"Nothing changes but circumstance and opportunity."
Maurice Clarett wanted the Florida State football team to remember the phrase while he was talking to them. Head coach Jimbo Fisher invited the former Ohio State running back to Tallahassee in light of two of his players being accused of domestic violence, one instance of which was caught on camera.
Chronicled by ESPN's Adam Rittenberg, Clarett's address with the Seminoles was candid and blunt. He said it took him going to prison on charges of aggravated robbery and carrying a concealed weapon for him to realize he needed to "grow the f--- up."
You can see footage of Clarett's visit to Tallahassee here, via ESPN.
Clarett emphasized to the Seminoles players the importance of having an alternate career path in case they did not wind up playing football professionally. He cited statistics that indicated only two percent of college football players make the NFL.
"Most of ya'll dudes are going to be regular dudes in society, do ya'll know that?" Clarett said in his address. "Everybody thing they're going to make it [to the NFL] and it's cool if you do, but do you know [there] ain't nothing wrong with not making it?"
Clarett dominated his one and only season at Ohio State, rushing for 1,237 yards and 18 touchdowns en route to a 14-0 season and a BCS National Championship victory. But he was dismissed from the football team shortly after amid accusations of repeatedly lying to school officials and accepting impermissible benefits.
It was during his prison sentence that Clarett said he began reading books on psychology and business, apparently laying the groundwork for him to mentor young men who are in the position he was once in. ESPN noted Clarett has been making the rounds at various schools, delivering similar addresses to their football teams.
"That was one of the most bona fide, true, legit talks I've been around in college football in 28 years, trying to reach these young men about making the right choices in life," Fisher told Rittenberg. "Having it all going to the bottom, that gives him a lot of credibility, unfortunately.
"But sometimes, these guys have to see that."
