I disagree with the notion that these guys--much less any one player--drive revenue to the athletic departments in the way some of their proponents contend. Ohio State is a brand that has been built up over decades. Would Ohio State really have made a penny less had MoC or Pryor opted to go elsewhere?
As for special treatment, they already get it to a disturbing degree: "success centers," extensive tutoring, teddy bear soft majors to stay eligible, scheduling priorities and so on. And on top of it all, they're given an 80 to 120 thousand dollar education. As for MoC in particular, he was given chance after chance from the magazine debacle to the screaming match with Tim Spencer to the unnecessary [Mark May]show he put on in Phoenix.
Clarett chose to throw that all away, and he attempted to drag the university through the mud on a national stage in the process. I was back in the country and living in Columbus when it all went down. As far as I was concerned, Geiger couldn't flush him fast enough. Props to Geiger for doing what was right and what was in the best interests of Ohio State University.
Again, I think his turnaround has been incredibly inspiring, but the MoC of today was not the one on a rampage in 2003. That one needed to go.