COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Maurice Clarett met with Ohio State athletic director Andy Geiger and NCAA officials on Monday, and the running back said he believed he would return to practice this week.

Clarett is being held out of practice with the defending national champions because of investigations by the NCAA and the university.

"I believe I'll be able to start practicing back again this week,'' Clarett said in an interview with ESPN. "Things seem like they went very well. I'm cooperating with the university, and the NCAA is cooperating with me and I think everyone is happy with things.''

Geiger said the three-hour meeting did not involve the university's academic investigation of Clarett, but declined to provide further details.

"I can't comment on any aspect of what went on today,'' Geiger said.

The meeting was not a sign that the university was any closer to deciding Clarett's status, Geiger said.

NCAA spokesman Jeff Howard declined to comment on the meeting.

A 10-member university committee is investigating a teaching assistant's claim that Clarett walked out of a midterm exam last fall and later passed the course by taking an oral exam.

Clarett told ESPN's Kirk Herbstreit last week that he would like to play football for the Buckeyes this season. ESPN.com's Len Pasquarelli reported earlier this month that Clarett began investigating his NFL potential and the possibility of overturning the league's draft eligibility rules long before the NCAA even began investigating him.

Clarett would prefer to stay put. However, the decision likely will not be in his hands.

He is under investigation by the NCAA for use of a 2001 Chevrolet Monte Carlo that was broken into while on overnight loan from a car dealership. In a police report, Clarett said he had lost more than $6,000 in clothing, cash and stereo equipment in the theft. He later acknowledged that he had exaggerated his losses to police.

In recent weeks the Columbus Dispatch reported that the NCAA might be looking into Clarett's dealings with Cleveland Cavaliers rookie LeBron James, Clarett's friend and the No.1 pick in this year's NBA draft.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.