2008 tOSU QB discussion (official thread)

[OregonBuckeye]

Rivals.com College Football - Rivals.com Experts: Week 4 What We Learned

DAVID FOX

Terrelle Pryor

OHIO STATE WILL HAVE A QUARTERBACK PROBLEM ON ITS HANDS. The Terrelle Pryor era has begun in Columbus. Rejoice Buckeyes fans, if you want. I won't. Pryor's debut as a starter spells trouble down the line. It's not because of Pryor. He performed adequately against Troy, passing for 139 yards and four touchdowns and rushing for 66. But it was hardly a great endorsement of things to come. The Buckeyes led only 14-10 going into the fourth quarter against what looks to be a mid-level Sun Belt team. Pryor will get better and he is the answer long term. However, when the Buckeyes go to Madison, Wis., on Oct. 4, will Pryor be the right choice for the conservative Jim Tressel? Pryor is the new shiny object. Senior Todd Boeckman has a Big Ten title. When it comes down to it, I don't know if Tressel will feel comfortable with a true freshman under center with a Rose Bowl trip on the line.

What an asshat. Just a pathetic attempt at spinning Pryor's great debut into something negative. BTW, you knew it was coming. Troy is now just a mid-level Sun Belt team. Last year they were amazing and a great mid-major, ya' know, since they played 2 SEC teams tough. Fuck off, David Fox.

 

[osugrad21]

Blade

Article published Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Pryor puts end to controversy
Takes charge at QB for Ohio St.
By MATT MARKEY
BLADE SPORTS WRITER
COLUMBUS - Terrelle Pryor was the guy doing the talking in the Ohio State offensive huddle on Saturday. It was the first time in 30 years the Buckeyes had given that kind of responsibility to someone less than six months removed from their high school's senior prom. Pryor, an OSU freshman who was the top prep player in the nation last year, appears to be the wunderkind who will lead this team in its pursuit of a fourth straight Big Ten Conference championship. Not since the 1978 season when Art Schlichter started all 12 games for the Buckeyes has a freshman quarterback been in the driver's seat. With his record-setting four touchdown pass performance in Ohio State's 28-10 win over Troy last weekend, Pryor banged the gavel on the Buckeyes' simmering quarterback controversy. Senior Todd Boeckman, who was first-team all-Big Ten last year and had made 16 straight starts for Ohio State, struggled in an embarrassing loss to Southern California the week before, and then was in for just two plays against Troy. Pryor, who led his Jeannette High School team in Pennsylvania to state titles in football and basketball as a senior, is a devastating dual-threat. He had more than 4,000 career yards both rushing and passing for Jeannette. Pryor seems as deft at finessing the fine line between confident and cocky as he is at avoiding a rush or putting the laces into friendly hands some 40 yards away. "I've been making plays my whole life," Pryor said matter-of-factly after the Troy game. He then tempered that remark with a layer of humility. "Just because I threw four touchdowns doesn't mean I'm the greatest thing," Pryor said. "I'm not, by far. I've got so much more to learn." The Buckeyes players express a confidence in Pryor's ability to take reins and run the team. "He gets better every day in practice," senior wide receiver Brian Robiskie said. "I have had faith in him since Day One."
Cont...

 

[HorticullyBuck]

ooooo that one quote from ROBO has a lot of underlying tones or hints maybe?? hmmm..... you dont think the players could have been 'throwing TB under the bus' co-vertly?

 

[jimotis4heisman]

ooooo that one quote from ROBO has a lot of underlying tones or hints maybe?? hmmm..... you dont think the players could have been 'throwing TB under the bus' co-vertly?

their are certainly things you have to say.

if they have they shouldnt see the field ever again. anyone who has done that is a quitter and an embrassment

 

[Dryden]

ooooo that one quote from ROBO has a lot of underlying tones or hints maybe?? hmmm..... you dont think the players could have been 'throwing TB under the bus' co-vertly?

No. At least, not intentionally. I do think it's fair to say that Pryor brings a fire to the huddle that Boeckman has displayed on only a few occasions, and that can raise the level of play of everyone around the QB. When things went wrong for Boeckman he would hang his head and go back to the bench. When things don't go well with Pryor at the helm he's on the sidelines communicating with his teammates and cheering on the defense.

The infusion of the passionate, young kids from this years recruiting class is exactly what this team needed. As the saying goes, "Nice guys finish last." Maybe there were just too many 'nice guys' in the starting 22 over the past two seasons?

 

[HorticullyBuck]

yea; but lets just say this isnt the first time i've herd something along those lines; just my speculation. Me having experience in athletic teams (mainly track and running, which i know is very different from football) have witnessed players slightly undermining their captains or leaders in a slight,almost uncouncious (SP?) way. Think maybe a reason why we saw less seperation from our recievers was a lack of faith growing?? thus causing the circumstances to get worse for TB??

 

[Dryden]

yea; but lets just say this isnt the first time i've herd something along those lines; just my speculation. Me having experience in athletic teams (mainly track and running, which i know is very different from football) have witnessed players slightly undermining their captains or leaders in a slight,almost uncouncious (SP?) way. Think maybe a reason why we saw less seperation from our recievers was a lack of faith growing?? thus causing the circumstances to get worse for TB??

I haven't seen it that way. The receivers have gotten separation, but TB either holds the ball and the window closes, or he locks in and draws another DB to the WR. The threat of Pryor taking off to run, along with his decisiveness and ability to rifle the ball 10 yards with a snap of his wrist, allow him to hit the receivers when they're actually open.

Consider it this way. Two years ago in the Iowa game, Troy Smith made a TD throw to Robo that maybe 10 other QBs in the country in 2006 could make, and that goes for college and pros. Troy fired a bullet behind a DBs back knowing the DB could not get turned around in time, and Robo plucked it right out of the air for six. Could Todd Boeckman make that throw? Could Terrelle Pryor?

 

[Joe56]

yea; but lets just say this isnt the first time i've herd something along those lines; just my speculation. Me having experience in athletic teams (mainly track and running, which i know is very different from football) have witnessed players slightly undermining their captains or leaders in a slight,almost uncouncious (SP?) way. Think maybe a reason why we saw less seperation from our recievers was a lack of faith growing?? thus causing the circumstances to get worse for TB??

With repect, I couldn't disagree more.

Like any leadership position, QB demands that the player not only maintain his cool, but that the cool radiates off him in waves. Or to put it bluntly,confidence. Todd hasn't had confidence in awhile.

He's a fine man and a GREAT Buckeye, but he's just not confident in his abilities at this time. And it shows. I think the players realize that and his lack of confidence in turn effects them at large.

TP and the rest of the new breed have a swagger that we've missed at TOSU. They're confident and not afraid to show that. That's what we need.

 

[HorticullyBuck]

Thats a much better point than the one i brought up joe. His confidence CLEARLY started slipping after the ILL game last year; and then the domino effect. Beanie wasnt effected by this though.
god hes soo amazing [insert drooling smiley face here]

 

[UpNorthBuckeye]

I think we're all beating around the same bush. Confidence gives you an edge. Or leadership does. Or belief in one another.

It leads everyone to play just a teeny tiny little bit better, and the effect is geometric.

I've been saying I think Todd lost a lot of his confidence in last year's MSU game (the two fumbles in a row) and although he did have a great game against Penn State, he was different after that. And I think JT lost confidence, and/or in a move to be easy on todd, he simplified things... they didn't ask todd to do a lot after that. Ergo the Michigan game.

Anyway, whatever sport or activity you're involved with personally, we all know that the confident guys bring everyone's comfort level (and therefore performance) up a notch.

Add to that the fact that Pryor has fantastic ability, including the hoops skills that translate to football --- good vision, putting the pass on the side of the receiver away from the defender, being able to think and throw on the "break"...

We will all have a soft place in our heart for Todd B forever, just like Justin Zwick and Rob Schoenhoft and Antonio Henton. I am sure he can take that along with his soon to be masters degree and have a wonderful career and life.

For every Todd B there are another ten guys who walk on and don't make it or whose star never quite reaches the heights --- they are the "contributors" who are not playing for an NFL career. Ggo down the OSU roster and you'll see about 100 of 'em. Todd should have no regrets.

 

[matcar]

Thats a much better point than the one i brought up joe. His confidence CLEARLY started slipping after the ILL game last year; and then the domino effect. Beanie wasnt effected by this though.
god hes soo amazing [insert drooling smiley face here]

I'm with you that something just appears different w/ Todd. I was one who championed Todd and really felt/hoped he would pull it together for a solid year. Looks as if I was mistaken. I do not think that any of the receivers have done anything to cause this for Todd. Having said that, I don't think some of the receivers have helped the situation much. I'm concerned about what I see from Robo. He's either hurt, or something else is wrong because he is not the player he was as a sophomore or a junior.

 

[Born Buckeye]

Add to that the fact that Pryor has fantastic ability, including the hoops skills that translate to football --- good vision, putting the pass on the side of the receiver away from the defender, being able to think and throw on the "break"...

Speaking of his hoops skills - what are the chances that he will try to play for Matta too? I hope he just stays with football - learns the offense, hits the weights and becomes the best QB he can.

:osu:

 

[osugrad21]

Blade

Pryor to start, but Boeckman has role
Wells expected to face Minnesota
By MATT MARKEY
BLADE SPORTS WRITER
COLUMBUS ? Like any CEO or corporate big wig, Ohio State coach Jim Tressel has personnel issues to deal with every day.

As the Buckeyes begin the Big Ten Conference schedule this week with Minnesota, Tressel is sticking with his rapidly developing apprentice at quarterback, freshman Terrelle Pryor, and expecting to have his top producer from last year, running back Chris ?Beanie? Wells, return to the team in the field.

Those decisions were some of the easier ones to come across Tressel?s desk, since Pryor was sensational last weekend in his first start, and Wells will be a month into his rehab of an injured right foot.

The tougher, more delicate work involves redefining the role of senior quarterback Todd Boeckman, who is in his sixth year with the program and had started 16 straight games before being supplanted by Pryor.

Tressel doesn?t want to see Boeckman targeted with the blame for anything that has gone wrong, like he was following the humbling 35-3 loss to Southern California.

Tressel also does not want to have a first-team All-Big Ten quarterback get skewered by his own following, as happened to Boeckman when he was on the field for a brief time in Saturday?s win over Troy.

?Yeah, that?s disappointing,? Tressel said about the boos that cascaded down on Boeckman at Ohio Stadium.

?I know we?re allowed to do what we want to do, but Todd Boeckman is a first-class guy. He cares about his team.

?He?s been a part of the fans having a lot of things to cheer about over the last five years, but that?s part of the deal and it?s disappointing. But we?re certainly not going to sit and scold anybody because we?ve got enough problems of our own.?
Cont...

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Link

College Football: Tressel defends OSU quarterback deployment



By JON SPENCER ? For The Advocate ? September 28, 2008

COLUMBUS -- There's no quarterback controversy at Ohio State, just controversy about the way they were deployed in Saturday's 34-21 win against Minnesota.
After pulling freshman starter Terrelle Pryor with a 27-6 lead, coach Jim Tressel defended his decision to put his franchise quarterback back in the game midway through the fourth quarter with the outcome already decided.
"I wanted to send him back in there and throw some balls because I just didn't feel as if we progressed in the pass game up to that point," Tressel said. "He got to throw a couple more, and he obviously needs as much experience as he can get."
Pryor threw only 13 passes, one of them to Brian Robiskie for an 8-yard touchdown. Robiskie also caught a 31-yard scoring strike from deposed starter Todd Boeckman. Pryor's return was sandwiched between two series for Boeckman, whose role on the revamped offense is hard to pinpoint right now.
"It was my gut inclination that we probably didn't click in the passing game as well as we're going to need to to become a good team and the thing that Todd does is twofold," Tressel said. "One, he executes it well and he's also a good mentor as Terrelle develops his ability to execute it.

Continued......................

 

[Born Buckeye]

Great to see Boeckman get out there, lead a scoring drive and throw a TD. He needed a boost of confidence I am sure.

Pryor is still our starter - the way he runs is so effortless and with he and Beanie in the backfield it completely opens up the offense. Only thing I would say he can improve on is delivering the ball on time, he did miss a couple of receivers because he waited a second too long.