Let Clarett go, we'll be fine without him

In the process of viewing another riveting Saturday of college football action, I was fortunate enough to catch one of Fox Sports' always interesting interactive fan polls. Spurned by discussion of the Maurice Clarett case at Ohio State, this one concerned whether or not college football would be better off if players were able to enter the NFL draft at a younger age as the Buckeye star Clarett may attempt to go through a court battle.\nThe pitiful Fox announcers were shocked to see 13 percent of America claimed college football would be better off without the so-called stars that would leave college even earlier to reap the rewards of NFL contracts. The announcers seemed dumbfounded at how these stars of the Saturday gridiron could go pro, and college football could be better off. Well, if I had my druthers, the percentage would have been much higher.\nHas the caliber of college basketball been diminished by early entrants to the NBA? Has the excitement dwindled in Omaha during the month of June for the College World Series because high school prodigies skip college altogether? A resounding "No" can emphatically answer these two questions.\nThe same would happen with college football. Sure you might miss the spectacular plays some of these stars make or the unheard of performances they put up in the spotlight, but their departure just opens the door for someone else to become a star. Trust me, they will and we would be at no lack of stars in the college football ranks.\nIn many cases, one of them being Clarett, these college stars create more controversy and pain than they are worth. Already thinking they should be getting paid and not taking care of their academics, they hang on by threads in school and stroll around in high-profile vehicles often in question of how they received such a ride. Student-athletes are just that: student-athletes. Notice how eloquently the student comes before the athlete.\nDo not get me wrong. I am all about getting these young men and women an education, but in return they have to want an education. By all reports, it seems as though our Buckeye friend to the east wanted no part in school from day one. College athletes are given a great opportunity for a free education while still partaking in a sport they should love to play. Some take advantage of the opportunity, others throw it away while tarnishing their reputation and often times bringing down the institution they represent as well as giving all of college athletics a bad rap in the process.\nGo ahead and tell me they should be paid because they are taken advantage of by their university or conference and I will give you 10 reasons why they should not. Tell me they give their lives to their university and I will give you hundreds, even thousands of other young men and women who would plead for the opportunity these college athletes have been able to obtain.\nNot all the stars are trouble by any means, just as many of the stars would stay in school to obtain an education as would leave early for the big bucks of the NFL. Carson Palmer, Terence Newman, Jimmy Kennedy and Larry Johnson are just a few examples from last year's draft of college studs that played all four years of college ball.\nHere is to hoping Clarett wins his case and is able to enter the NFL draft early. Not only would this provide great opportunities for young men to set themselves for life financially, but it would get those just interested in the athlete part of the college game out of the picture and allow more chances for others to make a name for themselves.\n-- Contact staff writer Colin Nowling at cnowling@indiana.edu.