INDIANAPOLIS -- Maurice Clarett was quicker and more evasive with questions from Thursday than he will be for NFL scouts this week.
That's because the running back who won his challenge to the NFL's draft system announced he would skip Friday's workouts at the scouting combine and wait six more weeks before giving scouts a chance to evaluate his skills on the field.
The reason: he said he wanted more time to train after a suspension cost him his entire sophomore season at Ohio State.
Not everyone accepted the explanation, which could lower his position in the draft even more: the wait is clearly to get in shape after he weighed in at 237 pounds. In fact, his decision clearly antagonized a lot of the people he is supposed to be impressing.
"That's a farce," Buffalo Bills general manager Tom Donahoe said. "That was expected but that's ridiculous."
Clarett said he made the decision at the urging of his mother.
After beating the NFL in a courtroom twice this month to become eligible for the draft, Clarett, 20, will become the first true sophomore in the NFL draft.
He weight is seven pounds more than he played at, and the 230 at which he was listed may have been questionable. He even acknowledged he wasn't in top condition despite working out for the past couple weeks.
Scouts wondered why Clarett didn't arrive for the weeklong combine better prepared after missing an entire season and then challenging the NFL's rule requiring underclassmen to complete three years of school before declaring for the draft.
