Professional football stardom probably once seemed like a birthright for Maurice Clarett, given his ability to tear through opposing defenses with an awesome mix of speed and power.

But these days, Clarett doesn't talk much about his past.

Neither does Clarett spend much time discussing whether he believes he has a future in the National Football League. Speculation, at this point, gets him nowhere.

The only thing that matters to Clarett is what he does today. Work hard, stay focused, make things happen in Omaha.

That's where the former Ohio State star finds himself, playing for an expansion team in the United Football League. It is alongside the banks of the Missouri River that Clarett has been given a chance to resurrect his once-promising football career, as well as his life.

Both took a nightmarish turn after he burst onto the national scene as an Ohio State freshman in 2002. He rushed for more than 1,200 yards and helped lead the Buckeyes to a national championship.

Three years later, he was out of football and in prison. He served his time, three years in an Ohio penitentiary for aggravated robbery, and sought a second chance at football.

He found it in Omaha, where sellout crowds have turned out to cheer the NightHawks in their first two games. Some of those cheers have been directed Clarett's way, even though his contributions to the team's two victories have been modest.

That soon could change. Omaha coach Jeff Jagodzinski said the plan is to increase Clarett's workload as the NightHawks get deeper into their season.

"I think we're going to get him a little bit more every week,'' Jagodzinski said. "He's looking better in practice, and he's taking a lot of reps with the show team, with the first unit. It's just a matter of time before he has that breakout run.''

The 26-year-old Clarett signed with the NightHawks in late August. A month later, he played in his first game in more than seven years, when Omaha made its UFL debut against Hartford.

He returned a kickoff and played on special teams that night.

"The adrenaline was rushing that night,'' he said. "I felt like I could have run for days.''

A week later, Clarett got a chance to run the ball, carrying five times and gaining 12 yards against Sacramento. He also caught a pass for 6 yards, and was on the field during the winning drive that produced a touchdown and a 20-17 victory.

"That showed me that my coaches and my teammates believe in me,'' Clarett said. "That spoke a lot about how coach felt I was responsible enough and that he felt comfortable enough with putting me in during a crucial time in the game.

"That was a big step for me in the right direction.''

The NightHawks, a UFL expansion team, received a good deal of attention when they brought Clarett on board. Not all of it was positive, but Jagodzinski said there has been nothing negative about having Clarett on the roster.

"I can't say anything but good things about him,'' Jagodzinski said. "He's been fantastic in the locker room, he's been a fantastic kid to coach. He's always asking what he can do to be better.

"He even asked if he could play fullback.''

Jagodzinski paused, smiled and added, "I don't know if he'd want to block, but that shows you how willing he is to do anything he can.''
Some of Clarett's development has been dependent on stripping away rust accumulated in his years away from the game. Until the NightHawks' opener, he hadn't played in an official game since the 2003 Fiesta Bowl, when he scored the winning touchdown against Miami that gave the Buckeyes the national title.

He never played another snap for Ohio State, being declared ineligible by the NCAA for receiving extra benefits. He did get drafted by the Denver Broncos in 2005 but didn't make the team, partly because he was injured much of training camp.

Even at 26, Clarett's 6-foot, 220-pound body reminded him in the early days of camp that he had been away from the game for a long time. He said his hamstrings and groin, unaccustomed to the sprinting and the cuts a running back must make, "locked up'' on him early in training camp.

His mind also had to adjust to the speed of the professional game.

"Things were moving kind of fast at first,'' he said.

He now feels he has a better grip on what he needs to do and what's expected from him.

"I'm just like any other player out here,'' Clarett said. "I'm trying to develop my ability and play at the highest level possible. That starts with practicing every day, studying the film and doing the basics.

"You have to maintain a real good focus every day. You focus on the totality of the game. Each day your coach points out what you could be doing better, and then you just have to wait for your next chance to get what was wrong right.''

Clarett said he's been blessed to have veterans such as running back Ahman Green and quarterback Jeff Garcia to help ease his transition back into the game. His locker sits between theirs in the NightHawks' locker room.

Green volunteered to be Clarett's mentor when the NightHawks were considering signing him.

"He's not only been there for me, he's there for everyone on this team,'' Clarett said. "He's a captain of the team, and he probably has more experience than 95 percent of the guys out here. Anything I've needed, he's been there to help.''

Green has played a dozen seasons in the NFL, a place where almost every player on the NightHawks aspires to be. Clarett, too, has aspirations. But for now, he's keeping them to himself.

"Right now, I don't look too far ahead, and I don't look to the past,'' he said. "I'm living in the moment.

"As long as we're winning and as long as I continue to work on my game, I think things will take care of themselves. I think if you look too far ahead, you get ahead of yourself.''

Friday night, he'll step onto a football field in Las Vegas, where the NightHawks play Friday night, assured of nothing but another a chance. That's all Clarett asks at this point.

"My focus is just to come out here every day and work on the things I need to work on,'' he said. "I need to work on my conditioning, my steps, my reads, on being a better teammate and player.

"If I continue to do that, everything else will take care of itself.''