South Carolina football gets a visit, message from a national champion

It's hard to imagine someone who more embodied South Carolina football's "Beyond" football emphasis than Marcus Lattimore. He saw injuries end an NFL career before he ever saw the field, but his experience as a Gamecock laid an important foundation for successful post-playing days.

On Wednesday, the current Gamecocks heard from a man whose experiences might even more fit that theme: Maurice Clarett.

It was late in the night of January 3, 2003 when Clarett bullied his way into the end zone for the touchdown that gave Ohio State a national title against Miami. The freshman sensation looked to be on the path to being a college football great and potential professional. Instead, things went very awry.

Clarett now uses his experience to help other athletes, like he did at USC.

After that 1,237-yard, 18-touchdown season, Clarett was suspended after getting charged for filing a false police report. He unsuccessfully sued to enter the NFL Draft, and was eventually drafted in the third round but cut before playing in a preseason game.

He ran into more trouble after that. He was arrested for armed robbery early in 2006, and later that year was arrested after a police chase with an AK-47, two swords, Kevlar body armor and a bottle of alcohol.

Clarett spent 3 1/2 years in prison, and wrote about his experience on a blog his girlfriend maintained. Since his release, he's spent considerable time talking about the mistakes he made and sharing his story.

The messages he has about athletes taking advantage of their position echo what Lattimore often speaks about as USC director of player development/director of Beyond Football.

This story was originally published April 4, 2018 at 2:24 PM with the headline "South Carolina football gets a visit, message from a national champion."