Transcript From The September 10th Ohio State University Press Conference – Ohio State Buckeyes
9/10/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 10, 2003
(Transcription by Professional Reporters, Inc. 800-229-0675)
SNAPP: Guys, same format as this afternoon. We’ll have comments from the coach and then open it to questions. We will not have time afterwards for one-on-one, so try to get everything in before we leave.
Coach.
TRESSEL: Well, as I’m sure Andy mentioned to this group, it’s — take two.
You know, as I’m sure Andy mentioned, it’s not a happy day for anyone today. It’s a disappointing day, but a day that I think a lot of people have worked hard to make sure that the right things are done and the proper things are taken care of. And Andy announced that Maurice wouldn’t be able to participate this year. We certainly want him to remain at Ohio State and continue to move toward his degree, and if it’s choice, try to make every effort to get back into step, moving toward the goals that he has set since he’s come here. It’s obviously very disappointing for all of us, very disappointing for Maurice and his family. And that’s the situation that we’re in.
I for one don’t feel good about the fact that — I think whenever you look at something that doesn’t come out the way you had hoped, you first analyze, you know, what could I have done. You know, the question would be could I have spent more time with him, could I have done a better job in some areas. And those are things that I think about often, and you know, have to live with from a standpoint of the regret that perhaps I didn’t do as well as I could possibly do. But, on the other hand, you know, I think any situation is a shared situation, and life is about handling what the circumstances are, and we know what they are, and we’ll move forward.
REPORTER: Coach, Andy mentioned today that you had spent probably more time with Maurice than any other player, and we know how important and special it was when you recruited him here out of high school, being the highly touted player he was. From that personal side, spoke a little bit about the disappointment, but have you had conversations with him and any other feelings?
TRESSEL: You know, I have not recently. I would agree I probably spent more hours with Maurice than any other player here in the last two years. And he enjoyed that. I enjoyed that. But in the last week, you know, I haven’t had the opportunity to do that. It’s a little bit of a dilemma when you’re in the midst of what we’re in the midst of, and you have to make decisions as to how you use your time. But I don’t feel bad in general that I didn’t give adequate time. I’m just not sure that I got done what I needed to in the time that I did invest.
REPORTER: How do you feel personally, though? As close as you were, now what has come up?
TRESSEL: Well, it’s obviously very distressing. You know, I don’t know that I’ve ever been distressed with a loss on the football field. I’ve been disappointed and so forth. You know, this is in my mind — personally. You asked the question personally. It’s obviously very distressing because, you know, I happen to think that, as I told him many times, the sky is the limit as to what he can be and what he can accomplish, and really the positive impact that he can make. You know, we haven’t gotten there. So it is personally disappointing.
REPORTER: Jim, do you worry now that he’s not going to be around the program? I mean, this was his family. You talk so much about family.
TRESSEL: You know, that is a concern. And, you know, I don’t know that I have thoroughly analyzed exactly what all we didn’t do, but I think it was perhaps more of the time that he was away from this group that was the problem. And, yes, there is going to be more time away from this group. But I think the recognition that you’ve got to do things away from this group better, and take that opportunity to maybe do that.
REPORTER: He’s not allowed to play. But is there anything that says if there’s a change of heart or whatever that he couldn’t return and maybe practice with this team?
TRESSEL: Oh, absolutely. We’ve talked about some things, you know, that could lead to getting back to practicing and being with the group. Absolutely. Those things we’ve discussed privately. Those things I wouldn’t want to discuss publicly. But absolutely, we’ve laid a plan out that would move us in that direction.
REPORTER: Can you imagine a scenario where you lose the Fiesta Bowl and you find out months later that Kellen Winslow was technically ineligible because he received benefits outside the NCAA rules, how would you want that situation dealt with?
TRESSEL: Well, if you’re trying to draw a parallel to this situation, you know, Maurice Clarett wasn’t ineligible at that time.
REPORTER: He would have been had we known about these benefits. The same scenario. Scenario where we find out months afterwards that the star on their side of the field was receiving benefits that would cause him not to be eligible had those benefits been known, you lost, how would you feel if the shoe was on the other foot?
TRESSEL: You know, I would think that obviously I would be disappointed for that situation. But I certainly wouldn’t feel as if, okay, give me the win because that happened, because like in many cases, I’m sure they may not have known that that was the situation and, you know, when you lined up, it was a fair fight.
REPORTER: Did you have any inkling at all last year there might have been some benefit issues or some concerns, things you heard, looked into and didn’t pan out?
TRESSEL: Not really. I think we do a pretty good job of education with our guys. You know, we go through — I think we have an incredible compliance staff from the standpoint of almost to the point of rigorous, you know, the amount of in-service-type things, the amount of discussion we have, the amount of form-filling-out, we do and so forth. But even more important than that, we spend, I think, an inordinate amount of time on simply talking with the football group about simply doing what’s right. So no, I didn’t have any inkling from that standpoint.
REPORTER: Assuming that Maurice is watching right now and given the fact that you haven’t talked to him, and you don’t want to share some of the things you’re going to talk to him about with all of us, it’s understandable, but do you want and foresee him coming back to play for you, not this season but next?
TRESSEL: You know, I think Maurice knows that I love him, and that I want for him to be able to do the things he wants to do, but most important, I want him to do the things that you need to do. And if he does the things that you need to do, you know, I would certainly be excited about him being back with this group. But, you know, you have to first make decisions based upon, you know, what’s needed to be done right.
REPORTER: Are you optimistic he can live up to that part, Jim, that you’ll get him back? Are you optimistic that he’ll follow the guidelines, that he’ll be able to abide by those?
TRESSEL: You know, I don’t know the answer to that. I think that would be something that he would need to answer, and, you know, that he would need to assess. You know, he may have his opinion as to, you know, whether those are proper guidelines and so forth. You know, I wouldn’t have a feeling either way as to whether that would be optimistic or pessimistic about that.
REPORTER: One of the areas that Andy outlined was he’d like to see moving forward with Maurice in terms of personal growth. Can you kind of help us what you’d like to see Maurice do in terms of his personal growth? Maybe get him back on the practice field, get him back as a playing member on the team?
TRESSEL: We’ve talked about a lot of different things. But when it comes to personal growth, I don’t know that I’ve ever talked publicly about where I think a young person needs to grow from that standpoint. I think he knows, you know, the areas. You know, obviously, progressing this fall academically will be an important issue as well. I’m sure Andy mentioned this doesn’t affect scholarship. We don’t have any less desire for him to be able to move toward his degree and have those opportunities. But I wouldn’t feel good about, you know, talking about personal things.
Tim? Russ? I’m really sorry.
REPORTER: Andy said that Maurice had received thousands of dollars in improper benefits. Are you concerned where that money came from, one?
TRESSEL: Absolutely.
REPORTER: And when did you first understand that he was receiving or had received extra benefits?
TRESSEL: You know, I think it’s just been in the last three or four weeks that some things have been clarified from that standpoint. So, you know, I would say somewhere in that time period.
REPORTER: You do not believe this will impact your championship or the 2002 season even though Andy said that part of that — part of the money he had taken or benefits that he had received came during his freshman year?
TRESSEL: Yeah, I don’t think it would have an impact on 2002.
REPORTER: Does it — were you, Jim, though, in light of the people observing Ohio State’s program from outside, that it taints that championship, cheapens it in any way, or makes people look differently at Ohio State than they looked at the team after it had had that thrilling game in the Fiesta Bowl last season that causes it to look at it differently, knowing Maurice was taking things he wasn’t supposed to be taking?
TRESSEL: You know, I think you always have a natural concern about how you’re viewed. You know, I think we’d all be not truthful if we didn’t say that. But on the other hand, you know, I don’t know that I’ve ever wanted anyone to think that we’re flawless and beyond anything ever happening, you know, to us. You know, I guess the think that I would hope is that we do the best we can possibly do, that we have every opportunity for our young people to do things properly and, you know, to give them the guidance that it takes to do so. You know, I don’t know that — I don’t know that in my mind it’s constantly a worry as to how we’re being looked at. It is an issue. You know, I think we all would like to be looked upon favorably. But I guess I don’t build my self-worth on that. I build my self-worth more on evaluating, you know, what I can do and what I need to do better and so forth.
REPORTER: How surprised would you be if he now asked for his release?
TRESSEL: That’s a possibility. As I mentioned, I haven’t talked with him for a week or so. I don’t remember that discussion ever coming up. But that’s a possibility that, you know, he might feel like I need to, you know, make a change. You know, I wouldn’t — you know, I wouldn’t feel, you know, terribly about him or something like that if that were the direction, you know, he felt that he needed to change the landscape. As I mentioned earlier in the week, someone asked the question, if he asked for it, would I grant it. Absolutely. Do I hope he asks for it? No. It was kind of pulled a little bit out of context a little bit later. You know, I didn’t say that I hope he asked for his release. I said that if he asked for it, it would be something that I could not feel good about standing in the way.
REPORTER: We ran a pretty in-depth story about Maurice’s background and accompanying it was a picture of him sitting on a real nice sofa in his apartment. And the story showed some background on him as far as having a relationship with a fellow back in the Warren/Youngstown area. Did that at all raise any flags with you guys at that point or just inquiries about just his — what was going on a little bit?
TRESSEL: You know, I never heard it discussed.
REPORTER: If the school would apply for his reinstatement, the NCAA will then respond to what the school’s recommended penalty is, and at this point Andy Geiger has stressed that it’s not a institutional matter.
TRESSEL: Right.
REPORTER: Are you concerned, though, that if they respond to the school’s penalty, that the NCAA would say, you say you’re not aware, but the program should have been aware of some of these transgressions, and therefore they would get into the matter of institutional control; is that a concern on your part?
TRESSEL: I think that you always have to own up to the fact that even though the discussions have been that, you know, that it isn’t institutional in nature and those types of things, you still say to yourself, what could I have done to be more aware and be more helpful and be more on top of the situation. I don’t know that anyone from here would ever say — I’ve never heard any of our players or any of our coaches or any of our administrators, you know, say that, you know, we’re not at all part of everything that goes on.
REPORTER: Along those lines, Jim, were there any red flags — following up on Tim’s question, were there any red flags at all that came out of Maurice’s life-style, from the vehicle that he drove, to the clothes he wore, to the apartment that he lived in, did any of that among anybody in your coaching staff raise a red flag and say, where’s this stuff coming from?
TRESSEL: Not really. You know, I’ve never been to where he lives. Quite honestly, I saw him 95 percent of the time in gray T-shirts and workout stuff. You know, the vehicle thing, I can remember, you know, once or twice in the last year and a half saying, hey, I heard that you have this or that. And, you know, he would give a response as to, you know, what that’s all about.
So, obviously, you know, maybe we should have hoisted some red flags that we didn’t.
REPORTER: Coach, what is your rule written or unwritten regarding freshmen living off campus? He was the only one. And is that a take-back that you would like to have?
TRESSEL: Well, our rule is that in their freshman year we only pay for their room and board on campus. And that’s kind of an unwritten football rule. I don’t know if that’s an athletic department policy. And would I like to take that back? You know, gosh, I don’t know if you can go all the way back and say, well, let’s start over, or this was the cause, or that was the cause. But — I don’t know the answer to that one.
REPORTER: It always seems like we get back to the question: What is the coach responsible for and what is he not? How do you feel about that? What really do you have time to do? What don’t you have time? And do you follow a kid home, that kind of stuff? What are you liable for?
TRESSEL: Well, you know, the hard part is you’re responsible for everything. You’re responsible to win all the games, and be at all the Rotary Clubs, and be there whenever the media wants to do a one-on-one or a group story, or be there at every high school, or be there at every — get to know everything that every player is doing. And that’s — that’s what you’re expected to do. So what is a coach liable for? I think he’s liable for doing the best he can possibly do, balancing all those things that you know you can’t do all of them, and I don’t think you can get upset about saying, hey, this isn’t fair because this is impossible. It’s the way it is, and you try to do the best you can and work with the kids as hard as you can, and perhaps the ones that need a little bit more attention you try to give that, or someone that all of a sudden looks like they have their Doppler down or something comes up and you try to spend some time with them. That’s obviously why you have a coaching staff. I think there’s some built-in, you know, tough situations with the way that coaching staffs are built, and when we’re not practicing, we’re on the road recruiting and things like that, but it’s real. It’s the rules for everyone. So you’re liable, I guess, for doing the best you can possibly do.
REPORTER: But on and off the field?
TRESSEL: Oh, absolutely. You know, I like to brag about, you know, when we have 42 guys that go over a 3.0. I didn’t have much to do with it, other than talking about the fact that, you know, we talk about it a lot. We talk about that that’s important. And we talk about that that’s part of what we’re here to do and be the best that we can be in all we do. Obviously, how well we do on the field is part of the responsibility. I’ve said to many people many times, the harder you work on the things outside of the game, usually your game gets better. That’s the way we’ve always tried to approach it. Haven’t batted a thousand, haven’t been perfect. Understand that. That’s the way we approach it.
REPORTER: Coach, did anybody outside of your secretary employed by the football program know that Maurice Clarett had been a theft victim before the NCAA arrived on campus June 26th.
TRESSEL: Knew that he had been a theft victim?
REPORTER: Right.
TRESSEL: I don’t know that. I know that when he had his car broken into that they called the police, I think, from our office, something like that. Now, who all knew outside of that, gosh, I don’t know the answer to that.
REPORTER: Jim, you mentioned that there may be a way that Maurice can end of practicing with the team this year. What’s his immediate relationship to the team? Is there a period of time you want to see certain things out of him before that can happen? Can you tell us what he’ll be doing, if anything, team-related now and when might be the earliest that he meets your standards and might be back in some capacity?
TRESSEL: Right now, Bruce, I don’t think team-related he’ll be doing much here, let’s say, you know, prior to school starting, which is in, what, a couple weeks. I think two weeks from today. And that, you know, there’s some things we want to do. You know, we’d like to kick off the school year on the right note and get heading in the right direction there, and integrate all the various things we’d like to do as soon and as well as we can. That’s kind of the timetable, if that’s —
REPORTER: I was just wondering, mid season we might see him back, or more than just three or four days of certain behavior out of him?
TRESSEL: I don’t think it will be three or four days. We need to get some work done.
REPORTER: The way you understand it, though —
TRESSEL: I think Rusty had one.
REPORTER: Jim, everything’s been said back and forth and with everything that’s happened in the last few months, has it reached a point where perhaps it might be better for you and him if you part ways? Would you recommend that to him?
TRESSEL: You know, I’ve never been one that thought you should surrender. I don’t know what the score is, it was 28-0, or there’s only two minutes left, and you’re down by three touchdowns, you need to call time out. I’ve never liked to give up. And when there’s interest in all parties in doing the same things, then I think you keep going. If interest by all parties isn’t in sync, you know, then I think the parties naturally will decide their direction. No, I’m not interested in giving up.
REPORTER: Andy painted the picture that perhaps Maurice was angry at the very least at Ohio State, that he didn’t feel he had gotten enough defense, I guess, from Ohio State before the NCAA allegations. Would you, if you talked to him, think that perhaps maybe if he feels that way, if he feels strongly, that he was abandoned by Ohio State, that maybe he should move on?
TRESSEL: Well, I would think that when all is said and done, that if he feels that way, that — I think that would naturally happen, you know, as you say, because, again, you have to all be pulling in the same direction, I think, to keep going. So I would agree with your assessment there.
REPORTER: Jim, Andy said that —
TRESSEL: You guys work together, don’t you?
REPORTER: At the end of the season, is that when you all can apply for his reinstatement? I mean, he’s literally out for the season. But would you work to apply if it’s around in January, February?
TRESSEL: You know, I think that’s when you would do it.
REPORTER: It wouldn’t be the end of the school year, is what I’m saying?
TRESSEL: No — gosh, I don’t know. I shouldn’t answer so quickly. I don’t know. But I would assume that, you know, football seasons kind of go from spring through the season. I’m guessing that if we were able to progress, that that would be the timing, but, you know, don’t — I don’t know that that’s protocol.
REPORTER: Andy said that it was not a booster involved with these benefits.
TRESSEL: That’s what I understand.
REPORTER: There’s been reported a surrogate father-type maybe from up northeast. Is that a gray area? Is that a tough thing when you’ve got somebody who loves a kid and yet is giving him things, you know? The NCAA I guess sees it as a gray area.
TRESSEL: I think it’s hard whether you’re an AD or an NCAA person responsible for the kids. The NCAA feels like their rules are there to protect the student athletes. I think that’s the first thing that sometimes it’s painted as the ogre. I think the NCAA rules are there to try to protect the student athletes. I think the definition of someone who has prior relationships is someone that goes all the way back to middle school. And I don’t know that — you know, because there have been a lot — in various sports, a lot of people who sink their teeth into the athletes when they’re real young and, you know, I think the NCAA tries to protect, you know, the student athletes, maybe even before they get here, but protect the student athletes that, you know, maybe someone latches onto for their athletic prowess. Now, I don’t know — I’m not inferring that that’s the situation. Please don’t — please don’t say that.
REPORTER: From what you know of his situation, is this person out for the best interest of the athlete?
TRESSEL: From what I know, you know, I couldn’t say that they’re not. I don’t know. I’d hate to say because I don’t know that much. I don’t know that they’re not.
REPORTER: Is the team aware of this? Did you make them aware?
TRESSEL: I just mentioned before, as we ended practice, you know, that Mr. Geiger had, you know, met with the media, and that that was the situation, and to continue the compassion that they’ve shown, I think, throughout, which I’ve been very proud of them. You know, that I was going to be meeting with this group, and that the protocol, obviously, is if any of them are going to meet with anyone from the media, it would be through Steve, and just reminded them of the ground rules. You know, that’s not a happy thing for them either. That’s the hard part.
REPORTER: This has been a national story for several months, and a lot of people have formed a lot of opinions about Maurice Clarett. You know him about as well as anybody. Who is Maurice Clarett, the guy that you know, and is it different than the opinion people have been expressing the last several months?
TRESSEL: The thing about opinions is that you’re going to have X number of people feeling one way and X number feeling another. You know, I don’t know what the opinions are. You know, I think that as I’ve said to you folks many times, I think deep down in Maurice Clarett is a young guy that’s got a lot of love there and a lot of potential and a lot of ability and a lot of caring. And, you know, that’s — that’s the thing that I would like to see manifested as we move forward.
But again, I don’t know what opinions have been formed.
You know, just like whatever opinions — someone mentioned earlier, what opinions of Ohio State are out there. You know, I don’t know exactly. I’m sure some are good and some aren’t good. But I know this much about Ohio State, you guys have been around Andy Geiger, he is consistently singing the same tune, what’s most important to him are those core values that we hope that our young people learn and employ later in their life and share with their families and beyond. And, yeah, we want to be successful. There’s no question about it. But that’s who I think we are, and that’s the area that I want to see manifested as we move forward.
REPORTER: Is one of the behaviors that you’ve encouraged Maurice in, for lack of a better term, asking him to lay low, not talk about this situation, anything like that, just encouraged him to stay out of the public eye in any way?
TRESSEL: You know, not recently, you know, because I haven’t seen him. But the only time I would say that I asked Maurice to — to stay in the background was when he was back here with us just practicing and we were, you know, preparing for a game and, you know, playing in a game. No, I haven’t in general asked him to do that.
REPORTER: Coach, is this in some ways the price of success? I mean, first of all recruiting a player of Maurice’s talent level and stature, but at the same time the scrutiny you get when you win a national title?
TRESSEL: You know, I don’t know that I would lean on that from our perspective, because as I listen, some of these things go way back beyond that. And so maybe the scrutiny is a positive thing, that without the scrutiny maybe things continue. And what’s most important to us is that, you know, wherever we haven’t done well in the past, let’s make sure we do well in the future. So I don’t know that scrutiny is a bad thing. I’ve never thought that adversity in hard times are bad things. Now, they’re not fun, but I don’t know that they’re necessarily bad.
REPORTER: Jim, you mentioned —
REPORTER: Are you confident that it ends here, that there are no other members, current eligible members of the team who might be in any kind of trouble with the NCAA for improper benefits?
TRESSEL: As far as I know, yeah, I’m confident.
REPORTER: You mentioned you had some talks with Maurice last year, maybe some car issues. Did you ever feel a need or did you go beyond asking him to look into it, maybe talking to other people or follow the trail at all?
TRESSEL: No. No. Perhaps I should’ve. I don’t know. But, no, I didn’t.
REPORTER: Coach, do you think your laboring under strike two now with the situation at Youngstown state with Ray Isaac and now here at Ohio State?
TRESSEL: You know, the good thing about any errors that Ray Isaac made at Youngstown State is that he handled that and today is doing excellent things and finished his degree and is moving towards his master’s and is coaching and teaching and feels good about himself. So, you know, I don’t know about that, you know, as being a strike. I think the end of that story is a good one.
And, now, as far as, you know, this, if someone would want to say strike two, I’ve worked with lots and lots of kids, and I have a lot of good feeling about the time and effort that I’ve tried to work with them.
REPORTER: Coach, you’ve set goals for Maurice so he could practice again and get reinstated. Who’s monitoring his progress toward those goals? Have you told him he has to check in, or is there someone keeping an eye on him, measuring his progression?
TRESSEL: You know, I think where we are right now is that we’ve got to decide if that’s what direction we’re interested in seeking. And I have not, as I mentioned, I have not spent time with — obviously, I’ve spent time within thinking a lot about it, but I have not spent a lot of time with.
REPORTER: Jim, do you see a role for Maurice at all this year, and maybe at some point being on the sidelines, is there a point where if he starts to progress a certain way that he could still be a positive influence on this team and maybe even be on the sidelines?
TRESSEL: I would like that. You know, that would be to me some excellent progress.
REPORTER: Coach, isn’t that dangerous, given that Andy Geiger today said today the minimum penalty would be one year. If he gets back with the program, doesn’t that invite the NCAA to put a harsher penalty on him and maybe keep him out longer?
TRESSEL: Well, you know, obviously I won’t make any decisions independently. But, you know, coming back and interacting, you know, I think is a good goal. Now, if it’s something that we shouldn’t do, and we’re asked not to do, or we’re not allowed to do or whatever, then obviously we wouldn’t do it. But the last time I’ve been involved in a discussion, that was one of the options. Now, I have not been — it’s been a week, a week ago today.
REPORTER: It sounds like the fact pattern is such that you really need to make a very compelling argument that getting back next year based on precedent with what the facts are here. How do you work that?
TRESSEL: I don’t know. I guess we set out — I don’t know. We’d have to set out and ask for advice as to what’s a good plan to meet that goal, and — again, if all parties are interested in meeting that goal, no matter how steep the climb is, you know, I’d be willing to do it, we’d be willing to do it. You know, we’d go after it.
REPORTER: Jim, is there a strong likelihood that he may never, ever be in an Ohio State uniform again?
TRESSEL: Gosh, I don’t know. That’s — a strong likelihood is pretty defined, so I’m not going to — I don’t know if I can respond to that.
SNAPP: Two more questions.
REPORTER: Jim, you said a couple times you haven’t talked to Maurice in a week. Is it now on your short list of things to do to get a hold of him by phone or come to your office and set up an agenda, so to speak, for the next several weeks or month?
TRESSEL: You know, I think — I can’t say that I have put it on a short agenda. We’ve taken this step. You know, I think let’s allow this step to get the foot down on the ground and, you know, make some plans from that standpoint.
SNAPP: Matt McCoy, the last question.
REPORTER: As disappointed as you said you are about everything that came out today, when you told the team, is there any — is there a sense of closure for this team that you have right now in that there’s been a decision, is there any good for them that comes out of that? That they know they’re moving forward?
TRESSEL: You know, knowing our guys, they’re a group that likes to latch on to any hope they have. You know, our guys think that things can happen, there’s a little bit of time left. So I don’t know that any of them would have looked upon it as that. Maybe they wouldn’t. You know, disappointment I would think would probably be more — and I’m speaking for them, but I guess maybe because I’m speaking for myself — I think disappointment might right now override closure, you know what I mean.
SNAPP: Guys. Thank you.
TRESSEL: Thank you.
