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Corners Donald Washington and Eugene Clifford suspended for National Title game

By James Pete | December 20th, 2007

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Somewhere in prison, Maurice Clarett must be smiling.

Ohio State sources confirmed today that starting cornerback, sophomore Donald Washington, and highly touted freshman cornerback Eugene Clifford were both suspended from the game for violating team rules. Although there’s been much speculation, the specific rule wasn’t given.

In an earlier article here at THE Horseshoe, Dennis asked who was thought to be the most underrated player on the team. Without a doubt, one of the top surprises this year was the play of Washington, who wasn’t even slated to start until the spring. He responded by having an outstanding year in pass coverage, as well as supporting the run, with 34 tackles. He also had a sack, and an interception.

Clifford wasn’t really a factor this season for the Buckeyes, although had high hopes for the future. He’ll still have those high hopes, as it’s believed that that the situation wasn’t an arrest, and was handled as an internal matter. Again, it’s all speculation at this point, and we won’t be posting it here until it’s confirmed.

Replacing Washington will be Chimdi Chekwa, who had similar statistics to Washington. The difference was that Chekwa had his moments getting toasted against a few teams, including Illinois. He can be a fantastic cover corner, but has lapses. As a red-shirt freshman, this game could prove to be a challenge for him. Still, with two weeks of practice to go, he should be prepared as mentally as possible for the game. Really, it’s the national championship. He’ll be as ready as everyone else. Don’t forget that Chekwa was the defensive player of the week after the Purdue game this season.

The problem I have is that it comes before the biggest game of the season for the Buckeyes. Most Buckeye fans will just slide past this, say we are talented at corner, that Tressel has two weeks, and we’ll be fine. Even more will pipe up about the LSU injuries to Dorsey and Flynn, and to the backs, and say it will even out. Of course, the injuries for the most part, are going to be healed up. There’s a question mark about Flynn being able to play, but I don’t buy it. I think it’s Les Miles throwing out smoke.

At the end of the day, the Ohio State players need to focus on the game, not some stupid mistake that a couple of kids made a couple of weeks before the most important football games of their lives. It’s a distraction that the media will certainly fan the flames of as long as they can.