Football career

College

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 Purdue before signing with the Buckeyes in February 2002. Later, Clarett received the USA Today high-school player of the year and Parade All American distinctions.

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 2002 Fiesta Bowl (played January 3, 2003). He also made a key defensive play in that game, stealing the ball from Hurricanes safety Sean Taylor, who had just intercepted a Craig Krenzel pass in the end zone. 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.

First signs of trouble

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 thousands of dollars in special benefits 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 began associating with rap music performers. He enjoyed their lifestyle of parties, Malibu beach houses, and expensive cars. Soon his weight ballooned to 256 pounds - much heavier than most running backs. He trained briefly with Charles Poliquin, the trainer for former Ohio State receiver David Boston. Boston was later suspended from the NFL after testing postive for steroids.

Clarett sued to be included in the 2004 NFL Draft but lost in court. 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 3 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[5]. 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[6]. 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, 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 for 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.

Draft day surprise

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. Clarett, however, was 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 (at least 20 pounds overweight). He was slow to recover from an injury.

Despite his unimpressive training camp, Clarett was offered and 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 free from his contract and able to negotiate with any team, but no team expressed interest.

Post-Bronco 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. When contacted by The Herald, Kenner said: "I'm not at liberty to discuss any of those matters. But thank you for the call." Kenner then hung up.

Exploring alternatives to the NFL

According to the Wheeling News-Register, Clarett was in talks to play for the Steubenville Stampede. The Stampede are in the North Division of the American Indoor Football League. The AIFL began its second year of league play in February 2006. 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.