Maurice Clarette was the best freshman running back we ever had in my opinion, yes he had several issues, but he still wears his number on his twitter account, and loves the university he tried to humiliate when he was an 18 year old child. Will he be the best freshman running back we ever had? Can someone else take the reign on this? Can it be Easy E? I know we have a stable of running backs, and may never have the situation we had where a Man-Child steps in and takes us to a national championship. What are your thoughts?
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IMO, Clarett was just a freak physical talent in terms of size and speed, and most amazingly, he had great durability so young in his career. Easy-E is a different kind of back.
You won't see a running back have the same impact as Clarret did as long as Urban and his running back by committee style are here.
On a side note, I saw Mo tonight at BW3s in Powell, Ohio. Him and Roy Hall were having an auction and proceeds would go to Hall's Driven foundation.
Sorry Urban, Woody is still my favorite
I definitely agree that Elliot is a different type of back, I just wonder because we are in a different system, and are looking for different talent than we traditionally have had, if a freshman can step-up like he did in the same way with the same results.
That's great to hear about the auction, always nice to hear what former players are doing. Especially when it's good news about Mo.
QuadrupleZ
MO C was the USA Today High School Offensive player of the Year in 2001. His recruiting highlight tape was a solid 8 minutes long of nothing but Touchdown runs and touchdown catches with some punt returns sprinkled in. Mo C. very well MIGHT HAVE BEEN the best RB in Ohio State History, had he not derailed himself.
If you have 9 minutes to spare, and you have never seen Maurice Clarett play before, watch his high school tape. IMO, he was as advertised on the field as a true Freshman.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lek4HLXxFU0
Hard to imagine anyone being better.
Mo C could have been a Heisman guy and a repeat NC winner.
He was something to watch play, It was a shame to see it end like it did.
O H I O is the Buckeye State
Clarett is in a class all by his lonesome. Him stripping the ball from Sean Taylor on the interception return is the greatest college football play I've ever witnessed. Players like Clarett are few and far between.
An angry fan...rooting for an angry team...led by angry coaches
anyone i knew that played again Mo said you only tried to tackle him once. after that you just tried to ankle tackle him or something. never have i seen a player that could bounce off a tackler like him, or fall forward for that extra yard every, single, time like he did. It was remarkable.
theDuke
Cajun -
The greatest college football play you've ever witnessed?!? How long have you been watching football?
In terms of timing, heart, and a sheer display of athletic ability (running a guy down and taking the ball is not easy), I'd say it is probably a top 5 play in Buckeye history
Sorry Urban, Woody is still my favorite
Clarett took that ball away so fast that the interception should not have been recorded. lol
O H I O is the Buckeye State
There are a few things here, (1) Clarett was a physical freak and (2) the RB's in front of him weren't that great. I don't see that being the case in the near future for a Fresh RB to kick so much butt.
Why so many downvotes?
DV Troll hit this thread. Not really concerned about downvotes though, just let them be. Only way to counteract the downvote trolls is to upvote any comment you like/agree with/is helpful. Here, upvotes for all.
Sorry Urban, Woody is still my favorite
In my lifetime, I've never seen a more dominating freshman. There are good backs here and there (Elliot is going to be a good one, IMO but he's not going to get a ton of touches with the plethora of RBS we have.) But, MO C just was a freakish athlete who probably was NFL ready (physically) coming out of high school. Just look at some of his highlight runs. Stripping the ball from Sean Taylor, whos as gifted as athletes come, was superlative ..as an 18 yr old kid was making 21 yr olds look like jv players i.e the steamroller run when he broke about 8 tackes en route to paydirt early in the season. We basically rode him all the way to the NC that year. That's something we won't see too many times again. Sure, he had ego problems and wasn't at OSU to "play school," but if the criteria is "best freshman RB" then I can't think of anyon else who would get my vote. Absolutely amazing what he could do at such a young age. What a shame that he wasted it all by making terrible decisions. IMO, if he would've kept his head he could've left Cbus with at least one Heisman and a irreplacable spot in Buckeye Lore. (for the right reasons)
IMO it would take some otherworldly talent to top what MoC did as a frosh. It wasnt just the fact he was a big back but he had that football speed where he didnt get caught from behind alot not to mention the best vision, feet, and instincts ive ever seen in HS and as a frosh RB for tOSU.
I love farting.
NannArbor, I've probably got blue jeans that are older than you. Let me help you with the thought process. Mo C, a true freshman, one the biggest stage in college football, the game to decide the national champion. Ohio State is in the red zone trying to score to, when Krenzel is picked by Taylor in the endzone. Taylor runs it out and cuts up the sideline. Clarett takes a great angle and runs to him at about the 18 and basically takes the football away from him. Clarett doesn't tackle him. If you watch the replay, there is no intention of Clarett just making the tackle. His entire focus is removing the ball from Sean Taylor, which he does. What true freshman running back has that presence of mind, under those circumstances, to make that play? Grasp that big picture, and really stare into it. Then let's have a conversation about great plays.
An angry fan...rooting for an angry team...led by angry coaches
I know this is off the original forum topic a bit, but if you could go into the hypothetical WHAT IF universe, you might end up with this:
2002 OSU NC, Clarett National Freshman of the year
2003 OSU NC (would have had they had Mo) Clarett Heisman finalist
2004 hard to say OSU had QB change over
2005 OSU with Clarett as Senior and Troy Smith at QB, Ted Ginn, Holmes and Gonzo coupled with that Defense (Hawk, Schlegel & Caprpenter) would have been a heck of a matchup vs USC with Lienhart, Bush and Lendale White for all the marbles.
Not too much of a stretch to think that OSU would have been able to win 3 NC's had Clarett had a clear head and stayed 4 years at OSU. He was that good. Oh well...He was a shooting star, glad to have seen him 1 year wearing Scarlet and Grey. Hope the best for the guy in the future.
Go Bucks!
Clarett was one of the greatest Buckeyes that I have ever seen. No player played with more heart. The vision and the athletic skills were off the charts, but his drive to play the game set him so far from everyone else, I think that it is hard to imagine any RB being better. My father was from Cleveland and I have been religiously watching buckeye football since my birth in 1980. I have yet to see his equal at running back.
Seriously, guys, Mo was great, but I have just 2 words for you thinking he was THE best : Archie Griffin.
P.S. Cajun - I forgot to reply to you - are you in town? I was serious about buying you that beer!
"Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read." - Groucho Marx
@ buckeyevet I was wondering why Archie wasn't mentioned sooner. Archie was a 4 year starter. It makes you wonder what Mo could have accomplished if he was a little more mature.
Clarett's vision was incredible. He was supremely talented, had great heart, insincts, and just flat out balled!
@Jugdish - Yeah, no disrespect to Clarett, I just felt people might want to take a longer view of it. It does make me wistful though, thinking about what Mo could have done in 3 or 4 years.
"Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read." - Groucho Marx
Upvote for everyone who got a single neg vote at the start of the thread. Methinks someone doesn't like MoC very much.
Buckeyevet, I never put Archie in the picture. Good call on that one. I'm still hoping to be in Ohio for "The Game". I do look forward to having that beverage with you.
An angry fan...rooting for an angry team...led by angry coaches