A fired attorney for Maurice Clarett said Friday an assistant prosecutor offered a plea deal in July with a sentence as short as 1 1/2 years if the ex-Ohio State football standout admitted to a robbery charge. On Friday, Clarett was in court for a status hearing on that January robbery charge. He is scheduled to go on trial Sept. 18, pending a mental evaluation, on charges that he held up two people outside a Columbus bar early New Year's Day and took a cell phone from them. During the 20-minute hearing, Judge David Fais ruled he will not issue a gag order in the case. Clarett spoke just once, responding "yes, sir" when Judge Fais asked if he understood the proceedings. He turned to smile at his mother and two friends who sat behind him.