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Pryor restores hope to faded glory
by Bill Livingston Saturday September 20, 2008, 6:43 PM
Tracy Boulian, The Plain DealerTerrelle Pryor slips past the reach of Troy's Tavares Williams during the first quarter Saturday at Columbus
Columbus -- Earlier than expected and better in ways that were unexpected, Terrelle Pryor made his first start at quarterback for Ohio State on Saturday.
It is his ball now, for he played all but five plays in a 28-10 victory over Troy, and it is his era, too.
It is too soon to say his performance can match all of his potential, for the latter is vast. But it is not too late for the first freshman quarterback to start for Ohio State in 30 years to deliver some of the power and glory that were lost last week against the Southern California Trojans.
"The stage wasn't too big for him," USC coach Pete Carroll said of Pryor's prime-time network television debut last weekend.
Pryor, thought to have a suspect arm, threw four touchdown passes, an Ohio State freshman record, in a 28-10 victory over Saturday's Trojans, who are from a school in Alabama and are related to the Trojans from USC in matters of mascots only.
Continued.......
Orenthal James;1266781; said:
? Well, that sure didn't take long. Just four weeks into his collegiate career, Terrelle Pryor has established himself as Ohio State's clear-cut No. 1 quarterback (unseating senior co-captain Todd Boeckman). The wunderkind signal-caller made quite an impression in his first start, completing 10 of 16 passes for 141 yards and four touchdowns while racking up an additional 62 yards on the ground.
The most impressive aspect of Pryor's game was his patience in the pocket. With Pryor's silky-smooth running ability and inexperience at the college level, one would think he'd take off at the first sign of trouble. But the true freshman repeatedly bought himself time by moving around in the pocket, giving his receivers a chance to get open. This was most evident on Pryor's second touchdown pass of the first half. After taking his drop, Pryor felt some pressure and stepped up in the pocket. Although he definitely had a running lane, Pryor chose to air it out down the middle of the field to Brian Hartline for a 39-yard touchdown.
I think I speak for the collective Michigan fan base when I say, "Holy $%@&!" The Wolverines lost a heated recruiting battle for Pryor. And while Michigan's offense has shown signs of promise -- particularly on the Sam McGuffie front -- it would certainly look better with Pryor at the helm. Troy Smith tormented maize-and-blue faithful for three seasons, and Pryor looks like a Michigan nightmare for years to come.
Before I go completely overboard, though, it was far from a perfect game for Pryor and the Buckeyes. The offense was inconsistent from drive to drive, and Pryor showed his youth by taking a costly sack at the end of the first half and unnecessarily forcing a few throws. Not to mention the Buckeyes only led their Sun Belt opponent 14-10 entering the fourth quarter and didn't look much like a BCS bowl-caliber team for large stretches of the game. But there's no denying this young signal-caller's immense potential. Just imagine how dangerous this kid will be when Beanie Wells returns to his side ...
leroyjenkins;1266817; said:please dont kill me.........
Dryden;1266831; said:So much for using Pryor like Florida used Tim Tebow his freshman year ...
It appears we're just going to skip that part and go straight to using Pryor like Florida used Tim Tebow his sophomore year instead.
I'm cool wit dat.
Yeah, but not due to Tebow, that one was on the Defense of Florida and Henne and Hart playing lights out to send Vloyd out with a bang.bucknut11;1266835; said:Tebow lost to TSUN last year...