Who's to blame for Maurice Clarrett and Mike Williams?

As we know 95% of the blame has to rest on each one of their shoulders. They were arguably the two best underclassmen in college football in 2003.

Both had dreams of playing for NFL teams and both wanted to get there a little bit earlier then their peers. After a Judge overturned the ruling allowing players with less then 3 years out of high school to enter the NFL draft, both of these guys lives spiraled out of control. They both got to spend the 2004 year without football. NFL scouts have long memories and both of thier careers got off to a great start. In the 2005 NFL Draft the Detroit Lions picked Mike Williams with their first round draft pick and Mike Shanahan from the Denver Broncos surprised everyone and picked Maurice in the 3rd round.

As we all know this is story does not turn out well, Maurice reports fat and gets cut and then turns to a life of crime. He is now spending time in a different "Big House". Mike who didn't turn to crime, but must have turned to "Dunkin Donuts" because he continued to have a weight problems as a Lion and regularly under preformed before he got shipped out to the Raiders in a draft day trade in 2007. Mike didn't last long as a Raider getting cut after dropping a 4th down ball. He then got picked up on Thanksgiving by the Titans and didn't catch a pass the last two games of the season. At season end, Mike weighed more then 270 pounds and was told by the Jeff Fisher to lose some weight or get cut again. He is now down 30 pounds and trying one last time in Titans camp.

So there's the re-cap, but how did this happen? Both of these guys were on the path to NFL fame and glory. Looking back at what happened, that year off killed both of their careers. See these boys played Football their entire life, they didn't know what to do with themselves after that was taken away from them. I think Maurice was a bad egg from the beginning but I believe the NCAA could have treated Mike and maybe Maurice differently and given them back their amateur status for a year (if they paid back any money they got from their agents, etc). If they were allowed to go back to OSU and USC, today their lives might be different. But the NCAA stuck by their guns at let both of these guys sit for a year.

Looking back, was it worth it? Instead of sending a message, they destroyed both of these guys lives. Now, I understand that both are to blame for getting fat, drinking too much and running with the wrong crowd. Would they have done that if they were playing football full time? Maybe - Maybe not. Today the NCAA will allow students that graduate to transfer without penalty, maybe they should have considered a special rule back in 2004 to save the lives of two young football players. Maybe Mike Williams has learned a lesson and can make a big comeback this year. The ship has sailed for Maurice. A 2nd chance and a scholarship is a terrible thing to waste.