OHIO STATE Clarett to miss at least 3

The recommended penalty won't reach the NCAA until next week.
COLUMBUS (AP) -- Suspended Ohio State tailback Maurice Clarett will miss at least three games because of the lingering investigation into his filing of an exaggerated police report.
"It's pretty clear that we're looking at a healthy number of games," Ohio State athletic director Andy Geiger said Thursday. "Multiple. And you can define multiple as more than two."
Although there is no timeline for a decision on Clarett's eligibility, the NCAA's reinstatement process likely will take several days to run its course -- and that's if Ohio State is able to get a response to the association next week.
The defending national champion Buckeyes open the season Saturday against Washington.
Geiger had originally said he hoped the school's response to the NCAA's allegations against Clarett could be ready to go earlier this week. Now it will not reach the NCAA offices until after the long holiday weekend.
"We've got too many things going on," Ohio State spokesman Steve Snapp said. "We've got the first game, with Coach [Jim] Tressel involved in that. The first part of next week would be my guess."
Other early games
The Buckeyes' play host San Diego State next week and No. 16 North Carolina State on Sept. 13.
Asked if it wasn't extremely unlikely for Clarett to be available for the showdown with North Carolina State, Geiger said, "Yes. That would be safe."
Clarett, who was suspended last Friday, will not be in uniform against Washington, although he has practiced on Ohio State's scout-team unit this week.
In a best-case scenario for Ohio State -- with Clarett regaining his eligibility after missing only the first two games -- it would still be difficult to get him in game condition in time for the third game of the year.
Tressel said Clarett -- who was held out of Ohio State's first 23 preseason practices -- would have to go through "acclimatization just as everyone else has."
That would mean Clarett would have to cram what his teammates did in six weeks into fewer than two.
More legwork possible
Once the NCAA receives Ohio State's answer, a member of the association's Student-Athlete Reinstatement staff will determine if any further investigation needs to be done. If so, Ohio State -- which is responsible for all fact-finding in the case -- might have to do some more legwork to provide answers.
If the university's execution is considered complete, then the NCAA will respond with a proposed penalty for Clarett.
Any proposed penalty, which would retroactively include any games Clarett had already missed this season, also would be based on restitution and other mitigating circumstances, such as the fact that Clarett was held out of preseason practices.
If Ohio State and NCAA disagree on the proposed penalty, Ohio State can appeal to a committee. That would then involve arguments made by both sides on a teleconference, with the committee deciding the outcome on a simple majority vote. A tie would favor the NCAA.
Maurice Hall will start at tailback for Ohio State against Washington. Hall, a 5-foot-10, 200-pound junior, got the nod over classmate Lydell Ross.