By Hans Hetrick
Football might be America’s prototypical team sport, one guy misses a block and any play can backfire. But according to the news coming from the Woody Hayes Athletic Center this Spring, it seems one manchild alone, Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor, controls the destiny of a football program. This Saturday during the annual Scarlet and Gray Spring Game, Buckeye fans will get a glimpse of just how much our hyped up savior of Buckeye football has progressed.
Terrelle Pryor has been drenched in hype since he was a high school junior. At 6’6”, 230 lbs., and fast as a tailback, Pryor was considered a once-in-a-lifetime recruit–a player that could change the fortunes of a college football program. And after two straight humiliating BCS Championship losses, the Ohio State Buckeyes desperately needed a change in their fortunes.
After much ado, Pryor finally selected the Ohio State University, and Coach Jim Tressel didn’t waste any time hitching the ox cart to his highly touted recruit. After getting dismantled by USC in the third game of the 2008 season, Tressel turned his offense over to the young freshman. It was a rational decision from the prince of coaching rationality.
The thumping at the hands of the Trojans proved the Buckeyes could not compete with the college football elite that year. Why not put the kid in and start building for the future?
In the 23 games since his first start, Pryor has led Buckeye fans on an erratic odyssey of glory (the Rose Bowl) and incompetence (2009 Purdue). Although he left us with that beautiful performance in the Rose Bowl on our tongues, there isn’t an Ohio State fan without lingering visions of Pryor throwing the ball into the grass five yards in front of Dane Sanzenbacher or floating a pass ten feet over DeVier Posey on a deep post.
Pryor just hasn’t provided the Buckeye nation with a consistent string of good performances. His release and decision making are slow as a fifty-year-old catfish. On the other hand, his Rose Bowl showing did reveal signs of improvements in those areas, sparking hope in the Buckeye nation and hype in the local and national media.
The countdown is over. The upcoming 2010 season is zero hour for Tressel’s 2008 decision to start Terrelle Pryor early in his freshman year. The Buckeye’s are returning with a load of experience and talent, especially on the offensive side of the ball.
Every offensive position is stacked. The offensive line, a unit that always takes time to gel, has the advantage of four returning starters. Brandon Saine and Boom Herron return at tailback while Jordan Hall and Jaamal Berry continue to impress during spring practices.
The Buckeyes army of skill players should provide plenty of speed to stretch out any defense. Four and five wide sets should abound, freeing up Pryor for his scrambles. The wide sets also provide Pryor with plenty of potent options. Along with Sanzenbacher and Posey, the incredible speed of Saine and the size of tight end Jake Stoneburner will give any defense problems. All Pryor has to do is get them the ball quickly and on target. That’s all he has to do.
