Posted: Friday September 10, 2010
Austin Murphy
Terrelle Pryor has arrived (really)
Terrelle Pryor threw three touchdowns and completed 68 percent of his passes in the opener against Marshall.
AP
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The thing to remember about September is that we don't know what we don't know. A year ago at this time I was all but anointing Tate Forcier the next great Michigan quarterback. Not long after, I spent several days talking to current and former Miami players about the Hurricanes' return to glory. As it turned out, the news that "Miami is back!" had not reached the remote hamlet of Blacksburg, Virginia, where the Hurricanes were waxed in a downpour, 31-7.
By the time bowl season rolls around, teams have a firm grasp of their identities. But in September, notes Ohio State coach Jim Tressel, "you're really figuring out who you are." He made the observation while pointing out the difference between tomorrow's collision between the Buckeyes and the 'Canes and the last time these teams met. While one Cleveland columnist believes that Ohio State's 31-24 double-OT victory over Miami in the 2003 BCS title game was the best college football game ever, many Hurricanes fans will only grant you that it was decided by the worst call ever.
The point is: Don't believe your own eyes until at least, say, the autumnal equinox.
Having proferred that advice, I'm now going to ignore it by scooting way out on a limb here to declare that, in his third year at Ohio State, Terrelle Pryor has arrived, that his performances against Oregon in the Rose Bowl and Marshall on September 2nd were not outliers, but the shape of things to come. That strong belief, admittedly, has been shaped by the 20 or so minutes I spent on Wednesday in the company of ... Terrelle Pryor, who practically oozed cool confidence while munching sunflower seeds and watching video from that day's practice.
"Today I changed a bunch of protections," he announced during a discussion of his improved grasp on the nuances of his position. His increased willingness to call out new protections at the line of scrimmage has led to arguments with his center, Mike Brewster. ("He'll say, 'No, no, no,' and change it to something else.")
Pryor's sophomore slump was lowlighted by his awful performance in a 26-18 loss to a Purdue squad that had dropped five straight games. He basically melted down in that game, throwing two interceptions and losing two fumbles. After the defeat, Roy Hall got a text from Tressel. Hall, now the head coach at Jeannette (Pa.) High, remains exceptionally close to his former quarterback. "T's a little down," texted Tressel. "If you get a chance, give him a call, try to pick him up."
For a couple months, Pryor was a pi?ata for talking heads who fixated on his lack of polish, his unconventional footwork and his tendency to stare down receivers. "There were a couple times I wanted to climb through the screen to get to [ESPN analyst] Mark May," admits Hall, who also points out: "The thing about Terrelle is, when people start to doubt him, that's when he rises."
