Graham's Bowl Season Thoughts: Special Terrelle Pryor Edition
by Graham Filler on Dec 24, 2010 1:51 PM CST
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Print- Did anyone ever consider that Pryor sold his beat-Michigan gold pants charms because he's already got three of them and it's not fashion conscious to crowd your jewelry box with similarly colored pieces?
- Terrelle Pryor's actions lead me to believe that he is not a bad guy at all, just a self-absorbed young man, much like 75% of the 20somethings in the world. You know when they go back and do interviews about especially important Big Ten games and certain players still have that same fire, that same hate for the opposing team, the same "I was so proud to be representing my school and the fans and my coach"? Pryor will never be confused with that player. He will work tremendously hard in the gym. He will study the playbook and lead the team with gusto. That's great. But he will never do it for a fanbase or for a school. Team and individual success will lead TP to some ultimate goal (winning more, an NFL career, taking care of his family), but he so obviously does not burn with Buckeye passion. Which is fine, it's just not the way most of us picture our collegiate football heroes. Just remember that highly recruited players are at the games typically for different reasons than you the fan. So don't judge them too harshly.
- Apparently the Buckeye players sold their stuff for money because many of their families were in tough financial situations. Again this will lead to discussion over players being paid more for their athletic services, which won't happen, but the better discussion is over the rule that disallows selling athletic memorabilia. It's an odd rule that won't affect that many football players, but here's an interesting way to frame the question: How much money could Tim Tebow have sold his red paint/blood encrusted jersey for (you know the one when he's yelling on the sidelines against FSU)? The answer is - a lot of money. Is that right or wrong? What's the logic behind this NCAA rule?
- Pryor might leave for the NFL thanks to this suspension and everyone has something different to say about that. I firmly believe he should leave, grab an agent, and push to make a team as a 4th or 5th round pick. One thing we know about TP - he's got some ugly mechanics and has not proven he can scan through multiple routes. I don't think he improves those qualities over the next year and a half enough to shoot a couple rounds higher up the draft board. Right now, I'm guessing he's probably a fifth rounder who in a pinch can play wide receiver, kick returner, or quarterback (the next Josh Cribbs?). If TP sticks around Columbus, he's going to spend a lot of time in the gym (good) and a lot of time in the same Buckeye offense (bad). If he leaves, he instantly switches into a Pro mindset, which will involve a focus on changing up his mechanics and learning to read defenses.
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"pparently the Buckeye players sold their stuff for money because many of their families were in tough financial situations."
Can we get some verification for this?
I keep hearing this yet nobody has actually proven this
Gene smith
Said it in the press conference
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by Ian_InsideTheShoe on Dec 25, 2010 5:38 PM CST via mobile up reply actions
Graham, when it comes to Pryor's draft status...
you couldn’t be more wrong. He absolutely should not go out this year and here is why.
Consider a similar athlete and prospect from a few years back—Vince Young.
I thought TP was going to have the kind of junior break out year that VY did. They both had very similar stats and inconsistencies their sophomore years. Each played at an elite level in the Bowl Game following that season.
The difference is that VY built upon that performance, and had a transcendent junior campaign. He parlayed his improvement into becoming the 3rd overall pick in that draft. Conversely, TP regressed this year and was very inconsistent. At times we saw glimpses of the guy who lit up Oregon in the Rose Bowl, but in the biggest games TP faltered and was not impressive (especially that putrid performance against Wisconsin).
The only way TP will ever have a chance of making it as a QB in the NFL is if he is able to finally make that jump to a VY level. He has the tools and has shown flashes of the ability. Now, he needs to continue to improve his consistency and work on making better reads. He has the ability to have that VY style transcendent season.
If he doesn’t do that he will be a low draft pick who is immediately forced to learn a new position (WR), where he may or may not pan out.
Also, remember the NCAA is almost sure to reduce the 5 game penalty to 3-4 games. If TP is back in time for MIchigan State, Ohio State could easily make a National Title run next year (especially in what will be a terrible Big Ten East—PSU is in flux, Wisconsin loses everybody including 1 or both coordinators, and Purdue and Indiana are the two worst teams in the Big Ten. In fact, if the fighting Zookers can’t make a run at a BTE divisional crown next year, they never will.
facepalm
Wisconsin loses everybody.
Wow. Talk about making off-the-cuff, hopelessly WRONG statements like that…
Here’s who’s leaving Wisconsin, at least, those players that contributed in some way this past year.
QB Scott Tolzien
None of the RBs
WR Isaac Anderson (meh), WR David Gilreath (meh), and WR Kyle Jefferson (triple meh, never started since 07)
TE Lance Kendricks (big loss, but Wisconsin can get good TEs)
LT Gabe Carimi (Joe Thomas 2.0. Wisconsin can move Oglesby or Wagner to LT.)
LG John Moffitt (big loss again, but Wisconsin can get good offensive linemen)
backup OL Bill Nagy (started 12 games in the place of other linemen)
Defense:
Barring Watt going pro ( and Watt going pro is very unlikely given current NFL labor status), the entire DL group returns.
LB Culmer St. Jean (definitely a loss, probably Sunday player)
LB Blake Sorensen (wasn’t really meant to start until Borland left)
S Jay Valai (hard hitter, but very occasionally a liability in coverage)
CB Niles Brinkley (liability in coverage, but occasionally made opponents pay for targeting his receiver)
In a nutshell…
Wisconsin loses the most accurate QB in the nation, perhaps the most explosive TE in the conference, one of their starting WRs (Anderson was bumped to the bench in favor or True Frosh Jared Abbrederis), and the left side of their offensive line. On defense, Wisconsin loses two LBs, one of their starting safeties, and a cornerback. Dave Doeren took the NIU job.
I would hardly call that losing everyone, but you’re a Minnesota fan, so I can expect this sort of trash talk. That doesn’t mean I can respect it.
To get punished by the NCAA nowadays, especially if you’re at a major school, you have to be monumentally stupid. -ReadingRambler
by OBrienSchofieldismyHero on Dec 25, 2010 5:50 PM CST up reply actions
You seriously don't believe
that none of the juniors like Watt and Clay are going to bolt early?
I ate the blue ones ... they taste like burning.
Watt has said he's staying
One of his younger brothers is joining the team next year, and he strikes me as the type that would look forward to that and value having a degree.
Clay honestly might be better served by leaving early; he’s proven injury prone and is arguably starting to be overshadowed by Ball and White. But with those two, how bad will the Badgers really miss Clay?
He's said no such thing
In fact, he’s downplayed the role the labor status uncertainty will play in his decision:
“It sounds like there is going to be a lockout; you just don’t know how long it’s going to last,” Watt said. “So you kind have to go in with the mind-set that we have to attack it just like there is no lockout because we can’t control it.Most seem to be taking it for granted that he’ll leave.”If you feel like you’re strong enough, either way you’re going to have to go out. So we’ll see."
It was a great selection of awesome.
Clay's 920 yards rushing was extremely impressive.
Come on, man, he missed 3 games too many to be considered a good NFL prospect. Clay returns next year, White or Ball gets redshirted to make room for Zach Brown, and chaos ensues.
To get punished by the NCAA nowadays, especially if you’re at a major school, you have to be monumentally stupid. -ReadingRambler
by OBrienSchofieldismyHero on Dec 26, 2010 6:51 PM CST up reply actions
Jeff Lewis will also push hard for playing time next year
The coaches have raved about his work on the scout team. With White, Ball, Brown, and Lewis all deserving carries, it’s not hard to imagine Clay going pro.
It was a great selection of awesome.
I never said it was true
Did I? I never said it was proved, all I said was that Gene Smith said this in the press conference, and that was the question he was asking.
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by Ian_InsideTheShoe on Dec 25, 2010 10:17 PM CST up reply actions
Perfect picture of Pryor
That picture is a perfect picture of Pryor’s throwing mechanics: Leaning back, slow release, and soon to be off-target wounded-duck. Can’t wait to be rid of this loser.
HIs 30-4 record says otherwise. Call him a lot of things, but loser isn't one of them.
"So put 2 on, put 10 on, WHAT DO YOU CARE IT'S NOT LIKE YOU'RE PAYIN' FOR 'EM!!!!?"
-Doug Heffernan, in regards to Arthur and his stamp needs
Just the range of emotion Pryor brings out in people
When he delayed his decision it pissed a lot of people off, but they were happy when he eventually chose OSU over PSU, because he was Superman and Vince Young rolled into one.
Because of that reputation, everyone wanted him to supplant Boeckman, but weren’t happy that he played like a freshman and not Superman, and by the end of the year they were mad that Tressel didn’t play Boeckman more because he was a senior and he would’ve beat Penn State.
After the ugly loss to Purdue, Tressel takes the ball out of TP’s hands and everyone thinks he should become a wide receiver, until he becomes the Rose Bowl MVP.
Now this. Yeah, it’s his stuff, and people who say he should be able to do with his stuff as he pleases as long as he’s not breaking any ‘real’ laws have a point, but it’s what that stuff represents to many OSU fans. It represents something bigger than himself, and many OSU fans wish that this guy could embrace OSU, but it’s like he’s kept it at arm’s length, for whatever reason.
It’s ridiculous to compare him to Clarett, just as it’s ridiculous to compare him to Troy Smith. He’s always going to be an enigma to Ohio State fans.
A very successful enigma who fans some fans think could’ve been even more successful, but an an enigma nonetheless.
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"A parent's only as good as their dumbest kid. If one wins a Nobel Prize but the other gets robbed by a hooker, you failed."
Odd that you should call him that
http://www.insidetheshoe.com/2010/12/terrelle-pryor-enigma.html
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by Ian_InsideTheShoe on Dec 26, 2010 1:48 PM CST up reply actions
Pure coincidence, I promise
But it seems to be a common theme with Pryor and how fans view him.
Almost apathetic.
The Daily Norseman
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SB Nation Minnesota
"A parent's only as good as their dumbest kid. If one wins a Nobel Prize but the other gets robbed by a hooker, you failed."
Apathy is death.
To get punished by the NCAA nowadays, especially if you’re at a major school, you have to be monumentally stupid. -ReadingRambler
by OBrienSchofieldismyHero on Dec 26, 2010 6:51 PM CST up reply actions
I'm sorry, but can you expect him to have all that much loyalty to the school?
He’s only there as the next step to his pro career. If he could forego it completely and get drafted, he would. I guarantee he would bolt without thinking if he was going to be first rounder, and I can’t blame him.
"I bet that sex Bengals fan is really pissed now." -DT3428
Fair point
But other guys from humble circumstances—Troy Smith, Eddie George, to name just two—had a lot higher NFL stock and have still shown a love and fealty to OSU that’s been missing in Pryor.
And that’s why their loved back. We get that in the 21st century, a kid coming out of high school is more mercenerial than his counterparts from just 10 years earlier, but would it kill him to at least acknowledge how important traditions are at a school like OSU?
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"A parent's only as good as their dumbest kid. If one wins a Nobel Prize but the other gets robbed by a hooker, you failed."
by Ted Glover on Dec 26, 2010 2:01 PM CST up reply actions 1 recs
The guys who have that super loyalty are usually guys who have scarlet and gray running through their family lines.
I mean, think about it. Pryor’s final choices were Penn State, Michigan and OSU. He isn’t exactly a Buckeye by birth. Archie Griffin’s kid (first name escapes me,) on the other hand, will probably have that fierce sense of loyalty because he’s always been a Buckeye at heart (Jesus, that sounds corny, but it’s true) and he isn’t just at OSU because it makes sense for him to build his draft stock there.
"I bet that sex Bengals fan is really pissed now." -DT3428
Adam Griffin is the kid's name
But I see your point
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by Ian_InsideTheShoe on Dec 26, 2010 4:31 PM CST up reply actions
I think this probably helps Ohio State
they are a team so loaded with talent each year that for them to be out of the MNC picture so early in each season in which Pryor has been there is suprising. Now they can develop the next group and let this guy go do whatever it is he’s going to do—which I could see being something like) 4th round draft choice as a QB by Oakland; b) switch of positions in 3rd year (don’t ask me what position though); c) quits football to play pro basketball in D league in Ohio; d) then plays pro basketball in Turkey; e) returns to football in Canadian or United Football League; f) becomes hanger oner; g) is cast in a reality TV show starring ex-quasi-athletes; h) opens tattoo parlor in Columbus; i) inducted into Ohio State Hall of Fame.
"I wish you luck with a capital 'F'" - The Real Elvis.
Braxton Miller Era
Tressel wouldn’t be very smart to use those two first cupcakes to see what the soon-to-be freshman has
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by Ian_InsideTheShoe on Dec 26, 2010 7:46 PM CST up reply actions
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