Ex-Buckeye Eugene Clifford and Ex-Tiger Ryan Perrilloux Could Have Been Stars!

Another talent gone down the drain…at least that’s how it stands for now.

Eugene Clifford of the Ohio State Buckeyes will be dismissed from the football team, according to The Dispatch, a newspaper in Columbus, OH.  Clifford will be allowed to sign with another team. Reports indicate he may sign with Tennessee State, an NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision team, where he would be eligible to play this fall.

Eugene is an example of a great talented player coming out of high school that never got a chance to show his talents on the field because of bad decisions off the field.  Another prominent example is Ryan Perrilloux, a super recruit for the LSU Tigers also was kicked off the football team earlier this year for numerous run-ins with the law.

Both players had a world of talent.  Clifford was a five-star safety from Cincinnati, OH that was ranked the No. 2 defensive back by Scout.com.  He chose to sign with the Buckeyes over such teams as Miami, Florida State, and Michigan.

Perrilloux was pegged the next JaMarcus Russell before setting foot on a college campus.  A five-star talent haling from Reserve, Louisiana, he possessed 4.6 speed and a rocket for an arm.

Some kids could only dream of having talent like these guys.  They had it all—talent, speed, size, quickness, and the school to enhance those skills.  Both Ohio State and LSU were only a pit stop before their final destination: the NFL.

How does this happen?  How does a kid flush his career away?  Is it the feeling of invincibility?  Is it the pressure to succeed from peers and family?

For those of us that aren't in that position, we can only speculate as to why Clifford and Perrilloux chose the decisions that, for all intents and purposes, derailed their careers.  Both still have an opportunity to make it to the NFL.  However, the road just got a little harder, as NFL GMs and scouts will look back at their "moral record."

Imagine the immense pressure that some of these kids have.  There are some kids that come from poor families that are counted on to be the breadwinner in a few years.  Others come from families where their father played college ball and/or in the NFL.

Along with family pressure, a big time recruit from a big time school also has to deal with a bevy of potential situations that could put them into some tight binds:

•  Shady boosters offering money/incentives
•  Drug and alcohol misuse or abuse
•  Other top talent wanting your position
•  Enormity of school, media pressure, and expectations
•  Inappropriate sexual advances
•  Unruly fans
•  Grades

This is just to name a few, as I am quite sure there are more concerns that put daily pressures on these kids.  Some kids handle it well—others don't.

I'm not going to say these were the reasons Clifford and Perrilloux were dismissed from their teams.  Nevertheless, we can look to these pressures to try to understand what each player may have gone through.

Kids under extreme pressure make bad decisions.  Even as adults, we may have made bonehead decisions that are affecting us even today.  Therefore, we shouldn't hold college kids to a higher standard.

We should not automatically assume that these kids are a lost cause either.  They can be reformed, but if they haven't been told before, they need to know that choosing your peers carefully is a lifetime decision.

Coach Jim Tressel and Coach Les Miles have given both kids ample opportunity to change their ways, so they both had guidance from well-qualified individuals.

However, many adults can attest to the fact that as young adults, we were more likely to listen and to follow advice from our peers (inner circle, friends) than older individuals (parents, coaches).

How many times have we heard a young one, perhaps a child say they know more than their parents.  The parents try to give their child advice, but instead of listening to wisdom, the child listens to immaturity—their young friends.

I really hope both young men can learn from their errors.  Both Clifford and Perrilloux have knowledge of their mistakes and the people that they have hurt.

However, applied wisdom is what both need to acquire to learn from their mistakes.