Maurice Clarett Maurice Edward Clarett ( born October 29 , 1983 ) is an American football running back who played for the Omaha Nighthawks of the United Football League . During his freshman year at Ohio State University in 2002 , he helped lead the Buckeyes to a national championship . In a widely unexpected move , Clarett was drafted on the first day of the 2005 NFL Draft with the final pick of the 3rd round ( # 101 overall ) by the Denver Broncos . He is well known for unsuccessfully challenging the NFL ' s draft eligibility rules requiring a player to be three years removed from high school and for his tumultuous life outside of football , including his dismissal from Ohio State , several arrests , and later , imprisonment . Personal . Maurice Clarett is the son of Myke Clarett Sr . and Michelle Renee Clarett ( now divorced ) . His father once worked as a Regional Representative for the Secretary of State in Ohio . His mother worked as a senior administrator for the Youngstown City Clerk of Court . He has an older brother , Marcus , who was a defensive tackle for the University at Buffalo and another older brother , Michael Graham Clarett Jr . , Maurice has a daughter , born July 16 , 2006 , with girlfriend Ashley Evans . Football career . High school . After displaying his abilities as a punishing freshman tailback on the Austintown - Fitch High School varsity team , Clarett transferred to Warren G . Harding High School to continue his scholastic career and garnered national attention . When he graduated from Harding , many national publications ranked him among the top 100 players nationally . Clarett received an offer from Ohio State University and verbally committed to Ohio State over offers from Notre Dame , Fresno State , and the University of Miami . He formally committed to the Buckeyes in February 2002 . Ohio State ' s coach , Jim Tressel , had previously been coach of Clarett ' s hometown Youngstown State Penguins . Later , Clarett received the " USA Today " Offensive High School Player of the Year and " Parade " All - American distinctions . College . Clarett starred at Ohio State for one season , rushing for 1 , 237 yards ( a school record for a freshman ) and scoring 18 touchdowns , which helped the Buckeyes to a 14 - 0 record and the 2002 BCS National Championship . He scored the winning touchdown against the University of Miami with a five - yard run in the second overtime in the 2003 Fiesta Bowl ( played January 3 , 2003 ) . He also made a key defensive play in that game , stealing the ball on the Miami 28 from Hurricanes safety Sean Taylor , who was returning an interception from the end zone of a pass thrown by Craig Krenzel . After that play , Ohio State kicked a field goal , giving them a 10 - point lead at the time . Clarett was the first freshman to be the leading rusher on a national championship team since Ahman Green of the University of Nebraska - Lincoln in 1995 . Dismissal from Ohio State . Clarett ' s time at Ohio State University was marked by several troubling incidents . He was seen yelling at his position coach during the Northwestern - Ohio State game in the 2002 season . In December 2002 , he publicly maligned OSU officials for not paying for him to fly home for the funeral of a friend and accused administrators of lying when they said he had not filed the necessary paperwork . In July 2003 , Clarett became the center of an academic scandal when a teaching assistant told the " New York Times " that Clarett had received preferential treatment from a professor ; the investigation did not find sufficient evidence of academic misconduct . Ohio State later suspended Clarett for the 2003 athletic year after he was charged with filing a false police report . Clarett had filed a false claim that more than $ 10 , 000 in clothing , CDs , cash and stereo equipment were stolen from a car he borrowed from a local dealership in September 2003 . Athletic Director Andy Geiger stated that Clarett also took in special benefits totaling approximately $ 20 , 000 , and repeatedly misled investigators . Clarett later pleaded guilty to a lesser criminal charge ( failure to aid a law enforcement official ) in that incident . Clarett moved to Los Angeles after his dismissal from Ohio State , and , while living there , sued to be included in the 2004 NFL Draft . He won his case at trial . However , the Second Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the decision . Subsequently , Clarett worked with trainers in preparation for the 2005 NFL Combine , hoping to impress for the upcoming draft . National Football League . In his attempt to enter the 2004 NFL Draft , Clarett challenged the NFL ' s rule that a player must wait three years after graduating from High School to declare for the draft . Federal Judge Shira Scheindlin initially ruled that the NFL could not bar Clarett from participating in the 2004 NFL Draft . This decision was later overturned by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in an opinion by Judge Sonia Sotomayor , and Clarett ' s petition for certiorari was refused by the Supreme Court . Clarett and USC wide receiver Mike Williams , who were both hoping to enter the draft early , were then barred from the draft by the NFL . Later , because they both signed agents before being denied the opportunity to join the NFL Draft , the NCAA refused to reinstate the college eligibility of Clarett or Williams . Clarett has been represented by California attorney David Kenner . Clarett also lived with Kenner and claims that Kenner helped him straighten out his life . Kenner is the longtime attorney of Death Row Records CEO and controversial hip - hop kingpin Marion " Suge " Knight . In February 2005 , he participated in the NFL Combine in Indianapolis . During a press conference , he uttered the phrase : " It ' s a humbling thing being humble . " After running a disappointing 4 . 72 and 4 . 82 seconds in the 40 yard dash , he refused to participate further , and was referred to as " Slow - Mo " by the sports media , who were largely critical of his obvious lack of preparation . Ohio State declined to allow him to take part in a private workout for pro scouts in Columbus because it wanted to avoid a " circus " situation . 2005 NFL draft . In a widely unexpected move , Clarett was drafted on the first day of the 2005 NFL Draft with the final pick of the 3rd round ( # 101 overall ) by the Denver Broncos . Many experts felt that he would fall to the 6th or 7th round , if he was drafted at all . However , Clarett turned out to be unimpressive in the Denver Broncos ' preseason training camp . In part due to having not played a game in two years or practiced in over a year , he entered training camp weighing 248 pounds , more than 20 pounds overweight . He was also slow to recover from an injury . Despite his unimpressive training camp , Clarett signed a four - year contract on July 28 , 2005 with the Broncos in which he gave up $ 413 , 000 of guaranteed money in order to secure an incentive - laden deal . Clarett signed this deal against the advice of his former agents , Steve Feldman and Josh Luchs . Clarett ' s motivation was to replace the proposed deal with a package that would pay him first - round money if he rushed for 1 , 000 yards in multiple seasons . However , after further disappointments and incidents with his coaches and never playing a preseason game , Clarett was released on waivers on August 28 , 2005 , only a month after signing his contract and before playing even a single down in the NFL . As is standard procedure in the NFL , for a 24 - hour period after his release , other teams could have claimed him and taken on his contract . After that 24 - hour period , he was freed from his contract and able to negotiate with any team , but no team expressed interest . Post - NFL troubles . As his college and NFL careers tanked , " The Miami Herald " reported in September that Clarett was already $ 1 million in debt from legal fees for his fight with the NFL and other costs . They also reported that Clarett turned down the traditional signing bonus in the originally proposed contract from Denver because Kenner wanted incentives that would pay Clarett if he became a star . Exploring alternatives to the NFL . According to the " Wheeling News - Register " , Clarett was in talks to play for the Steubenville Stampede , a squad in the North Division of the American Indoor Football League . According to Jim Terry , Manager of the Stampede , " I have been in contact with [ Clarett ' s ] agent and he ' s expressed interest with us . . . Clarett is hungry and has something to prove . He has a chip on his shoulder and wants to show he can still play . " However , Clarett never signed with the Stampede . In an interview with the " Columbus Dispatch " published on August 10 , 2006 , Terry claimed that Clarett attempted to call him just minutes before the events on the morning of August 9 that led to Clarett ' s arrest . Clarett also expressed interest in playing for NFL Europe . Josh Luchs , Clarett ' s agent , reported that Clarett was going to sign with the NFL on January 2 , 2006 , and was expected to be allocated to NFL Europe . There were also discussions about Clarett playing for the semi - pro Eastern Indoor Football League team the Mahoning Valley Hitmen , coached by the same Jim Terry . On August 23 , 2010 , Clarett was released from a halfway house and requested permission from Franklin County Common Pleas Court Judge David Fais to attend a tryout for the Omaha Nighthawks of the United Football League . The motion was approved on August 25 . As part of his sentence , Clarett requires court permission in order to leave the state of Ohio . Omaha Nighthawks . On August 30 , 2010 , the Omaha Nighthawks of the United Football League signed Clarett . On October 1 , 2010 he played his first meaningful game of any sort in eight years , rushing for 12 yards on 5 attempts against the Sacramento Mountain Lions . As the Nighthawks ' # 2 running back , Clarett finished the season with 154 yards on the ground on 37 attempts and a touchdown . He also caught 12 passes for 98 yards , and returned one kickoff for 13 yards . Rugby career . Tiger Rugby . On May 17 , 2013 , it was announced that Clarett will make his rugby debut for the Columbus affiliate of Tiger Rugby at the The Ohio Rugby Sevens Invitational on May 25 , 2013 in Mechanicsburg , Ohio . Arrests and convictions . Robbery conviction . On January 1 , 2006 , police announced that they were searching for Clarett in relation to two incidents of armed robbery that took place at 1 : 46am outside the Opium Lounge danceclub in Columbus . Allegedly , with a . 45 caliber handgun , Clarett robbed two people and then escaped in a white SUV with two unidentified persons . Clarett reportedly made off with only a cell phone valued at $ 150 belonging to one of the victims . Said Jim Tressel , his former coach at Ohio State , " I hope it ' s not true , but beyond that , I don ' t know much , but my reaction is , I was sad . " Clarett turned himself in to police shortly after 9 p . m . , EST , on January 2 , just as the Buckeyes were defeating Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl in Tempe , Arizona , the very bowl game in which Clarett last played college football . He faced two counts of aggravated robbery . He was later released on $ 50 , 000 bond . On February 10 , 2006 , Clarett was indicted by a Franklin County grand jury on two counts of aggravated robbery with gun specifications and five other counts . If convicted , he would be sentenced to up to 25 years in prison . His attorneys said that he denied every allegation , saying Clarett " intends to fight this indictment with the same vigor and resolve he displayed in taking OSU to a national championship . " On February 22 , 2006 , Maurice Clarett pleaded not guilty to aggravated - robbery charges . He was released on $ 20 , 000 bail until his trial began . On July 26 , 2006 , Clarett fired his lawyers , William Settina and Robert Krapenc , two weeks before his trial date . The privately retained attorneys had filed a motion two days earlier saying they wanted to withdraw their counsel , claiming that Clarett was not paying their fees or cooperating in his defense . At a status hearing held on August 9 , 2006 pertaining to the January charges , Franklin County Common Pleas Judge David Fais increased Clarett ' s bond to $ 1 . 1 million . This was due to Clarett ' s arrest earlier that morning ( see below ) . On August 10 , 2006 , Fais ordered an additional status hearing which was held on August 11 , 2006 . This hearing had not been requested by either the prosecution or Clarett ' s defense team but was requested by Fais himself . At the hearing , Fais delayed the trial until September 18 , 2006 , revoked the $ 1 . 1 million bond in the case and ordered Clarett to undergo a mental health evaluation . August 2006 arrest . In the early morning hours of August 9 , 2006 , Clarett was arrested in Columbus after he made an illegal U - turn and led the police on a chase in a sports utility vehicle reportedly belonging to his uncle . After Clarett drove over a police spike strip , the chase ended in a nearby restaurant parking lot . Police said they were forced to secure a cloth around Clarett ' s mouth after he allegedly spit at the officers and called them " niggers " during the arrest . According to Columbus Police Sgt . Mike Woods , the officers discovered a katana , a zanbatō , a loaded AK - 47 variant and two other loaded handguns in his vehicle along with an open bottle of Grey Goose vodka . The police requested that the Bureau of Alcohol , Tobacco , Firearms and Explosives perform a trace on the firearms to determine if Clarett violated Federal gun laws . The officers used mace to subdue Clarett after attempts to subdue him with a Taser proved ineffective because he was wearing Kevlar body armor . Clarett was arraigned on the latest charges on August 10 , 2006 in Franklin County Municipal Court in Columbus . During the arraignment , Judge Andrea C . Peeples set his bond on the charges of carrying a concealed weapon without a permit and failure to maintain current lane at $ 5 million . In setting the bond , Peeples agreed with prosecutors that Clarett is now a flight risk or could attempt to intimidate witnesses in his upcoming robbery trial . Clarett remained lodged in the Franklin County Corrections Center , however , as the $ 1 . 1 million bond for the robbery charge was revoked by trial judge David Fais . According to a " Columbus Dispatch " report , Clarett , who was due to be tried for his January arrest , was in the neighborhood of one of the principal witnesses against him at the time the events of August 9 occurred . On September 18 , Clarett filed a guilty plea to the charges in a plea bargain that involved these events as well as the earlier robbery charges . He was sentenced by Judge David Fais to seven and a half years in prison , but may apply for early release after three and a half years . As part of the plea agreement , the prosecution agreed not to object to early release if and when Clarett applies for it . On December 14 , it was announced that Clarett will be changing prisons to a close - security prison in a single person cell at Toledo Correctional Institution . He will be able to eat with and exercise with other inmates . Clarett enrolled in a distance - learning program at Ohio University while serving his sentence at the Toledo Correctional Institution . Clarett would work towards earning a bachelor ' s degree in Geriatrics and Gerontology . On April 7 , 2010 , Judge Fais granted early release to Clarett . Clarett was ordered to enter Maryhaven , a halfway house in Columbus , for up to 6 months . Blog . While in prison , Clarett blogged about his life there on " The Mind of Maurice Clarett " . Because he did not have Internet access in the prison , he sent his entries to his girlfriend , who posted them for him . In one post , Clarett summed up his attitude towards prison by saying " Understand my struggle so you can respect my hustle . I am never coming back here , believe that . Never , I am cool on this . It is first - class living from the day I get out . I WILL NEVER SETTLE FOR LESS , EVER AGAIN . That goes for communication , personal relationships , housing , education , friendships , and travel arrangements . Everything . I have the fire in my eyes "