Third Time’s A Charm. Maurice Clarett joins Omaha of UFL

Ask and you may get what you want. The strange saga of former Ohio State star Maurice Clarett continues as ESPN indicates Clarett has inked a one-year contract with the Omaha Nighthawks of the United Football League. This will be his first football gig since his dismal year with the Denver Broncos that ended quickly with an arrest.

Clarett had spent 3½ years in prison for having a hidden gun and holding up two people outside a Columbus, Ohio, bar, in 2006.

His short stint in the NFL came after a steallar college career came to a halt when in 2003 he was suspended for taking gifts and lying to the NCAA. He tried to go the NFL after that but he was too young to enter the draft so he sued.

Clarett lost a court case challenging the NFL’s rule requiring a player to be out of high school three years before becoming eligible for the draft. He did finally end up with Denver but didn’t stay long.

Now after 3.5 years in jail Clarett is trying his hand at the UFL, a small league that plays in the fall. The trick came when a judge had to approve Clarett to leave the state, which a judge allowed for 30 days. The UFL and Clarett are appealing to have the leave granted for the entire UFL season.