Tyler Polley knows about soccer player Maurice Clarett. So did most of his UConn teammates.

What they don’t know is the story – from college football superstars to the NFL flameout to felon becoming what he has made, a motivational speaker who founded a behavioral health agency called The Red Zone.

The first speech, a year later, still echoed because it was so revelatory.

“When he told his story, I was just surprised how he got back up,” the senior said in a telephone interview. “He lost a lot of things. Inspire. “

It was supposed to be a one-time meeting with the men’s basketball team in Connecticut, one of the coach’s chief guest speakers Dan Hurley had talked with his players over the summer. Instead, Clarett became part of the program at Hurley’s request. The official title is consultant. But after talking with Clarett, it seems like he is more like a therapist. Before the new coronavirus pandemic struck, 36-year-old Clarett spent up to three days each month with the team. Even when he is not present, he communicates with the players, often connecting with them by telephone.

“My problem is not talking to them,” he said. “My problem is listening to them.”

Most experts predicted the NFL’s fame for Clarett after he led Ohio State to the BCS national championship as a freshman in 2002. That did not go according to plan. In 2003, he was suspended for receiving improper benefits, and was eventually dismissed from the Big Ten school. He challenged the draft NFL eligibility rules and lost, drafted by the Broncos in the third round of 2005, but never appeared in the match.

His life went off the rails from there, immersed in alcoholism and a life of crime. He served a sentence of 3 ¹ / ₂ years in prison for armed robbery before changing his life with a drastic change of 180 degrees. In 2016, he founded the Red Zone, which provides counseling for children and adults in Youngstown, Ohio, and is looking to build facilities for college athletes dealing with substance abuse, mental health problems or other problems.

“Only good resources for them,” Hurley said. “He is awesome.”

It might seem strange, a soccer player from Ohio helps the college basketball team from Connecticut, but for Clarett that doesn’t make sense. He connected with Hurley through UConn assistant assistant friend Kimani Young’s friend after Hurley heard it on the podcast and thought he would be a strong choice to talk with his players.

Clarett has talked with many teams before, but he has never been offered a regular show, an opportunity he believes really makes a difference and creates relationships. He got a lot from his trip to Storrs, Conn.

“This is a meaningful job,” he said. “You can’t beat a meaningful job. If you don’t make a difference in someone’s life, you really don’t live.”

One of the players working with Clarett is James Bouknight, an impressive sophomore and an All-ACC freshman. The Brooklyn native was in a car accident where he was charged with driving without a license, driving too fast for conditions, avoiding responsibility and disturbing the police and consequently suspended for three matches. Clarett helped him overcome the mistake, begging him to have it but not letting him define himself. An error occurred. Passing them is more important. He offers similar lessons to other players. He walked in their shoes and saw everything collapsed. The aim is to make sure they don’t repeat their mistakes and don’t just take college.

“One small mistake can all go downhill,” Polley said.

“I built the trust that I thought with my friends. “We can get together and work one-on-one and have begun to explore what life outside of basketball is like, what drives and motivates them,” Clarett said. to these people echoed. Life is much bigger than basketball. This is much bigger than going there and getting into shape, running and dipping and jumping. It’s about the impact you have on people. Its impact on the world. “

Clarett played basketball in middle school and told Hurley that he could still play. Coach UConn joked that he would become an old-school advanced force. He hasn’t played with any of the UConn players at the moment. He has more important work to do with them.