COLUMBUS, Ohio - Maurice Clarett shouldn't count on returning to Ohio State now that the courts have blocked him from entering the NFL draft this weekend.
"I cannot envision a scenario where he would be able to play football next fall for Ohio State," athletic director Andy Geiger said Friday.
Clarett's attempt to circumvent the league's eligibility rule was turned down Thursday by two U.S. Supreme Court justices, making the running back ineligible for the draft that begins today.
Clarett, 20, is challenging the NFL's requirement that players wait three years after high school before turning pro. Under the current rules, Clarett would not be eligible until 2005.
The issue is pending before the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York, which has put on hold a lower-court ruling in Clarett's favor that said the NFL can't enforce its three-year rule.
It also was unclear what the next step might be for Southern California and former Plant High wide receiver Mike Williams, who entered the draft after the original decision that made Clarett eligible.
BRONCOS: Linebacker John Mobley was convicted of drunken driving. A jury also convicted Mobley of driving with excessive alcohol and speeding.
He faces between seven days and a year in jail and a fine of $450 to $1,000 on the drunken driving charge. Sentencing was set for July 22.
It was Mobley's second alcohol-related conviction. In 1999, he was charged with DUI after a car wreck but pleaded guilty to lesser charges of driving while impaired, driving without a license and careless driving. He was sentenced to one year's probation and ordered to complete 24 hours of community service.
GIANTS: Defensive tackle William Joseph tore a pectoral muscle lifting weights during offseason conditioning and will have surgery.
PACKERS: The team re-signed reserve defensive back Bhawoh Jue.
RAMS: Defensive end Bryce Fisher signed a one-year deal worth $628,000, the amount of the tender offer to the restricted free agent in February.
REDSKINS: Peaceful moments can be hard to come by for a player pursued by coach Joe Gibbs. Just ask free-agent linebacker Mike Barrow. "You talk about a little voice in your head that tells you where to go - he was my voice," said Barrow after signing with Washington. "Every minute, every day, he called me." Barrow, cut last month by the Giants when he refused to restructure his contract, is expected to replace Jeremiah Trotter at middle linebacker.
