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Anyway, it happened somewhere. Maurice Clarett changed. And those left in his old life wonder where he went -- and where he went wrong.
''This isn't the one I know,'' said Thom McDaniels, his old high school coach at Warren Harding. ''I don't know who his counselor is or who his advisors are, but if they think this is a good thing for him to do, then they're stupid.''
You know the story by now. Clarett's long-standing feud with Ohio State reached an explosive climax this week when he accused Ohio State coach Jim Tressel of supplying him with improper benefits, including loaner cars and boosters who handed Clarett thousands of dollars.
Clarett was always moody and passionate and stubborn and opinionated, even as a high school senior in November 2001. He was preparing for graduation then, a semester early so he could enroll at Ohio State in time for spring practice in April.
He spent many days in McDaniels' office -- talking, laughing, venting and thinking. During the national championship season of 2002, Tressel and Clarett both spoke at length about how Clarett would stop by his new coach's office for many of the same reasons.
Only now Clarett's version of what was said in those private meetings is vastly different.
Clarett's version of Tressel is in direct contrast to how the rest of the world views him, but eerily similar to another scandal Tressel was involved in at Youngstown State.
Ray Isaac, the quarterback on the 1991 Youngstown State team that won the I-AA national championship, admits to taking more than $10,000 and several cars from Mickey Monus, a former YSU board of trustees president who is now serving a lengthy prison sentence for fraud and embezzlement.
The allegations first arose in 1994, when the NCAA urged Youngstown State to do an in-house inspection. It did, but turned up nothing. In 1998, the case exploded and all the details came out.
But conveniently enough, by then it was beyond the NCAA's four-year statute of limitations. The school self-imposed a number of penalties, the NCAA commended its thoroughness and the school was allowed to keep its national championship.
In an interview with the Dayton Daily News last year, Isaac said Tressel ''never, ever'' knew about the benefits and called Tressel his best friend in the whole world.
''Mickey assured me Tressel wouldn't find out and I don't think he did,'' Isaac said last year. ''I didn't stick it in his face.''
Asked last year about the similarities between Isaac's case and that of Clarett, Tressel said he didn't see any similarities and didn't elaborate beyond that. Still, those close to him now continue to defend his character and integrity.
''It's a little disheartening because of the experiences I've personally had with coach Tressel and knowing him on a personal level and the way he treats players,'' senior Dustin Fox said. ''For me, I can never see a situation where he would do something like that for myself or any other player for that matter.''
Ohio State players have now had to answer questions about Clarett for two years -- or one year more than he was ever on the team. No one has ever made a greater impact in a shorter amount of time.
Fox called Clarett a ''loner,'' someone who primarily kept to himself during his time at Ohio State and had few friends on the team.
''I don't really know him as a person that well,'' Fox said. ''It's almost like a legend or something, because you don't see him that often but you answer a lot of questions about him. But I don't know him that well. He was only here for a year. It's kind of strange.''
Strange is a good way to summarize this entire saga. When Clarett entered Ohio State, he was bold yet sensitive, strong yet feeble, intelligent yet immature.
Three years later, at least in that sense, not much has changed.
''I'm hurt, because this is not the way I would want him to behave,'' McDaniels said. ''But apparently it's the way someone wants him to behave. They have his ear now, I don't. And I haven't had it for a long time. I feel bad for him, because this only further damages the kid.''
Troy Smith was one of the few to befriend Clarett during his time on the team. He admitted a few weeks ago he's still friends with him, but said this week he hasn't spoken to him in four months.
Asked if he would consider Clarett an honest person, Smith said ''Oh yeah. Oh yeah.'' That left him with little response when asked if he could be making this up.
''It's really sad to hear from him and see him in a situation like this,'' Smith said. ''I wish it wouldn't have turned out like this.''
McDaniels doesn't even have to think about it. He believes Tressel.
''I have a better relationship with him than I have with Maurice, I can tell you that,'' McDaniels said. ''And I know him to be noble, honorable and a man of great character and integrity. He's at the top of the list of people I know in the business. Maurice has put his reputation (on the line) and challenged Jim's with his own. And who's going to win that matchup? That seems foolish.''
Clarett has slunk back into the underworld. He appeared just long enough to light the dynamite sticks, then crawled back into the bunker before the explosions sounded. He's in Los Angeles now, working out and awaiting April's NFL draft. If history has proven anything, you probably won't hear much from him again until then.
It's a bit ironic, really. Clarett entered into this volunteering his side of the story, yet his former friends treat it as a great American tragedy.
''I can't really speak for Maurice, because I haven't talked to him in such a long time,'' Smith said. ''Before when I was talking to him, I couldn't really speak for him then, either. He's sort of unpredictable in situations. You've been around him, you know what I mean.
''It's just sad. I sit down sometimes and I pray for him. Because you never know what can happen to somebody.''
jlloyd@morningjournal.co
