My Imaginary Sit Down with Terrelle Pryor

All The Pressure of Being #1

Super athlete and #1 rated high school football player in the country by just about every possible scouting agency Terrelle Pryor has certainly enjoyed the spotlight placed on him this football season. The quarterback from Jeannette has drawn favorable comparisons to former Texas star Vince Young and has been recruited by nearly every school in the country. During this process Pryor has made some interesting statements, actions and decisions that make you wonder about the huge pressure and demands placed on an 18 year old kid.

First, let me say that I in no way would ever like to be in these kids shoes as they get pulled in every direction by reporters, coaches, fans and anyone else just trying to get a piece of the next big thing.

What I have realized most by watching the “Pryor-Mania” storm through Western Pennsylvania this season is that these kids are out on an island with no one to help. The main thing that these kids need is proper guidance. Based on what I have seen from watching Terrelle this season is he either not getting much or not listening to the advice and guidance that he does get. Towards the end of the recruiting process he grabbed Charlie Batch and asked for his help with the process, but unfortunately the damage was already done. Even the great person that Charlie Batch is, who has probably done more in the area than any other Pittsburgh Steeler in terms of giving back, is fighting an uphill battle in this recruiting battle.

I am not saying any of this or criticizing Pryor because he has no interest in going to play football for my beloved Pitt Panther. As a matter of fact, I agree with him not wanting to go to Pitt, despite his father, who is a lifelong Panthers fans’ wishes. With the huge media hype that has surrounded Pryor over the past 12 months I think it is best that he go elsewhere for the next part of his life. I also have almost no faith in the Panthers offensive coaching staff being able to use his incredible athletic ability to its fullest extent. It is little things like that though that I feel Pryor hasn’t closely examined during his recruiting process. Based on some of his comments and decisions thus far, I am right.

Let’s look at a few things here regarding his recruiting. First, Pryor should be looking for coaches that have coached a QB in the past with his type of ability. With a player with that much talent it doesn’t make much sense to play in Pro-Style offense. So, the coaches you look for are coaches that either already run a spread style running offense or a find a coach that is dynamic and versatile enough to change his style to fit the style of a player like Pryor.

SCHOOLS/COACHES THAT FIT THAT MOLD:

Florida - Urban Meyer is an offensive genius and if it wasn’t for Tim Tebow still having two more years of eligibility you would have to believe the Gators would have been right there in the Pryor sweepstakes.

Oregon - Look no further than what Dennis Dixon did this past season for the Ducks.

Texas – Uh, Vince Young…He turned out pretty good under those coaches.

West Virginia – Oh wait, Rodriguez went north to…

Michigan – The man who basically invented this current style of spread offense back in his days at Glenville State College and built the Mountaineers high powered attack no in the Big house has to be enticing.

Ohio State – They win, they play a spread offense and they produce NFL players; three of the things that Pryor should be looking for in his college choice.

LSU – See Ohio State (but they win more, and against Ohio State).

I mention these schools primarily because these school are also ones that have peaked the interest of Pryor throughout the recruiting process with the likes of Tennessee, Duke, Pitt and Penn State.

Pryor has also said he wants to play in front of big crowds, exit Duke and Pitt.

Tennessee was of interest due to offensive coordinator David Cutliff who took the head-coaching job at Duke, hence the interest there. The odd thing about that is that Cutliff is best known for coaching lead-footed quarterbacks Peyton and Eli Manning and Erik Ainge. He never coached anyone with any mobility, which makes you wonder what attracted Pryor to him in the first place.

Moving on to the rest of the candidates.

Now that I have narrowed down the list of schools in contention for Pryor over the next 3+ years, I will be his much need guidance as he makes the biggest decision of his life.

First things first, pick a sport. Everyone knows that you are an All-State basketball player and you could probably go and play just about anywhere you want on the hardwood as well, but in this day and age you can’t be a star on both teams, that ended about 15 years ago with Charlie Ward. Now if you want to play hoops in college it is quite simple, go to Pitt (what, you thought I’d give up on that possibility?). Since you want to play football, lets move on.

Lets breakdown the schools and coaches that you have been considering or have mentioned in this process.

PENN STATE:
Great, legendary coach, but he and his coaches are too old school for you to develop into the player you are capable of with your talents. Penn State is a school where quarterbacks go to play defense, and with the 100 yard INT return in the state semi-final game JoePa was licking his chops. Honestly though, the offensive guru’s up there had Michael Robinson playing behind Zach Mills for three years. A Zach Mills who digressed every year there. When Michael Robinson FINALLY got a chance all he did was win Big Ten player of the Year and take the team to the Orange Bowl.

On the bright side, if you went to State College and JoePa let you play hoops, you would immediately become the best player in a Penn State uniform to ever play at the Bryce Jordan Center.

OREGON:
Look at what Dennis Dixon did running Mike Bellotti’s high-powered spread offense. Plus, he was a senior as was the youngest son, Brady, of the prolific quarterback family, the Leafs’. The starting spot this fall is all but yours if you head west. Plus, can you say, “FREE NIKE GEAR!?”

LSU:
Guess what winning the National Title gets you, a chance at the top high school player in the country. It also doesn’t hurt to have the offensive coordinator and QB coach that recruited and coached Dennis Dixon at Oregon before leaving for LSU. Who wouldn’t want to play ball in the best conference in the nation, for the only team to win multiple BCS titles?

PITT: (Told you I wasn’t giving up hope)
The talent in the recent recruiting class has to have at least gotten you to look in Pitt’s direction, right? How else do you explain meeting with Coach Wannestedt two weekends ago? Plus, living in Pittsburgh you should know how us yinzers never forget our heroes. Look at a typical Pitt football season; they honor Dorsett, Ditka and Marino at least once every season. If you won at Pitt you would be bigger than all of them. Let’s for one-minute think about the possibility of Cavanaugh actually being able to use you to the maximum of your ability. Think about the weapons you would have over the next few years to work with. Shady McCoy in the backfield plus a huge, fast target at WR in Jonathan Baldwin, scary!

Okay, now for the big boys, the favorites, the front of the pack, the leaders in the clubhouse to win your services in college, Michigan and the Ohio State University.

MICHIGAN:
Michigan was not on the radar at all until December 16th, when Rich Rodriguez broke the news to the nation he was leaving West Virginia to take the Michigan job through Terrelle Pryor. Personally, someone that tells a high school recruit before he tells his players this kind of information doesn’t register real high on my moral scale, but that is for another blog. The bottom line is Rodriguez and this offense is a winner, it has been everywhere he has taken it. Rodriguez has also emptied the cupboard of quarterbacks in Ann Arbor trying to get you there, so you know you will be the starter from day one as a Wolverine. The problem is he will never win the big game with the gimmick offense and defense that he runs, which means he will never win the National Championship. Which also means he may be run out of Michigan before you are finished there.

THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY:
Never doubt the recruiting power of the sweater vest. Jim Tressel has produced a Heisman winner and the best regular season in D1 football the past two seasons. Which means with you or without you he is going to win. You may be the missing link though to winning the big prize which has avoided the Buckeyes the past two January’s. As for talent surrounding you, Ohio State is in the process of putting together another Top 5 recruiting class, once again getting the best players money can buy.

When it all comes down to it, since you seem set on one of these two schools, I think the best choice for you is Ohio State. Good Luck in Columbus!