Eleven Warriors

Clarett was the most talented RB to probably ever play at tOSU. Had he been healthy his entire freshman season he probably would have won the Heisman. It really is a shame that Clarett became such a headcase because I believe he would have won at least one Heisman and another NC. He was that good and that important to our team - there was no 2002 NC without him.

This is not even a debate if you ask me ....Clarett is better... now who has more talent that is prob a toss up but like I said on this site before I like beanie just thought he was a little soft. More than running out of bounds to avoid a hit...but everytime he would get tackled he never seemed interested in getting back up... Clarett had more of that it factor and he was never confused for someone being soft. I rememeber going to his first game vs Texas Tech at the shoe and I was dissapointed that lydell ross wasn't starting (this is coming off his freshman year clearly his best year ever) by the 2nd quarter i knew that his Clarett kid was special. Keep in Mind we only seen Clarett as an 18-19 year old boy.....Imagine what he could have been smh one of the saddest stories in buckeye history.

What do you need the back for? All purpose, you take Clarett. Power running you take Beanie. I actually believe Beanie is a bit faster than Clarett. Look at Clarett's performance in the NC game. Aside from the strip, he really performed poorly. (Statwise) Our offensive line didn't make it to the second level to take out Miami's LBs and give Clarett the opportunity get any running room. Ross had a 9 yard sweep in that game which might have been the longest running play, I can't remember but overall Clarett was a non factor for much of it. The touchdown run that won the game was beautiful and hard fought. The real reason we won the NC was Krenzel willed it to happen, taking so much abuse and using his legs to move the ball and our defense was nasty and opportunistic. Miami moved the ball fairly well against us but we forced turnovers.

Wells in the NC game performed brilliantly until we abandoned the run due to the score. I would say both of those defenses, Miami's and LSU's were probably pretty even as far as talent. Miami's was fast before SEC speed became cool. Wells did a good job in his NC showing.

If I am taking one these men based on the whole scheme of who they are, including their character, I am taking Wells. If I need a viable running back with good hands in a pass heavy offense, I take Clarett. Clarett had more wiggle than beanie but he didn't have the STIFF ARM OF JUSTICE.

Speaking of running back comparisons, the B1G network really dorked the rankings when they did the best running backs of the 00's. They can take Mike F'ing Hart and move him to number 10 (from 1) and shuffle everyone up a slot and I think the list is pretty decent. Hell, I'd take Beanie over Lawrence Maroney and I'd take Pittman over Hart. Pittman didn't even make the list BTW. No way is Hart a better running back than Larry Johnson.

Maurice Clarrett had more heart for the game of football than perhaps any college player that I have ever seen, and you can include the white guys that everybody drools over like Sanzenbacher (who I also drool over) and Tebow.  

Just because he was also perhaps one of the most talented Buckeyes, does not mean that we should discount the passion that he played with.  I love Beanie, but Clarrett is so much head and shoulders above anybody else, that it is almost unbelievable.  

Clarrett was a major contributor to a National Championship team as an injury plagued freshman.  Imagine what he could have done as a healty junior.  

That Miami team was far better than any team I've seen since on both sides of the ball.  Look at the list of players from that team that ended up in the NFL.  The talent was disgusting.  I don't think it was even close between that defense and the D we saw against LSU in the national title game.    LSU lost to Kentucky in their national championship season.  Miami only lost 1 game in 2 years, and it was the national title game against the Buckeyes.  They had won 30 strait games.  That team was light years better than the 2 loss LSU team that Beanie ran against.  I don't think you can compare the 2 teams that Ohio State played in the national title game and how those backs performed to say well clearly this guy was better than the other. 

If that's how we'll do it, then I'd say Beanie had good numbers in a losing effort in the national title game, but Clarett made, one of the top 5 plays in Ohio State history which saved the game for the Buckeyes in a National Title game.

Eddie George...argument terminated.

To me, though, the question is, if you had to name one guy your starting RB just based on what you saw that they were able to do on the field when they were healthy which do you take?  I don't care about head case, or character or anything they did after the fact.  Just take one guy and say here's the ball we need you to win us this game, which one do you take?  Clarrett for all his flaws, was very mature on the field that year, and that's where you need the guy to be mature.  Beanie was always a cool customer.

If I have to give the ball to one of these guys to go win me a game, I don't even hesitate.  Clarrett gets the ball, and I ride him to a championship.  So many games, where he put the team in position to win.  Washington State, he won that game.  He controlled the clock, he broke their backs time and again, he let the D sit on the sideline and rest most of the game.  He had 230 yards and 2 TD's.  In a grinding victory against Wisconsin, he took the ball 30 times and grinded out 133 yards, give the team field position and controlling the clock again.  it allowed the team to grind that victory out.  Against Michigan, 119 yards, a TD, 35 yards receiving.  Again, he kept the chains moving, he kept the clock running, and he scored.  Miami he only had 45 yards, but he had the 2 TD's and the strip was an amazing play in Ohio State history. 

Eddie George and Archie Griffin are the 2 best RB's to ever put on the Scarlet and Grey. Between Beanie and Clarrett I'd almost call it a push. They were both pretty good and to make an arguement on who was better would be purely opinion. IMO I'd rather have a healthy Beanie Wells.

I liked Clarrett as a blocker and receiver too. He had some pretty good hands for a guy his size, I don't really think Beanie was a great threat out of the backfield and I really didn't care for him as a blocker. With that said, Beanie produced for 2.5 years and Maurice only did for 1. I think its safe to assume Clarett may have exceeded even Eddie and Archie in the OSU pantheon, but we really never may know. I have to go with actual production, not assumed production. Beanie all the way.

Beanie - better athlete imo...Clarett - total "gamer", he just had the "it" factor, what a special player he was, a shame he only played that one season

I really don't get this argument. Take statistics out of the equation and just think if you took Clarett off of the 2002 national championship team would they have still won it all? No. They were an over achieving bunch that was able to rely on an incredibly talented workhorse True FRESHMAN! Not many players are able to come in to any top level bcs program and make that kind of impact from day one. I don't see Beanie leading that team to a National Championship if he was a Freshman. And that's not to take anything away from him, he was a fantastic back in his own right. But he just wasn't Maurice Clarett who is one of the top gamers I have ever seen and he only played one year. While I certainly understand those who say that Beanie is better because of him actually playing out a whole career, one still has to wonder how good Clarett would have been had he stayed and not gotten in trouble. While I would not go as far to say that Clarett was the best OSU RB ever because Archie is 1 and Eddie is 2, however, I would put Clarett at 3 behind those guys. I also think its arguable that Clarett may have had the most talent and potential of any one to ever play running back at Ohio State. 

Man, I love beanie but I really dont think this is that close.  Off the field and head issues aside, I think its MoC.  He had it all...and lost it all.  So sad.

This isn't even a debate!... it's Clarett!  Clarett is arguably one of the GREATEST college tailbacks EVER.  It truly is a shame the guy couldn't just "wait it out," but had to go bonkers.

Clarett made Wells look like a daffodil.

@ Scarlet, that's a bit of a reach. He had one amazing season. That's all he did. He had amazing potential, but so do hundreds of guys across the country every year. We saw flashes of him reaching it, but he couldn't stay there for very long. Regardless of why he couldn't maintain his ceiling, he didn't.

If the comparison is who do I want for one carry, for one game, to lead me to a win? Clarret. If it's a whole season? Wells, if only because they both had the injury bug but Wells was less likely to be getting his Goose on or fleeing the cops with loaded weapons.

If it's comparing their careers? I take Wells, because his career was longer and more productive, statistically.

If it's potential, the "it" factor, or some other non quantifiable comparison like "heart", I take Clarett.

So depending on how you are looking at it, it seems like people on both sides have valid points and strong arguments. Dismissing either side/argument because it's "no contest" seems a bit narrow minded.

The one thing you guys forget about clarret was he did not get a full off season in the weight room the would have cut down his injuries. He had the great gift for the game but let his head get in the way off the feild. Clarret beats Bennie freshman year to freshman year but bennie stay straight off the field helps him alot.

Everyone wants to speculate about what Clarett could have done if he was healthy, if he stayed for more years, if he physically (and mentally) matured, if if if....

Well, lets speculate for Beanie here. What if Beanie played behind an Offensive Line that had some proper coaching by someone other than Bollman in their collegiate career. What kind of yardage could Beanie have put up then?

I don't discredit in the least what type of athlete Clarett was, other than the strip, he was very pedestrian in the NC game. As a freshman throughout the season, he was phenomenal. Someone above me said that you take MoC out of our team for 02 and we don't go to the NC. That's likely true, though the following year we nearly made it. You take Beanie off of that Buckeye team in Pryor's first year and I think we lose several games.

Ill take Clarett for multi purpose back based offenses.

Ill take Beanie for the work horse offenses. Was Beanie ever held to less than 2 ypc? I don't know the answer to that. i am just asking.

JMO

This really is laughable.  It's not even that close.

Clarett was the sole reason why OSU won more than 8 games that year.  He was more valuable to the offense in his one year than any year Beanie played. 

And Clarett was straight up better IMO

Mo C will always be "what could have been". Beanie had multiple seasons and was a beast when healthy. I think that trying to compare the two is pointless.

The question to me is not about lifetime achievement numbers here folks, it's who was a better RB.  Look, Ohio State's offense was bad during both of their tenures, but that national title team probably doesn't beat Washington State, Wisconsin, or Michigan without Moe C.  Look at games he missed or only had a few carries and how difficult it was for the team to win said games.  UC was horrible and the Buckeyes almost lost that game because Moe C was gone.  Penn State nearly beat the Buckeyes.  MoeC had 4 carries and had to leave the game.  Those 4 carries resulted in 9.8 ypc.  If he's doesn't have to leave the game, they probably blow Penn State out.  Purdue, Moe C had few carries and it takes a miracle play to win that game.  He may have had Pedestrian numbers in the National Championship game, but he had 2 TD's.  You think Lydell Ross scores 2 TD's against Miami's defense?  No Moe C in that game, wipe 14 points off the board and forget about the strip.

The question, though it wasn't pointed out by the author of this post is, who was better?  To me that means who do you want as your RB, if you have to pick one for a game.  It doesn't ask what they did off the field, or if they were soft, or how many career stats they piled up.  If you watched both play, I don't see how it could even be close.  The D knew both guys were going to get the ball and Moe C, from day one as a true freshman destroyed the competition. 

The maturity stuff never came up during the season when he was actually playing.  It was after the fact with the ESPN article, and challenging the NFL rule to leave early, and all the shit that came later.  The only issue, was when his buddy died and he wasn't allowed to go to the funeral.  Prior to that, he was a model citizen and played and conducted himself on the field like someone much much older.  It was only after the fact that his maturity issues came into play.  There was no question, on the field his true freshman year, he was a hell of a leader.

I refuse to answer ... I love'em both.  (and I am drunk during thw work day)  GO BUCKS!

I have to say I'd take Eddie over both of them.  1995 Illinois game, probably the best performance I've seen by any Buckeye in my life.

Clarrett is by far the better back. Remember he was the feature back his freshman year and played like a man amongst boys the entire time he was healthy. Beanie was a backup his freshman year, albeit a great one, with fumbling problems.

BTALBERT said everything I was thinking and didnt have the patience to type.  See his post, spot on!

Wells was only a backup his Frosh year b/c they had another very good running back on the team.  If Wells had come into a similar situation as Clarett (Lie-Down Ross) he would have started, dominated, and put up 1,000+ yards his first year.  He averaged 5.5 ypc on limited touches.

Beanie also got burried on the bench for most of his freshman year because he couldn't hold onto the ball.

Clarett had the "it" factor. Beanie was well above solid. But I still hafta pick reliability and proven in Wells. If I was recruiting, I go after Clarett though....

Can we vote Eddie?

As for Beanie v. Clarett, you can't have a tie so I would have to go Beanie - all intangibles and him not being a head case.  And so much faster

I always thought that Tim Spencer's senior year was one of the best ever

MoC, feel of the game changed when he came in. Would scratch and claw for yards. Agree though that Eddie George ends it all.

clarett..if he sticks around we repeat in 03/04

Eras are to different to compare.

I'll break it down a bit from what I remember of them - advantage in each area:

Speed:  Wells (clearly, Clarett doesn't outrun 2007 LSU's defense)
Power:  Wells (arguably - Clarett was pretty powerful in his own right)
Vision:  Clarett
Agillity:  Even
Passion:  Clarett
Catching:  Clarett
Durability:  Wells (1 freaky injury in 3 years vs. multiple injuries in 1 year for Clarett)
Protection of the ball:  Even - Wells fumbled a lot as a freshman, but got that fixed and wasn't a problem in his ensuing years.  Clarett had that one game where he fumbled 3 times, but other than that, I don't remember him having problems with that.

As for who I'd prefer - no freaking idea.

Obviously, from my several posts I'll take Clarett, but I also want to mention my 3 favorite Buckeyes are Troy Smith, Eddie George and Beanie Wells with 4th probably being Pryor(not popular choice I understand).  Not that it really matters overall, just watching guys play, I honestly think, in my years of watching the Buckeyes since the early 90's when I was 11 or 12 years old, Clarett is the best Buckeye running back I've seen.  

If a conversation like this were happening in December of 2002, there probably is a lot of support for Clarett vs Eddie.  Problem is, we remember the aftermath of Clarett, and all the bull crap that resulted and many don't remember the amazing player that literally took college football by storm.  I know so many people who hate Ohio State that would tune in to watch Clarett play.  I had friends who were UK/SEC fans, Notre Dame fans, and Michigan fans who would call me during a game after a major play and they were amazed.  

It's all kind of anecdotal evidence, but I can tell you that in all the years as an adult none of these same people and friends ever wanted to come by and watch the Buckeyes play to see Ginn, Smith, Beanie, or Pryor. They never called and said DID YOU SEE THAT????

This is a good topic really though, fun to talk about and nice to go think back and watch old clips that bring back so many good memories.  These 2 were awesome players and that's what is fun to discuss.  

Seriously... the people saying "Wells"... how old are you?  Is there anyone above the age of 25 who's saying "Wells"?  Honest question.

Scarlet_Buckeye - It is an opinion based comment. Who are you to mark yours as correct and everyone that disagrees with you as wrong? You don't play well with others do you?

Clarett was special but one year isn't enough information for me to rank him ahead of what Wells did in three. There have been several football players in the past that are better their Junior years and have horrible Senior years. Who knows what Clarett would do the remaining three years. I'll take the known vs. the unknown. If I had a team and was able to grab either of these guys, I would consider myself lucky.

Again, opinion based question. If you don't like someone elses suck it up and move on. If you don't like a point, counter it. You simply saying "Everyone that doesn't agree must be a kid/young, comes off as being a Troll. If you are, I took the bait.

While some in the MoC camp have given thoughtful replies to this question, I find it interesting how many of Mo's supporters have responded dismissively with phrases like laughable or no contest  or not even close etc.  Even those who have deigned to support their opinion have had to rely on unanswerable arguments such as having the it factor, or having heart or passion, intangibles that are only meaningful insofar as they manifest themselves in on-field production.  So, once more let's look at that on-field production.  In his one and only season MoC gained 1237 yards on 222 carries for a 5.6 ypc average.  In Beanie's best season he gained 1609 yards on 274 carries for 5.9 ypc average.  I would also note, for those who project Mo's greatness based on how good he was as a freshman, that Beanie's most productive season was his sophomore year, not really a big difference.  I respect those who think that MoC was the better back.  He was definitely special. However, those who argue that the comparison is laughable are, well, laughable. 

I agree with most of the last 7-8 comments. There are a lot of valid arguments on either side. The only ridiculous arguments I've seen so far have been stating that there shouldn't be any argument. Irricoir nailed it.

That being said, let's all take a minute to appreciate the quality RB's we are spoiled with that we can even have this conversation. Go back and watch the highlight reels for both guys. At the end of doing that, I guarantee you that whatever side of the fence you're sitting on, you'll be sitting there with a smile on your face. Because they both had unbelievable highlight reels. That Beanie stiffarm against LSU was one of the most spectacular runs in BCS championship history. The MoC strip was one of the greatest plays in BCS championship history.

I just popped into this argument. Not sure if it has been mentioned, bu beanies ability to hit the home run was pretty legit. Especially for a guy his size, once he got to the next level he was gone. Pretty impressive if you ask me. Clarett had all the potential in the world. But aside from one season, that's all it was...potential. we will never know how good he could have been because he wasted his God given abilities. He's done a hell of a job turning his life around and I am happy for him in that regard. Still remember when I went to see him play his senior year in high school. A guy who lived in my dorm in college went to harding high school, and was headed home to watch the game that weekend. I had heard talk of clarett and knew he was going to be a buckeye. So I tagged along. Without a doubt a man among children. I saw enis play against my school when I was very young. And clarett at that point reminded me of him in the fact that no one was touching him. Didn't matter what they did...mo was getting his. And I remember thinking sweet lord, he is going to rewrite the record books at ohio state. And his freshman season did little to temper my enthusiasm as to what he was capable of. Then he robbed himself of the chance to write his legacy as the G.O.A.T at OSU. Beanie wasn't much different in my opinion as far as physical tools, talent and overall ability as an rb. The deciding factor is beanie was locked in behind a better back in pittman as a freshman, yet still found his way into games and had decent production considering his place on the depth chart. Hell, pittman saw the writing on the wall and declared for the draft rather than be beanies understudy the following season. If you can drive a guy who was firmly entrenched as the starter to jump to the nfl, you're obviously a special talent. I would have to say that beanie gets the nod from me due to the body of work. I won't base someones place in ohio state history on what ifs. That's just me. Beaine was the better buckeye in terms of production and dedication to the program.