Article published Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Great quarterback debate begins at Ohio State
Pryor earns increased practice opportunities
By
MATT MARKEY
BLADE SPORTS WRITER
COLUMBUS ? Ohio State's Jim Tressel has stuck religiously with the core principles that have brought him success through his more than 30 years of coaching in college football.
But the current quarterback situation with the Buckeyes has put the Tressel doctrine under increased scrutiny.
The sticky predicament he finds himself in now involves senior Todd Boeckman and freshman Terrelle Pryor.
Who do you hand the car keys to, for an offense that has sputtered the last two weeks while running without the injured Chris 'Beanie' Wells at tailback.
The Buckeyes (2-1) will host Troy on Saturday and are coming off a humbling 35-3 loss to top-ranked Southern California that has spawned a spirited quarterback discussion, if not a budding controversy.
Tressel said yesterday, if the game took place that night, he would have expected Boeckman and Pryor to split the snaps 50-50. His quick addendum said the division of the workload this Saturday could be impacted by what takes place at practice the remainder of the week and by what transpires in the game against Troy.
Tressel always has preferred experience over exuberance. He likes to play guys he knows and trusts, and the more age rings on their college football trunk, the better.
And he likes his quarterbacks to be great decision-makers before they are great players, and in spite Boeckman's three turnovers at USC, Tressel said he still has confidence in Boeckman.
'What we have to work on is what we are doing in the game of football, that we need to do better,' Tressel said yesterday in a meeting with the media at the team's indoor practice facility. 'No one has changed any thinking about who they are.'
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