Jan. 19, 2005
SportsLine.com wire reports

NEW YORK -- Maurice Clarett and Mike Williams can rest easy. They're on the list.

Advertisement


Clarett and Williams were among 49 underclassmen granted early entry into the NFL Draft on Wednesday. Players needed to file paperwork with the league by Jan. 15 and had until Wednesday to remove their names from consideration.

Other prominent names included junior quarterbacks Alex Smith of Utah and Aaron Rodgers of California. Running backs and defensive backs dominated the list, with 11 of each leaving school early.

It's been two long years for Clarett, the talented running back who was suspended before his sophomore season at Ohio State for NCAA violations and never returned. Clarett initially won a ruling to enter the draft last year, but an appeals court reversed the decision.

Williams, then a sophomore wide receiver at Southern California, declared for the draft after a lower court ruled in Clarett's favor. After the reversal, he was not allowed to return to the Trojans, so he sat out last season.

The draft takes place April 23-24.

AP NEWS
The Associated Press News Service

Copyright 2004-2005, The Associated Press, All Rights Reserved