Needless, senseless, tragic. Some of the words that best describe my feelings regarding the passing of Sean Taylor. We all only know too well the emotions of the Washington Redskins and their fans at this moment with our own loss of Darrent Williams. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family, friends and teammates.

And now, Maurice Clarett. Clarett’s much maligned career at Ohio State has been well documented and I won’t go there, only to state that we were fully aware of what had transpired over his brief stint with the Buckeyes. What I will say is that this organization knows RB’s and has proven that enough without having to be questioned on the ability to do so.

Clarett had burst on the scene in ’02 as a 1st team All-Big 10 selection and Freshman of the Year, while helping the Buckeyes to a National Championship win over Miami. He had 1,237 yards rushing, averaged 5.6 yds per carry and he tallied 16 TDs on the ground. He caught 12 balls for 104 yards and 2 scores to supplement his rushing statistics. He had the size, vision, instincts and patience that had added up to success for others in our system. The staff sat down with him at the Combine and listened to his explanations regarding his past, as well as sought personal input from many who had dealt with Maurice, not only at OSU but in high school as well. I think we all found him to be engaging, intelligent and contrite, while fully aware that there were character issues that would have to be handled correctly in order to maximize his potential. However, we did not leave Indy with the sole intent of taking Maurice Clarett.