Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel and Buckeyes' basketball mentor Thad Matta both watched that slaughter live. In that game, Pryor torched Central Catholic's Chris Hayden-Martin, who is considered one of the top 25 cornerbacks in the nation.
"I told our kids at the end of it that [Pryor]'s the best player I've ever seen, and I've been coaching since 1971," Central Catholic coach Muzzy Colosimo told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
With his enormous stride and gliding running style, Pryor doesn't look that fast on film. But he runs a sub-4.4 (40-yard dash), routinely provoking scouts to compare him to Tennessee Titans quarterback Vince Young.
Think of Pryor as video-enhanced Young, a bigger, faster, stronger [305 bench press] version of the player who carried Texas to the 2005 national championship. College coaches aren't allowed to officially comment on recruits, but one of Pryor's suitors authored this anonymous analysis:
"In more than 30 years of coaching and recruiting, I've never seen a kid with his upside. He needs to work on the mechanics of his delivery, but he's got amazing tools. The Vince Young comparisons are appropriate. Both are gliders, but I think Pryor actually has more upside. Compared to where Young was coming out of high school, Pryor is just as elusive and explosive as a runner, but he has a longer frame and superior touch on shorter passes."To his credit, Pryor just shakes his head at all the comparisons and recruiting madness swirling around him.
"It's flattering when people compare me to Vince Young, but it's way too soon," said Pryor, who is leaning toward Ohio State but likely to take official visits to West Virginia, Tennessee, Florida and Texas. "I just want to be myself and make a name for myself.