Pryor learns from Purdue mistakes
By RUSTY MILLER, The Associated Press
Saturday, October 24, 2009
COLUMBUS, Ohio ? After a week of criticism and second-guessing, Terrelle Pryor felt as if a cool, fresh breeze had blown out all the things that troubled him.
Pryor passed for two touchdowns and ran for another, accounting for 343 yards of total offense in No. 18 Ohio State's 38-7 victory over Minnesota on Saturday.
The numbers ? and the result ? were in stark contrast to what happened seven days earlier. In a shocking 26-18 loss at Purdue, Pryor had looked confused, petulant and unnerved. He threw two interceptions and fumbled the ball away two times.
An onslaught of vicious reviews followed, from media, Ohio State fans and from other observers.
Pryor said he learned from that firestorm that he can't do everything.
"I used the resources I had ? I used the offensive line and I used my receivers," said Pryor, frequently criticized for trying to do too much by himself. "It meant a lot to me that my teammates supported me all week."
It wasn't just teammates who supported him.
"(I'm) trying to mentor him and get him through 'life in the spotlight,' which I've been through," Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James said of his relationship with Pryor, whom he's been trading text messages and phone calls with for the past few months.
James' teammate, Shaquille O'Neal, even chimed in.
"I saw that they're getting on (Pryor) the last two games," O'Neal said after a Wednesday night preseason game in Columbus. "Keep you head up, young man, and try to get this football team back on track."
Then before Saturday's game, Pryor spoke with former Ohio State quarterback and 2006 Heisman Trophy winner, Troy Smith.
"I talked to Troy this morning and had a good quarterback-to-quarterback talk," Pryor said. "It helped me."
With his 104 yards rushing, Pryor became the fifth Ohio State QB to top 1,000 career yards on the ground, joining Cornelius Greene (2,066 from 1972-75), Rex Kern (1,714 from 1968-70), Art Schlichter (1,303 from 1978-81) and Troy Smith (1,168 from 2003-6). Pryor now has 1,102 yards