Irizarry almost out of chances

The first time I met Louis Irizarry was in an Ursuline High classroom at the beginning of his senior year two years ago. He was staying after school, cleaning test tubes in a chemistry lab because he had gotten in trouble during class.
Nothing big. He took responsibility for it and even joked about it. Even though it was a small thing, he said the right thing.
That's one of the first things you notice with Irizarry. He always says the right thing. He's one of the most charming, personable and likable athletes you'll ever meet.
But he's also one of the most frustrating. And saying the right thing and doing the right thing are very different.
Saturday's incident was just the latest example. Just a few months after getting suspended from the Ohio State University football team for assault, Irizarry is in trouble again, this time for allegedly assaulting and robbing a student on campus at 3 a.m.
Irizarry and his teammate, Ira Guilford, have pleaded innocent to the charges, but it begs the question: What in the world was Irizarry, a 19-year-old on probation in a city that worships Ohio State football, doing out at 3 a.m.?
Nothing new
Irizarry, who graduated from Ursuline in 2003, is starting to build the reputation as someone who says one thing and does another.
In July 2002, just before his senior year at Ursuline, he called Ohio State coach Jim Tressel to verbally commit to the Buckeyes.
"I just woke up and said I'm not going to waste time anymore," he said of the decision. "So on the spur of the moment, I decided to get it over with and call Coach Tressel."
Irizarry kept that commitment until January, when he switched to the University of Miami after watching how the Hurricanes utilized the tight end in their system.
"I wish I could have stayed home and I would have loved to go to Ohio State," he said at the time. "But when you have a better opportunity elsewhere, you owe it to yourself to take it."
Then, less than three weeks, later, he switched back to Ohio State.
"I feel like I am at home," he said. "I am at peace now."
Everything was fine until midway through his first semester, when he was arrested for assault. Irizarry seemingly learned from the situation, saying, "I'd like to forget about it and just move on, get into football and get my academics all together, because that's the main thing. I just want to keep working hard and keep focused."
After his sentencing, he told me that "it feels great to get this out of the way. I've gotten my punishment and now I'm going to do what I can to put it behind me."
Unfortunately, he didn't.
Spotty future
Irizarry has spent the last few days sitting in a jail cell, no doubt wondering how things went so wrong, so fast.
I'm wondering the same thing.
Irizarry never seemed like the type of athlete who would get into trouble. He was an honor student at Ursuline. He comes from a great family. His parents are nice people.
So what went wrong?
And, more importantly, does he still have time to change?
Maybe not. Ohio State athletic director Andy Geiger seems particularly disgusted with the situation, telling reporters that "these guys are gone. They're done."
If that's true, Irizarry's best hope is to either sit out the 2004 season and try to make amends at Ohio State, or cut his losses and transfer to another school. Either way, it doesn't look likely that he'll play football again until 2005.
That's unfortunate.
I remember walking away from Ursuline High School after that first meeting with him thinking he was one of the nicest athletes I'd ever met.
Unlike a few other high-profile high school football players (Maurice Clarett comes to mind), Irizarry didn't act like the world owed him everything. He had a bright future in Columbus and a possible NFL career in sight.
He still has time to turn his life around, but he's quickly running out of chances.
I just hope he realizes it.
XJoe Scalzo is a sportswriter for The Vindicator. Write him at scalzo@vindy.com.