COLUMBUS, Ohio (REUTERS) — Ohio State freshman Maurice Clarett won’t be disciplined for his sideline outbursts during a victory at Northwestern last weekend.
Coach Jim Tressel said Tuesday the 18-year-old running back is expected to start in Saturday’s home game against San Jose State.
Clarett clashed with running backs coach Tim Spencer during the fifth-ranked Buckeyes’ 27-16 win.
Clarett declined to speak with reporters after practice Tuesday. Ohio State spokesman Steve Snapp said the running back was displeased with questions from the media in the last week about his strained relationship with other team members.
TV cameras caught Clarett and Spencer 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.”
Tressel said Spencer “can be pretty forceful,” and the confrontation came in the heat of the moment.
Tressel said part of the problem was that the argument was televised, therefore amplifying what often happens 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,” the coach said. “It’s an awareness thing that the camera’s going to follow you when you’re not even part of what is happening.”
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.
“It’s my job to teach him, ‘Hey, this is what you do,”‘ Spencer said. “Sometimes we all have to bite our tongue and take whatever we get.”
Clarett has become the No. 1 offensive weapon for the Buckeyes. He has 715 yards rushing, and his average of 143 yards 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.
“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.”
Another Ohio State captain, strong safety Michael Doss, said the situation was blown out of proportion.
“A lot of people are really trying to make something out of nothing right now,” he said.
Spencer said it was Tressel’s decision to put Clarett back into the lineup after their confrontation.
Tressel said he wasn’t nearly as worried 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.
