need to cut our losses with Eugene (and likewise him with us) and move on.

 

[wadc45]

Cincinnati Enquirer | Cincinnati High School Sports | Cincinnati.Com

Posted by RyanErnst at 7/7/2008 11:54 AM EDT on Cincinnati.com

As many of you might already know, The Enquirer reported over the weekend that former Colerain all-American defensive back Eugene Clifford was arrested on assault charges. This isn't his first scrape since his playing days at Colerain. He was cited for marijuana possession after signing with Ohio State. He was suspended from the Buckeyes' national title game in January for violating team rules.

Somewhere between those two incidents, I told Enquirer UC beat writer Bill Koch to write a "Clifford Transfers to UC" story and have it, as we say in the biz, "in the can." If I were him, I'd really consider doing it at this point.

I'm not saying Clifford will transfer to UC -- and there's no evidence that I know of that says he's even considered it -- but think about it:

His position coach would be Kerry Coombs, his high school coach.
The Buckeyes have a handful of Eugene Cliffords. UC doesn't.
He seems to be in the doghouse in Columbus, so who knows how much he'll even play for the Buckeyes.
He'd be an absolutely huge get for UC.
UC's latest regime obviously isn't against giving second chances to standout players with checkered pasts. (See Alex Daniels.)
He'd be joining a slew of former Colerain teammates.

Like I said, this is clearly speculation on my part. But if I were Bill, when I got back from vacation, I'd start writing just in case.

My understanding is that Clifford may have already tried to initiate contact with UC a while ago and was promptly told "no thank you" by the UC staff...

 

[jlb1705]

The coaching staff seen potential as a player. The Clifford's entrusted Tressel to supervise the growth of their child into a man. Giving up on him, instead of teaching him will result in a loss for both parties.

I don't think anyone here is out to badmouth the Cliffords, including myself. Portraying them as the victims of Jim Tressel's supposed indifference though is not fair and it's misguided.

Jim Tressel is a football coach, not a babysitter. Is he in a position as a football coach where he can provide some guidance? Sure. But getting a kid like Eugene to pull his head out of his ass, grow up and be a man are responsibilities that fall in part to his parents, and I hope they didn't expect that entire responsibility to go to Coach Tressel, as your statement implies.

Mostly though, by the time he's 19 years old, that responsibility falls on the shoulders of Mr. Clifford. This entire situation is the result of young Mr. Clifford's poor decisions. There are plenty of young men and women his age - even the emotionally immature ones - who don't do some of the things he's been doing to jeopardize his future as a student and football player. You're right, he still has much to learn, but it will have to happen elsewhere. Attending Ohio State and being on the football team are privileges, and he has discarded his opportunities to take part in those. That can be a lesson in itself for Eugene, should he be able to come up with the good sense to pay attention to it.

 

[Steve19]

The coaching staff seen potential as a player. The Clifford's entrusted Tressel to supervise the growth of their child into a man. Giving up on him, instead of teaching him will result in a loss for both parties.

Potential as a player has never been a problem with Clifford. The problem is off-field behavior and too much discussion about that just batters the young man, which is something that we don't do around here.

Jim Tressel is a college football coach. He provides a lot of guidance to his players and has engendered some remarkable turnarounds in players over the years. A perfect example is Troy Smith. Some kids just don't "get it" and there comes a time when it would be best for a kid to get a fresh start.

The fans don't make this decision and we can talk about this ad nauseum, but it won't change a thing.

At the end of the day, the coaching staff will ask themselves some tough questions. Is this player likely to do something like this again? Is he a distraction to the team? Could he do something (or has he done something already) that impacts negatively on the performance of this team?

If the answer is yes to any of those questions, after blowing three chances, it's unlikely that Eugene Clifford will play another down at Ohio State.

You are right about Tressel making a commitment to Clifford's parents, but he also made commitments to the rest of the team, their parents, the university and fans, and especially to the players that have foregone a pro career to come back and win a national championship.

If Eugene Clifford is asked to go, neither he nor his parents will have anyone to blame but themselves. If he isn't, they will only have the coaching staff to thank.

 

[rocketman]

The Buckeyes have a handful of Eugene Cliffords. UC doesn't.

The Bearcat message boards are going to love this one...

 

[osugrad21]

I argee Gene needs to focus, needs, and drive. The seniors like Malcolm Jenkins, need to take these younger guys under their wing. I disagree that he is different because he is division-1 athlete. He is a student-athlete, notice that student comes first. When you think about these students who play sports as commodities, you take away their adolescence and their allowance to make mistakes as students do.

Aren't regular students who are busted for drug-related offenses denied financial aid still?

USAToday
College financial aid rules loosened By Mary Beth Marklein, USA TODAY
Some college students or would-be students who were denied federal financial aid for past drug convictions will regain eligibility under a measure passed last week by Congress and expected to be signed soon by President Bush.
But students convicted of a drug felony or misdemeanor in college will still be disqualified from receiving federal aid for at least one year.
Cont...

Student.Ed.Gov

The Higher Education Act of 1965 as amended (HEA) suspends aid eligibility for students who have been convicted under federal or state law of the sale or possession of drugs, if the offense occurred during a period of enrollment for which the student was receiving federal student aid (grants, loans, and/or work-study). If you have a conviction(s) for these offenses, call the Federal Student Aid Information Center at 1-800-4-FED-AID (1-800-433-3243) or go to the FAFSA on the Web site, click on "Before Beginning A FAFSA" in the left column, then click on "Drug Worksheet" to find out how this law applies to you.

Maybe you are correct...maybe he should be treated like a normal student. Think Gene would be willing to pay his own way for the guidance he needs but has so far rejected?

I'm all for helping kids...but when you start the student-athlete discussion, make sure those ducks are in a row.

 

[Wingate1217]

The Bearcat message boards are going to love this one...

Hopefully he was talking about playing potential not character....

 

[rocketman]

Hopefully he was talking about playing potential not character....

You know, you could actually go both ways with that one. "Handful of Eugene Cliffords" = "Yeah, they got a bunch of trouble-makers on their team. OSU sucks!" OR "No way they have that kind of talent. We're just as good! OSU sucks!"

 

[cincibuck]

You would think that someone growing up in Cincinnati and watching how seriously and careful Chris Henry, the Bengals, Bob Huggins and Marg Schott (RIP) were about alcohol would know better....

 

[generaladm]

Considering the manner in which the staff handled the Henton situation, I expect Clifford will be suspended from the team any second now. The big difference is that Henton was by all accounts a great kid who just ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time. Clifford was told after the spring incident that he had to keep his nose clean or face game suspensions. He didn't even make it to fall camp. Apart from Henton, I believe that Clifford was involved in all the disciplinary matters that occurred last season. I hope that this whole thing might just be a misunderstanding, but sometimes you have to believe the writing on the wall. If the alleged events turn out to be true, I think it would be best for the team to remove a bad influence quickly and permanently.