Former Ohio State star running back Maurice Clarett, who failed to catch on with an NFL team after being cut by the Denver Broncos last year, has an oral agreement to play with an indoor league team, the Columbus Post-Dispatch reported Thursday.

Clarett was expected to sign a contract with the Mahoning Valley (Ohio) Hitmen of the Eastern Indoor Football League, the newspaper reported.

Hitmen coach Jim Terry said he sent the contract to Clarett on Wednesday, the Post-Dispatch reported.

"I’ve never seen a player this excited at this level of play," Terry said of Clarett, the newspaper reported. "This isn’t a runner’s league. It’s a passer’s league. And (Clarett) is going to try to make it on the ground."

Clarett led Ohio State to the 2002 national championship, then was suspended and took on the NFL in court, challenging the requirement that players wait three years after high school before turning pro. After losing on appeal, he was drafted by the Denver Broncos, then cut before the team’s first game last fall. He hasn’t played since the 2003 Fiesta Bowl against Miami.

It's unclear if Clarett will ever play for the Hitmen, because the team currently has just four players on its roster, the newspaper reported.

Jim Rogash / Getty Images The Week in Sports Pictures The nation grieved for those hurt, killed and affected by the Boston Marathon bombings. After one of the suspects was caught on Friday — following a day-long lockdown and manhunt — sports returned to Boston over the weekend.

The Hitmen plan to hold open tryouts in August, the newspaper reported, and Terry hopes the league will begin play in January or February.

"I don’t want this to be like a bowling league with a new guy or new team leaving every year," Terry said, the Post-Dispatch reported.