Former Ohio State running back Maurice Clarett is out of jail and has just enrolled back at Ohio State University.
It’s been a steady downhill climb for the man that helped Ohio State win a national championship during his freshman season, but it at least appears that Maurice Clarett is trying to get his life back in order after being released from prison. Clarett was granted re-entry into Ohio State’s College of Education and Human Ecology in an effort to finish his degree with the school.
Since that first season with the Ohio State Buckeyes, it’s been a rollercoaster ride for this guy. He was always great on the football field but was dismissed from Ohio State after a few run-ins with the law and the school’s administration. A 2003 suspension for a charge of filing a false police report lead to Clarett pleading guilty to a lesser charge and leaving Ohio State. After that, he sued the NFL to be included in the 2004 NFL Draft and was unsuccessful after the court overturned the initial verdict that would have included him.
Maurice Clarett then shocked many NFL Draft prognosticators when he was selected with the final pick of the 3rd round by the Denver Broncos. After showing up to camp overweight, he struggled with injuries and was released after not seeing a second of action during the preseason.
That’s when it all began to spiral out of control for Mr. Clarett and on the first day of 2006 police announced they were trying to locate him in connection with two armed robberies that took place outside the Opium Lounge in Columbus, Ohio. He was indicted, but before he got be convicted he was flagged for making an illegal U-turn. Instead of pulling over, Clarett instead chose to lead police on a chase that ended when Maurice hit a spike strip the officers had set up. Mace was needed to subdue Clarett after multiple attempts with a Taser failed because he was wearing a Kevlar jacket.
After being a model inmate for his 3.5 year sentence, Maurice Clarett is out and aiming to make the best of his life. College is the first step and you should expect to see him eventually make a comeback in football once he gets back into playing shape. It’s highly doubtful an NFL team will take a chance on him but there should be plenty of offers in smaller organizations that could use a big name to attract fans.
We haven’t seen any betting odds related to how Maurice Clarett will do this time around, but we did find some that encompass his troubled past. SportsInteraction (home of the 100% free cash bonus up to $116) has lines up for the next celebrity DUI and I figured I’d throw them in here. The odds are below and there are some interesting names tossed in there including NFL quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.
Charlie Sheen +500
Ben Roethlisberger +500
Kiefer Sutherland +600
Heather Locklear +800
Mel Gibson +800
George Michael +800
Britney Spears +1000
John Daly +1000
Paris Hilton +1000
Nick Nolte +1000
Lily Allen +1400
David Hasselhoff +1400
Chase Crawford +1400
Kanye West +1600
Robert Pattinson +1600
Lady Gaga +1800
Kristen Stewart +1800
John Mayer +2000
Kim Kardashian +2000
Jessica Simpson +2500
Miley Cyrus +2500
Kevin, Joe, or Nick Jonas +4000