Judge rules Maurice Clarett eligible

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4xchampncountin

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It was just announced in the last hour or so that a federal judge ruled in favor of Maurice Clarett. Clarett sued the NFL's rule that a player is not eligible for the NFL draft until 3 years after his high school class graduates. The NFL challenged his entry as it basically has a completely free minor league system going on in the NCAA.

The NFL has since stated that they will of course appeal the ruling, but that even they don't expect an appeals court to rule on it until after the NFL Draft has occured this April. If Clarett chooses to enter the draft this year and he is chosen, it is a done deal even if the appeal is upheld.

Maurice Clarett held a news conference a few minutes ago where he declined to say whether or not he plans to enter the draft or go back to Ohio State. It is highly unlikely that he would chose to go back to OSU, but he is keeping his legal options open to go back to school by not declaring himself eligible for the draft.

I have no idea how high he will go in the draft. Mel Kiper is the foremost expert on the NFL draft and he says Clarett is at best a 2nd round pick. Some think he is no better than a 3rd round pick. I would be a little upset if my favorite team picked him in the first round, but I could understand him being a second round pick. He has a ton of potential, but also has a history of injuries.

Either way, I think it is great that he has challenged and beaten an unfair rule. It is blatantly unamerican to tell an adult that they are not allowed to make a living doing something legal.

What do you guys think?
 
Theres no doubt, Clarett has plenty of talent, the kid was a star during his first and only year in Ohio State as a Freshman tailback. However, he'll be entering the professional leagues that and the fact that he hasnt played a single down of football since the 2003 Fiesta Bowl, 398 days ago will be a hinderance to him. My highest expectation for him is that he gets picked no higher than the 3rd round, and whoever picks him in the early 1st round should be fired.

Now, I hope Clarett can prove me wrong, he has lots of talent, however, he'll be made a target of the defensive linemen, he's probably physically and mentally unready and he's probably underestimating the true potential of the big boys in the NFL. He's a good player, however to the already spotty reputation of the NFL, he'll just be another added expense, added baggage so to speak. Again, I hope he proves me wrong, however, I cant say he'll have the same potential or high marks he had in College in the NFL.
 
Let's see how well he does after Ray Lewis or John Lynch rack him up a few times. Then the "boy among men" debate will have its answer.
 
Maybe I should challenge the law stating you have to be 35 to be president.
 
Originally posted by EatMorePossum@Feb 6 2004, 09:17 AM
Let's see how well he does after Ray Lewis or John Lynch rack him up a few times. Then the "boy among men" debate will have its answer.
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No doubt, Clarett will be targeted. I'm not even sure if he'll be picked, I think some teams might try and stay away from picking him in the draft or signing him.
 
I'm sure he is going to go in the top 3 rounds of the draft. Even if he never maxes out his potential in the NFL, his potential alone is worth a third round pick! Look at guys who had a lot of baggage going into the draft who turned out to be excellent choices. Guys like Warren Sapp who dropped to the bottom of the first round after he tested positive for pot before the draft. Anybody heard of any drug problems from Mr Sapp since?

I know there are also a lot of guys like Lawrence Phillips who flamed out as first round picks and have made people a little gunshy about taking a guy with baggage in the first round. But as I said, even if he doesn't turn out to be a great pro he is still certainly worth at least a third round pick. He has shown he can run the ball and he is tough as nails in between the tackles.

I question his ability to quickly learn the mental aspect of the pro game, such as picking up blitzes etc. But, running back is one of the easier positions to learn. Either you can run the ball or you can't. It's not like he is being asked to learn the QB position.
 
I would love the see all the teams pass him this year. That would send a message to all others who want to go pro before they are a sen.
 
Originally posted by Tabasco@Feb 6 2004, 11:20 PM
I would love the see all the teams pass him this year. That would send a message to all others who want to go pro before they are a sen.
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My point exactly. You shouldn't force the NFL's hand. It doesn't benefit anyone.
 
All the more reason why the NFL needs a spring developmental league, it already has NFL Europe, but I'm talking a domestic league, like Baseball has the Triple A, or the double or single A leagues. Look at Basketball, sure those High School players that come in, theyre good, but it's their reputation that hinders some of them from being hired. The style of play has kinda gone down in recent years, I wouldnt want to see that happen in pro football.

Also, take a look at the guys who came from NFL Europe or the CFL like Kurt Warner, Jeff Garcia, Jake Delhomme, these are guys who've seen lots of success in the NFL, the time in the developmental league turned them from good QBs to winning QBs.
 
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