ST. CLAIRSVILLE – Football player? Yes!

National champion? Yes!

Convicted felon? Unfortunately, yes.

Entrepenuer and motivational speaker? Absolutely!

Maurice Clarett isn’t defined by just one of those. All of those have helped shape the man who spoke to a crowd of more than 100 at Undo’s last Thursday as part of the iBELIEVE Foundation’s fundraising dinner.

“I just want to be viewed as an individual and who I am,” Clarett said. “I don’t think a title fits. Those are just events that have taken place.”

The ability to fall into all of those groups – whether good or bad – have allowed Clarett to become the person he is today, which is a well-spoken Christian man who aims to impact as many people as possible in a positive way.

Clarett’s speech, which was just over 30 minutes, certainly hit home with many in the audience.

“Successful times in high school and college took place, but there’s a downtime of going to prison, too,” Clarett said. “They are moments in time, but you can’t trap yourself in those moments. I’m just a guy. People try to pull from the most respectable times of their lives, but you’re just an individual with experiences that help form who you are.”

iBELIEVE, which is spearheaded by Patrick Klein and Union Local graduate Chris Dutton, allows students in the Appalachian region of Ohio and all of West Virginia to become more ready for college and what lies ahead in their lives. It’s been especially helpful from a social and communication standpoint.

Clarett – though he was one of the most highly touted prep football players – admits that he had some social issues when he left Youngstown for Columbus. The inability to shed some of his ‘buddies’ led to some of his eventual transgressions.

“I think everyone lives the same lives, but people aren’t aware of how their story may connect,” Clarett said. “People don’t understand their own story and how they’ve gotten to the places they’ve gotten to in their lives and how their behavior plays a role. That’s what separates people.”

Because of sharing his story so often, which has included more than 130 stops since he began telling it, Clarett has been able to get a better grip on it because there was plenty of times when he found himself asking, ‘why?’

This weekend Clarett spoke to a crowd in Athens at Ohio University’s Dad’s weekend. While his story is what it is, he has ways to tailor the message to fit the audience.

“It’s something particular to dads and how that all looks,” Clarett said. “Plus, I am raising my own little girl. My father wasn’t a big part of my life, so I’ll speak to that, too. Each place a slightly different message that I’m trying to drive home.”

All people have trials and tribulations in their lives, but there is different scopes to all of it. Obviously, Clarett’s didn’t end well when he was sentenced to prison. But, he’s since turned the corner in his life and is now making a positive impact.

That’s the definition of making the best of a situation, which is all you can ask of an individual.

With Clarett playing a major part, Klein deemed the dinner a huge success.

“The Ohio Valley dinner is always one of my favorites,” Klein said. “The people are so vibrant and really into giving, which is a great thing for us. Not just because we’re able to raise funds, but the students get to see the people, who are helping them, face-to-face.”

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WHEN HE’S not putting in time for the iBELIEVE Foundation, Klein is working his day job as an assistant women’s basketball coach at Ohio State University.

Klein, who is an OSU graduate, is from Belpre and coached at Illinois before being hired by Kevin McGuff with the Buckeyes.

With the Buckeyes just a few days away from opening the season, Klein said the players are excited to play against someone other than themselves.

“We open at No. 2 South Carolina and then against No. 1 UConn at home, so we have to be ready,” Klein said. “One thing Coach McGuff wanted to do was test us early to help prepare us for the Big Ten season.”

Ohio State’s women’s team was hit hard by injuries last season, but still advanced to the Round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament thanks in large part to Kelsey Mitchell, who was an all-American.

“I think this team could be special,” Klein said. “We had three freshmen start last year, so we really matured as the season went along. Our backcourt with Kelsey and Ameryst Alston is deadly.”

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WEDNESDAY IS National Letter of Intent day for sports with an early signing period. Several area athletes will be inking their names to Division I and II letters.