Ohio State's Quarterback Enigma: Lack of Depth Behind Terrelle Pryor a Big Concern?

By Doug Tarnovich - BlockONation.com Contribtor


In the first game of the 2009 season, the Oklahoma Sooners lost Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Sam Bradford to what would end up becoming a season ending shoulder injury. That left things up to his backup Landry Jones, and though an 8-5 record isn't what folks hope for in Norman, they should be pleased with a second stringer who threw for more than 3,100 yards and 26 touchdowns.

Texas lost Colt McCoy in the national championship game against Alabama. The Crimson Tide was already favored, but without the Longhorns' best player, Texas should have been blown out of the water.

Not so.

Garrett Gilbert, a freshman, managed to bring Texas within a field goal half way through the fourth quarter before Alabama pulled away for good. Typically, two touchdowns to four interceptions is pretty bad. But considering the circumstances, Gilbert did all his coach, teammates, and fans could've asked for.

Both quarterbacks were highly recruited to be the heir apparent. Both led their high school teams to state titles. Both are highly decorated. They each boast crazy statistics.

Here's a couple of questions for you, Buckeye fans:

Who is Ohio State's Landry Jones?

Who is the Buckeye version of Garrett Gilbert?

Could Kenny Guiton or Taylor Graham keep the Buckeye offense competitiveve if Terrelle Pryor were to go down? Maybe. Nobody thought much of Troy Smith when he came to Columbus. But the facts are the facts.

Guiton was a three-star recruit who the Buckeyes snagged only after they whiffed at elite prospect Tajh Boyd who opted for Clemson. In other words, Guiton was an afterthought.

Graham hasn't played a full season since he was a sophomore at Wheaton North High School in Wheaton, IL. He broke his ankle during the fifth game of his junior year then tore his PCL the following year, missing the strong majority of the schedule. Maybe that's why he was only given a two-star rating.

Neither prospect was highly sought after. Neither got offers from other perennial powerhouse college programs. Neither led their respective teams to state championships. Neither received any prestigious awards. On paper, the prospects aren't too encouraging.

What about Joe Bauserman? Any analysis there?

Yeah. Bad. That's all you need to know. And by the way, "Bad" was all the Buckeyes had last year for a backup.

Why does the Ohio State University—highly ranked every year with multiple BCS bowl appearances, great recruiting, and a gateway to the NFL—have such a dilemma when it comes to football's most important position? Quarterbacks should be breaking down the door, but havn't been the last couple of years.

Perhaps the explanation can be found in the fact that Terrelle Pryor, as a sophomore, was the unquestioned starter for the 2009 season. Certainly, a more immediate chance to start made a convincing argument too tempting for Boyd to turn down. Perhaps Pryor was just a year too young to make room for a future star at the position unless, of course, Pryor laid an egg against an inferior opponent.

Oh, wait. That actually happened.

Some called for Pryor to move to wide receiver. Maybe he would have succeeded as such had he a competent No. 2 throwing the ball. Head coach Jim Tressel apparently didn't think he did. As bad as Terrelle played against Purdue, the other options were far less appealing.

But this offseason has yielded some good news. Guiton had a solid performance in the spring game, leading the Gray team to a 17-14 victory. He completed 11 out of 21 passes for 167 yards and two touchdowns. There are also reports that Graham had a good showing at Ohio State's jersey scrimmage.

Whoever it is, one of these guys needs to step it up. It'll be another year before star recruit Braxton Miller puts on the scarlet and gray. In the meantime, there needs to be at least one valid option in case something happens with Pryor, be it injury or meltdown.


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All Eyes on Starting QB Terrelle Pryor for No. 6 Buckeyes as Season Opener Nears

Posted by HD Handshoe
Founder—BlockONation



Everywhere he goes, the eyes are on him.

He would stand out anywhere because he stands 6-foot-6, a willowy athlete’s body replete with tattoos.

But in a city of more than 750,000 football-mad people—in a state that reveres its Buckeyes, and particularly the guy who directs the Ohio State offense, no one takes their eyes off Terrelle Pryor.

When he goes out, he wears dark sunglasses to avoid the swarms of Buckeyes fans.

“I try it but it doesn’t work,” he said.

During the team’s recent open scrimmage at Ohio Stadium, several thousand fans showed up. There wasn’t much question about who they came to see. The flashbulbs fired every time Pryor took a snap, made a run or threw a pass.

Pryor has become accustomed to the attention. He fed off of it as the nation’s No. 1 quarterback recruit out of Jeannette, Pa.

He dealt with it last year when he took over as Ohio State’s starting quarterback four games into what would be a 10-3 season, including a share of a fourth consecutive Big Ten title and a third straight Bowl Championship Series appearance.

Now, as one of the few recognizable names on a talented but not well known sixth-ranked Buckeyes squad, Pryor is a rock star in shoulder pads.

“I think he accepts that,” offensive lineman Andrew Moses said. “If you’re a quarterback at a university like this you’re going to know that’s going to be a part of the deal.

Terrelle just wants to be the best player he can be for his team. I don’t know
if he’s really nervous about it. He doesn’t show it.”

A year ago, Pryor came to campus as the school’s most acclaimed quarterback recruit since Art Schlichter in 1979. He watched Todd Boeckman, a first-team All-Big Ten player who led the Buckeyes to the national championship game the season before, direct the offense for three games.

But after the Buckeyes were throttled by Southern California 35-3, Ohio State coach Jim Tressel stunned many by benching the fifth-year senior starter and replacing him with Pryor, who had yet to attend his first day of college classes.

The results were mixed. Pryor’s numbers were good—631 yards rushing and six touchdowns, a 61-percent completion rate with 12 TDs and four interceptions, and an 8-1 record as a starter (he was at wide receiver for the first play of the bowl game, even though he played most of the game at quarterback).

But he came up short against the two toughest opponents left on the Buckeyes’ schedule. He failed on a short fourth-down run while trying to lead a fourth-quarter comeback at home against Penn State and then had a mediocre outing against Texas in the Fiesta Bowl. Ohio State lost both games.

He seldom threw the ball farther than 15 yards all season, leading some to question whether he could throw it far and accurately. He often disdained the pass to break out of the pocket on a run.

Tressel said he believes there’s a natural progression for a young quarterback, and compares Pryor’s maturation with that of the Buckeyes’ 2006 Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback, Troy Smith.

“He’ll evolve every year from that standpoint, not unlike Troy,” Tressel said. “Troy’s first year, he was a 700-yard rusher. Then he was a 500, and his last year around 175 because he got more experienced and he knew more about coverage and knew more about checking down and all those things.

Terrelle has a lot more experience than Troy had at the outset, so I’d like to think he’ll grow into that mold.”

Pryor often is compared to Vince Young, the tall and lanky ex-Texas quarterback now with the NFL’s Tennessee Titans.

Pryor has tired of the comparisons. Young also was considered a run-first quarterback, even though he hit several memorable passes while leading his team to the national championship as a senior with a stirring win over USC.

“I have to play my game, play Terrelle Pryor’s game,” he said.

“I’m not trying to be someone I’m not. (I’m) trying to be better someday. I don’t strive to be Vince Young. Because I’m not Vince Young. I won’t be Vince Young.”

One reason Pryor is such a focal point this year—for opposing defenses as well as Ohio State fans—is that the Buckeyes are without most of their top weapons from a year ago.

Leading rusher Chris “Beanie” Wells, top receivers Brian Robiskie and Brian Hartline and three starters on the offensive line are gone.

During a preseason scrimmage, with the defensive line bowling over lineman and applying heat on Pryor, it was clear that he was frustrated.

“Yeah, he was,” defensive tackle Doug Worthington said. “He’s just somebody who wants the best for his offensive line, his running backs and the team as a whole. When we pressured him a few times he got really, really flustered and a couple of times I just told him to calm down and keep playing and whatnot. But he’s a competitor. You’ve got to love it.”

If the fans’ massive expectations are weighing on him, he’s not showing it.

Asked about being selected as the Big Ten’s preseason player of the year, he swatted aside the question like an off-balance, undersized tackler.

“It’s one thing to be an All-American and All-Big Ten and the player of the year at the end of the season. Before it, it doesn’t mean anything,” he said. “It’s great to have that before the season, but it means nothing. I didn’t do anything yet.”

Whatever he does, a lot of people will be watching.


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Original article written by RUSTY MILLER--AP Sports Writer