Wednesday, October 09, 2002
Clarett's clash with coach caught on TV
The Associated Press
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Maurice Clarett has played like a man in Ohio State's backfield, yet there still are times when he's just another 18-year-old kid a long way from home, like when he clashed with running backs coach Tim Spencer on the sidelines Saturday during the fifth-ranked Buckeyes' 27-16 victory at Northwestern.
Television cameras caught the two yelling at each other. Clarett also could be seen exchanging words with a teammate another time. A close-up showed tears rolling down his cheeks after he was taken out after losing two early fumbles.
“Maurice is a competitive young man. I think he's probably pretty embarrassed about the fumble situation,” Spencer said Tuesday. “As a coach, my responsibility is to get the best out of my guys and make sure that they're doing what they need to do. And I need to tell them when they're not doing something and sometimes you have to be stern to get your point across. That's what happened. Maurice is a competitive guy. He sort of fought back.
“Here's a young guy who has never really been in that situation before. Obviously, from what a lot of people saw, (he) probably didn't handle the situation the way he should have.”
Clarett declined to speak with reporters after Tuesday's practice. An Ohio State spokesman said the running back was displeased with questions he had faced in the last week about his strained relationship with other members of the team.
Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel said there would be no penalties against Clarett for his emotional outbursts. The Buckeyes host San Jose State on Saturday and Clarett, of Warren, is expected to be in the starting lineup.
“They're both pretty competitive folks,” Tressel said of Clarett and Spencer, a former standout running back himself at Ohio State who went on to play pro football for seven years.
He said Spencer “can be pretty forceful” and that the confrontation came in the heat of the moment in a close game.
Tressel said part of the problem was that the argument was televised, therefore amplifying what is a common occurrence on most teams — a sideline disagreement.
“That's a reality that a guy like Maurice Clarett, who all of a sudden has had a lot of notoriety and so forth, it's an awareness thing that the camera's going to follow you when you're not even part of what is happening,” Tressel said. “That's the way that it works.”
Clarett rushed for 140 yards and two touchdowns on 29 carries, but also lost a third fumble late in the game.
Spencer said there were two brief confrontations with Clarett, the first after Clarett was told by Spencer to move back from the sidelines and did not. The second came after Clarett's second fumble.
“Certainly some of the situations that happened in that game, it wasn't the reaction to take,” Spencer said. “It's my job to teach him, 'Hey, this is what you do.' Sometimes we all have to bite our tongue and take whatever we get.
“I think I do a good job of letting my guys know what's expected of them and what they're supposed to do. The coaches have to show the players respect and the players have to show the coaches respect. It's a two-way street. I think I've done that. And I think — for the most part — all the guys have done that also.”
Clarett — a blip on the radar screen at tailback last spring — has become the No. 1 offensive weapon for the Buckeyes. He has totaled 715 yards rushing and his average of 143 yards a game is fifth in the country. He already has 12 touchdowns, among the highest totals ever for an Ohio State freshman, with seven regular-season games remaining.
Clarett has accounted for one-third of the Buckeyes' points and almost half of their 26 touchdowns.
Is too much being put on Clarett's shoulders too soon?
“Maybe he has too much pressure, but I think he's the kind of guy who can handle it,” free safety and captain Donnie Nickey said. “He's intelligent. He knows what he's got to do. He's not the kind of guy who can break from it.”
Another Ohio State captain, strong safety Michael Doss, said the entire situation was blown out of proportion.
“A lot of people are really trying to make something out of nothing right now,” he said. “I really don't appreciate that, being a player and being inside this family and knowing what goes on.”
Spencer said it was Tressel's decision to put Clarett back into the lineup after their confrontation.
Tressel said he wasn't worried nearly as much about the harsh words between player and coach as he was about Clarett's three lost fumbles.
“We have to make sure there isn't any more of that,” he said.
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Clarett's clash with coach caught on TV 
