WILLIAMS RUNNING ROUTE TO USC RECEIVER CUTS AGENT LOOSE, TRIES TO REGAIN HIS NCAA ELIGIBILITY.

Byline: Scott Wolf  Staff Writer

Mike Williams officially cut ties with his agent Wednesday and began the potentially lengthy process of regaining his college eligibility, which could allow the receiver to play for the Trojans next season.

Neither Williams nor USC coach Pete Carroll were sure, however, how the NCAA would react to his case, which involves complex financial and academic issues.

``By no means is this a slam dunk as far as being reinstated by the NCAA,'' Williams said in an interview with radio station 1540-AM. ``I have no sports agent now officially, so the professionalism on that part is over.''

Carroll said he hoped the NCAA would realize the unique nature of the case and grant Williams his eligibility.

``It's not a done deal. But this is a case that's unprecedented,'' Carroll said. ``He hasn't done anything wrong. He hasn't broken any rules. But this is not an overnight situation.''

Although Carroll was cautiously optimistic, the NCAA will need to examine a host of problems before making a decision, including how much money Williams accepted from agent Mike Azzarelli.

Williams is required to pay back Azzarelli and the exact figure could be significant. According to sources, Azzarelli paid for Williams to travel from Tampa, Fla., to Los Angeles on a private aircraft.

Other expenses include a vacation to the Bahamas in April and a lengthy stay at the Competitive Edge Sports training center in Duluth, Ga., before the NFL Draft. One source with knowledge of the situation said total costs could easily exceed six figures.

The NCAA also wants to know if Williams received money from endorsement deals signed before the draft.

``All of the money that's been spent is necessary to document,'' Carroll said. ``The value that has been exchanged will be covered and paid in full so he has received nothing.

``Hopefully, (Williams' parents) have done an impeccable job keeping track and I believe they have.''

Williams said he understood the uncertain nature regarding his eligibility.

``We pretty much have to submit our case and see what the NCAA wants us to do. I'm not just walking into the door scot-free and start playing football,'' he said. ``There are going to be some conditions that I have to meet in order to be eligible.''

And then there are the academic issues. USC officials said Wednesday that Williams would apply for an academic progress waiver. Former running back Malaefou MacKenzie received the waiver when he took a semester off to live in Samoa after his father died.

But Williams' case does not involve a hardship, other than the fact he thought he could turn pro only to have that decision reversed by the courts. A possible complication is Williams' current academic status.

Carroll said Williams merely needed to complete nine units this offseason to retain his eligibility, but several sources said Williams was on academic probation before he dropped out of USC, a factor the NCAA considers in these cases.

Asked if Williams would attend summer school, Carroll said it was too early to make that decision. But Williams told others he prefers not to attend summer school.

It's just one more factor that makes Williams' status difficult to predict.

``It gets more difficult because there's a list of things,'' said Bill Saum, the NCAA's director of agent, gambling and amateurism activities. ``It's so unique. Time's not a factor.''

Perhaps that's why Williams offered few definite answers Wednesday.

``This is way over my head, this is way over my former agent's head, way over my parents' heads. (USC coach) Pete Carroll doesn't even handle this, and this is way over his head,'' Williams said.

If that weren't enough, no one at USC was quite sure what would happen if former Ohio State tailback Maurice Clarett somehow won his court case. Williams decided to leave USC after the NFL said it would welcome underclassmen following Clarett's legal victory in February. However, the case was overturned by an appellate court.

Clarett's attorney, Alan C. Milstein, said last week he was preparing a brief to present to the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City.

``Mike can do whatever he wants. His family has been adamant about him going to school,'' Carroll said.

There's also the sore feelings between Williams and the coaching staff that might need to be sorted out. Williams was told by NFL teams that his work ethic was criticized by Trojans coaches. He responded by telling at least one NFL team that USC was an ``undisciplined'' program.

Another issue could be a potential image problem. USC is going out of its way to reinstate Williams, even though he's likely to attend classes for only the fall semester, just long enough to remain eligible.

Carroll said that would only be considered a negative as long as ``it keeps getting written about.''

Even though he apparently lost his chance to play pro football, Williams said he didn't regret the decision to apply for the draft.

``This is disappointing because it was a raw deal,'' Williams said. ``Everybody on both sides of the fence is saying, 'Maurice Clarett whatever, whatever, but Mike Williams got screwed over.' Those are just the facts.

``If I could do it again I'd probably still take it. It didn't work out on a technicality. It wasn't a bad decision; it wasn't a bad business move or a bad career move. If that doesn't work out then we really have some leverage to do some things in the future.''

Scott Wolf, [phone]

scott.wolf(at)dailynews.com

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(color) Mike Williams has cut ties with his agent and is hoping to rejoin USC's football team.

Kirby Lee/Special to the Daily News

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