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RB Maurice Clarett (B1G Freshman of the Year, National Champion)

Well stated my friend!

MililaniBuckeye said:
Actually, his work ethic is top-notch when he wants it to be. He was the one who called out upperclassmen in pre-season practices in 2002. He played through injuries. He has exceptional drive. We just see where his drive got rerouted into his misguided pursuit of getting into the NFL draft early.
Go Reecie!

HAYN
 
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Final Pick, Fresh Start
Shanahan Gives Clarett 'Clean Slate' After Selection
By Andrew Mason
DenverBroncos.com

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- The hour was late. Nearly 11 p.m. on the East Coast, a smidge under 11 hours since Commissioner Paul Tagliabue strode to the lectern and announced the opening of the draft's festivites.

Typically, the site that hosts the draft has mostly cleared of the rabid fans who stand in line around the block to wait for entry in the morning hours. The loud buzz of the draft has been quelled to a soft hum.

That's what's typical. The end of Saturday was anything but.

The Broncos jolted the NFL by selecting Ohio State running back Maurice Clarett with the 101st and final pick of the 2005 NFL Draft's first day.

Even Clarett didn't see it coming.

“I had actually turned the TV off and had got in the car and was just betting on (Sunday)," Clarett said.

Then the phone rang. The area code -- 303.

"(Broncos running backs) Coach (Bobby) Turner called me," Clarett said. "I had been keeping in close contact with him and he called me. It was just funny to hear; it was funny to finally get to this point."

It was Turner's communication that helped forge a relationship between the Broncos and the former Buckeyes standout, who hasn't played in a game since the 2003 Fiesta Bowl, during which he scored two touchdowns in a 31-24 Ohio State win.

"Bobby Turner has talked to him for the last couple of years," (Head Coach) Mike Shanahan said. "He is a very smart individual. Bobby's had a relationship with him over the years. He has a good feel for running backs and thinks the world of this kid."

Clarett's backstory of the two years since the triumph in the national championship game is probably the most often-told and discussed tale of any player in this year's draft class.

In 2003 he was ruled ineligible for the season. When the following offseason arrived, Clarett challenged the league for the right to turn pro before the third year after his high-school graduation. He won the initial hearing, allowing him to participate in the February 2004 Scouting Combine -- but subsequently lost in an appeals court.

A year later he returned to the Combine -- making him perhaps the first player to participate in two Scouting Combines -- along with wide receiver Mike Williams, who tried to follow Clarett in an early entry to the NFL last year. But Clarett's 40-yard dash times at the RCA Dome two months ago were not what he'd expected, and left him crestfallen in a subsequent, nationally televised interview on the NFL Network.

“That could be a misconception," Shanahan said when asked about Clarett's sprints at the Combine. "How do you know that he had speed at Ohio State when he ran as a freshman? Terrell Davis wasn't, so called, very fast. But he played very fast in games and had great cutting ability. So speed isn't always a factor."

The Combine workout was something Clarett wanted to look past when he spoke with Denver media Saturday night.

"I'm here. I'm not even talking about the Combine," he said via a teleconference. "The only thing I'm focusing on is winning more ball games with the team."

According to Shanahan, the past is irrelevant.

"I know his situation, what's happened," Shanahan said. "His slate is clean and we are giving him an opportunity.

"I think that he would be a top-10 pick if he would've played his three to four years at Ohio State. Obviously, it didn't work out that way, but we are going to give him a chance. He either takes advantage of it or he doesn't. But we thought it was worth the chance."

And the Broncos' history with mid- to late-round running backs certainly weighs in their favor.

"It's wonderful," Clarett said. "Knowing the Denver Broncos system and knowing the offensive line they have and just knowing they run the ball. It's nothing more than I can imagine."

Added Shanahan: "We feel like we know running backs pretty good. We've had some success with them. We think he'll fit into our system very well. Now only time will tell if he takes advantage of the situation."
 
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JonathanXC said:
Three main reasons why this isn't a good pick.

1. Clarett's work ethic is about as crappy as any i've ever seen. The guy wants things handed to him, and I really don't think he has it in him to work as hard as he needs to do withstand what it takes to be an NFL back.

2. Clarett has yet to have a full season of organized football in which he hasn't gotten injured. He's the most injury prone football player ever. I don't think his body could take as much pounding as it did in the NFL.

3. Too many good RBs left (Darren Sproles, TA MacLendon) to take Clarett at this point. He likely would have been around for their next pick, and I feel like his top potential at this point couldn't be any better then these other backs.
#1) Clarett's work ethic on the field was actually second to none. The guy was a machine, an incredible worker. You are letting your biased opinion of him skew your thoughts here.

#2) He is not the most injury prone player ever, by far. :) But you do make a great point that injuries will be a big question for him.

#3) No RB on the board had first round talent. Cedric Benson, top 5 type talent. When he was at OSU, MoC demonstrated top 5 type talent. Been a long time since we saw it and we may never see it again, but he is a special, unmatched talent.
 
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I'm not surprised someone reached for Clarett, I had figured him to go in the fourth anyway, but going to the Broncos is a huge surprise. They still have a previous 1,000 yard back in Mike Anderson, they still have Quentin Griffin, they're sitting on Tatum Bell along with 3 or 4 other backs, and they picked up Ron Dayne in the offseason -- they've got at least 7 other RBs on the roster!

Oh, and they play in the AFC west, where they'll play the Chargers twice a season ... I can't wait to see Clarett's reunion with Wilhelm. :)
 
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Once the Denver trainers get their hands on Maurice and whip him into NFL shape, he WILL be a force to be reckoned with. Like him or not, as a freshman, he was the best back in college. You may not see him for a year but when you do.... look out.
 
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hotrodr123 said:
I hope he falls flat on his face. Hell as slow as he was running this spring he won't even be able to keep up with the O line.

Rod

Rod,

Did you read what Shannahan said? He's not all that concerned with his speed. Parcells was said to be talking with Clarett also. If they can get MoC to play to his ability, he'll be the steal of the draft. If not, you've only lost a 3rd round pick. I'd take that risk any day of the week from the perspective of a GM or head coach.
 
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Thanks Gost8 for adding in an unbiased opinion here. I think, like stated earlier the upside on Clarett is enormous. ALl in all the draft is a crap shoot. What round your picked means dick. Ki Jana carter was a 1st rounder....he's been leading the league in rushing the last 5 or 6 years hasn't he? I agree that Clarett's 40 time is "slow" but I also believe the 40 is overrated among NFL prospects. On the field speed is what matters, not your speed running straight for 40 yards. Clarett has excellent field vision, and can hammer you when need be. He is also NOT 6'0 tall. He's like 5'10" maybe 5'11". It's also obvious that his on field speed is great...ask Sean Taylor...who got run down by Clarett....from behind....then got the ball taken away. That play alone solidifies Clarett as being a big time GAMER.
 
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Clarett's snowball survived its chance, and all I can say is that I hope he does something special with it. No more nastiness, no more rumors, no more drama. Maybe in time we will be able to look back on his short time as a Buckeye and be happy for him. But it might take some time for some fans' salted wounds to heal.

I just want the drama to end.
 
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One reason the Clarett went as high as he did (in the 3rd round) is that since Denver wanted him they had to take him then because they didn't have a 4th or 5th round pick.

Cute comment on Profootball Talk (see bold):
CLARETT PICK DRIPS WITH IRONY

In hindsight, the Broncos selection of running back Mo Clarett with the last pick in the third round should have been obvious, given the overall irony associated with the pick.

After all, the team who lost its third-round pick due to cheating that led to a championship drafted a player whose stock dropped due to allegations of cheating that led to a championship with a compensatory choice that was met with cynicism by some league insiders who thought that the NFL was trying to give back to the Broncos the pick that publicly was stripped due to admitted salary cap violations during the Elway era.

Whew.

And who else would have been taken by a team that has brazenly flouted the rules than a guy who brazenly tried to challenge them?

Well, the Raiders would have. And the Raiders might have, in a later round.

So it makes even more sense that the Broncos stepped in and swiped from their arch-rivals a guy who could develop into a perennial Pro Bowler, especially in the Denver chain-moving, cut-blocking system.

And that's the most intriguing aspect of the Clarett pick. With an offense that has made stars out of journeymen for the past decade, the table is set for Clarett to fulfill the potential that he flashed in his only season of major college football, which culminated in a stellar Fiesta Bowl performance with a heady strip following a turnover that gave the Bucks the ball back at a critical point in the game.

Since reaching the pinnacle of his football career, Clarett has instead become a pariah, taking on Ohio State for allegedly giving items of value to supposedly amateur athletes and then daring to take his future employer to court in order to force a pathway for supposedly amateur athletes into the draft prematurely.

In the end, Clarett likely went higher than he would gone have a year ago, if the original district court ruling allowing him into the draft hadn't been scuttled, and for the Broncos it's a no-lose proposition.

After all, they got Clarett with a draft pick that they likely should have never had, anyway.​

 
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I am just glad that he got drafted. I think the worst thing that could have happened is if he would have gone undrafted and spewed more venom at Ohio State blaming the university for his going undrafted. Like Clarett said during his press conference, everything now is water under the bridge. Obviously, OSU has moved on, lets hope that Clarett can now move on and focus on his career with Denver and the talking heads can finally let the Clarett vs. OSU stuff die out.
 
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