Anyone questioning Pryor in the Texas game should read this....

[Don Unverferth]

Circling Back On Pryor
January 20, 2009 · Clevelandfan.com

There's not a lot to be said about the OSU-Texas game in the Fiesta Bowl that Jesse and yours truly haven't already committed to pixels...but there is one (rather long-winded, as it turns out) thing to say.

Lots of OSU fans were scratching their heads that night over the performance of Buckeye freshman quarterback Terrelle Pryor in the game. For my part, I feel badly now about having questioned the intensity and attitude of Pryor in my post-game article, in light of what we learned from him after the game ended. And in my conversations with friends and others since the game, it's apparent that a lot of people, even staunch Buckeye rooters, never got the word. And it explains a lot.

And the word is that Terrelle Pryor played the entire Fiesta Bowl with a badly sprained right shoulder. He injured it in practice sometime in the days leading up to the game, and was quoted after the game as saying the injury "was pretty bad", and that he had "rolled it". Watching the game again (yeah...twice) it was obvious that the shoulder was bandaged or taped, causing his jersey to hang unevenly on him.

I suppose it's to Jim Tressel's credit that he didn't make a big issue out of it after the game, knowing that it would be perceived as a "loser's limp" and an excuse for a disappointing loss. And Pryor didn't dwell on it either, for that matter. The quotes above are about all he had to say about it afterwards.

Now, I've already done my abject apology to the kid here on the TCF discussion boards, for speculating that he may have been pouting about sharing time with Boeckman...or that he lacked sufficient understanding of the intensity required to play football in January. My concern resulted from being baffled by what I was seeing from Pryor, since it was 180 degrees from the kind of intensity we had seen throughout the season. Most glaring were the two or three occasions when he stepped out of bounds on scrambles when several yards of open field remained in front of him, even as the Longhorn defenders approached to lay a hit on him.

And I'm still concerned that there exists out in Buckeye Nation, and nationally as well, an undue perception of Pryor, based on the way he looked in this game, and on the fact that his injury was underreported, both regionally and nationally.

Because it is now clear that the injury was something the OSU coaches were well aware of, and that it was significant enough to require changes to the game plan, specifically Boeckman's increased role in the offensive scheme....something we had seen very rarely since Pryor became the starter in the fourth game. I think it's fair to say the coaches would have preferred not to signal to the opponent what the OSU play call was likely to be, based on which quarterback we had in the game. But Pryor's injury necessitated that signal. Because he simply couldn't throw the ball at all.

It also seems apparent in retrospect that Pryor was acting on instructions from his coaches to avoid unnecessary contact on the sidelines. And it should also be noted that he did not avoid the necessary contact at all. In the fourth quarter, with his team behind and his star running back sitting on the bench, Pryor was running option plays and QB draws down the middle of the field, racking up crucial yardage, and taking big shots from Texas defenders. In one of the Buckeyes' two fourth quarter TD drives, Pryor ripped off gains of 15 and 26 yards on designed rushing plays.

But it was his passing performance that should have been the telltale sign early on that something was physically wrong. Now I'll acknowledge that Pryor is not yet a polished passer as a true freshman (although no less an authority than Mack Brown has said he is light years ahead of where Vince Young was at this stage) but in his roughest passing performances of the season, he had not been this ineffective throwing the ball. In fact, the coaches hardly allowed him the chances to throw the ball, bringing in Boeckman in most every obvious passing situation.

The other two points that I have repeatedly made to critics of Pryor's passing prowess in 2008 are a) that Pryor was spoon-fed his introduction to the passing phase of the OSU offense as the season went along, permitted by play-calling to make just 15 pass attempts per game, an average that dropped to just 12 attempts per game in his last three starts....and b) that the level of sophistication in the OSU passing scheme is somewhere south of your average high school offense. It's an attack that could make Colt McCoy look average. I won't even blame average OSU receivers, because Cosby and Shipley for Texas aren't Michael Crabtree either, and McCoy went off for 414 yards.

Even more of a factor than coaching or passing schemes is simple game experience. Two short years ago these same two teams met in Austin, and the freshman Longhorn quarterback was sacked, harassed, picked off, and completely stymied, scoring just seven points in a decisive 24-7 win for the Buckeyes and their two-year starter Troy Smith. And I don't remember anyone writing off Colt McCoy's career on the basis of that game.

In the two weeks days since the Fiesta Bowl, I've heard OSU fans say Pryor is a "coach killer"...or that he'll never make it as a top college quarterback because he's not a good enough passer...or that he'll fail because he can't read defenses...and so on. As often happens, these people either didn't watch much of Pryor's first nine starts, or are simply bearing the imprint of the last guy to sit on them, basing way too much of their opinion on what they saw on January 5th. And to a man they were completely in the dark a week or more later about Pryor's injury.

That didn't seem quite fair to a young man who sucked it up and played hurt, gained 104 yards in positive rushing yardage, caught a touchdown pass, and came within an eyelash of beating a top five team, and all with a painful injury to his passing arm. Knowing that doesn't make the sting of losing the game go away. But it does help us understand what we saw that night, and why we saw it
The good thing for those of us who truly believe in Pryor's abilities is that we have a couple years to still see him in S&G. He'll have plenty of time to turn the small amount of whiners into a bevy of believers.

[bluefan]

So injury excuses are OK for uos pussies but not UM's men? Can't have it both ways, assclown. Shocking that a ohio paper breaks this but no one else has heard a peep about it. Doesn't matter either way. You dipshits don't want to hear a syllable out of us about injuries, why in the hell would you think we'd be any different?

[BBA1994]

TP must have had a sprained shoulder all season. How else could you explain the impotent noodle arm he had all season long?

[bigboyBlue]

So injury excuses are OK for uos pussies but not UM's men? Can't have it both ways, assclown.

And that is all that needs to be said. Its the last game of the season, bite the bullet, take the damn hit, and get that extra yard. Pryor didn't almost beat Texas, the OSU defense did.

[Don Unverferth]

So injury excuses are OK for uos pussies but not UM's men? Can't have it both ways, assclown. Shocking that a ohio paper breaks this but no one else has heard a peep about it. Doesn't matter either way. You dipshits don't want to hear a syllable out of us about injuries, why in the hell would you think we'd be any different?

It's been discussed a lot ass wipe. Tress and tOSU program didn't make the injury public.

[BBA1994]

There was no injury. Just another example of tressy making more excuses. As long as tuos fans keep buying what he's selling, they will be happy.

[Don Unverferth]

TP must have had a sprained shoulder all season. How else could you explain the impotent noodle arm he had all season long?

Anyone that didn't think something was wrong hadn't watched him play all year. He went from one of the toughest players on the field to a person who seemed to be shying away.

With a good shoulder, Pryor stiffarms the sh*t out of a few of those Texas defenders instead of going out of bounds.

[GoDeepHammer]

Anyone that didn't think something was wrong hadn't watched him play all year. He went from one of the toughest players on the field to a person who seemed to be shying away.

With a good shoulder, Pryor stiffarms the sh*t out of a few of those Texas defenders instead of going out of bounds.

If, If, If, I guess it only matters when a osu player is hurt.

I find if laughable that now this comes out. I don't think that this made a differnce for Hart (ankle), Henne (Shoulder) in their last game. I don't remember osu giving any slack on that game. The difference between the two was that Michigan's injuries were know prior to the game and this excuse comes out a month late.

[michAGAIN]

Don, I'm certainly glad you posted this. I was one of those critical fools that faulted TP for a very poor performance in the Texas game. Now that I know the truth, he has truly become an inspiration for me. I haven't posted for awhile because of a small paper cut on my thumb, but now........wow, I'll post thru the pain, just like TP. Just think, if he had been healthy, tUOS would have won by, perhaps, a field goal. I must also give kudos to Tressel. What moxie and cunning for Tressel to play a crippled quarterback when he actually had a healthy senior quarterback sitting on the sidelines.
I must admit that I now feel that Ted Ginn Jr. was a total wuss for sitting out the 2006 BCS game after he broke his ankle on the touchdown run.
Again Don, thanks for that inspiring story. I hope TP recovers before Tressel runs out and finds a new freshman quarterback to replace him.

[Don Unverferth]

Don, I'm certainly glad you posted this. I was one of those critical fools that faulted TP for a very poor performance in the Texas game. Now that I know the truth, he has truly become an inspiration for me. I haven't posted for awhile because of a small paper cut on my thumb, but now........wow, I'll post thru the pain, just like TP. Just think, if he had been healthy, tUOS would have won by, perhaps, a field goal. I must also give kudos to Tressel. What moxie and cunning for Tressel to play a crippled quarterback when he actually had a healthy senior quarterback sitting on the sidelines.
I must admit that I now feel that Ted Ginn Jr. was a total wuss for sitting out the 2006 BCS game after he broke his ankle on the touchdown run.
Again Don, thanks for that inspiring story. I hope TP recovers before Tressel runs out and finds a new freshman quarterback to replace him.

Thanks michAGAIN for the apology. And sorry about your paper cut. However I believe we would have won by 7 if Pryor was healthy, not just by 3. I seem to recall Boeckman getting quite a few reps in that game as well, maybe you didn't watch the game.?

[rickyleach]

don ,what a bunch of horse tressel that is , you ohio state fans are such idiots , excuse after excuse , thats the ohio state way , we had guys hurt all last season and didnt use excuses like you morons ,you cant have it both ways unless your talkin about tressel takin it up the A HOLE AGAIN , TRESSELS A BACK STABBIN COACH WHO SHIIIITS ALL OVER HIS PLAYERS , BOEKMEN PLAYS IN THE LAST GAME AND YOU GUYS THINK TRESSEL IS A CLASS GUY FOR IT, NO TRESSEL IS THE ONE WHO FUUCKED HIM OVER , LIKE HE DID ROBBIE , ANTONIO ,JUSTIN AND THE LIST WILL GO ON, THE ONLY REASON HE USED PRYOR AS A STARTER MOST OF THE YEAR ,IS BECAUSE OF ALUM PRESSURE AND YOUR BOY DIDNT HAVE THE BALLS TO SAY NO , INSTEAD IT WAS EASIER TO FUUCK YOUR SENIOR QB, WHAT A SPERM CELL TRESSEL IS , AND THATS YOUR IDOL

[bigboyBlue]

OSU is a graveyard for QBs who want a future, period. Suckeyes haven't pumped out one decent NFL-caliber QB, I have no idea why Pryor thought gee, these guys make me can throw. I'd love to hear the story Tressel is selling these kids.

Hopefully Boyd and Gardner (next year) don't similarly screw up their futures. Maybe if they show up to practice and see Pryor running around as a WR...

[rickyleach]

Im sorry don ,let me add one more thing , the game has been over for 3 weeks and not one word of that horsesshhhit from anyone in c/bus or any local talk radio show , and you expect us to believe that crap , next thing you know your going to tell us your entire team was injured, you are one gulllllible person

[blueisbetterthanred]

Next thing you know an article will come out that tressel raised himself from the dead to "almost!" coach his team to victory... again.

If this was solid it would have come out LONG before now. I could write a nice opinion piece too and post it as fact.

[rickyleach]

Don thank god im not you ,because if i were i sure as hell wouldnt admit to believing that garbage, herbie ,robert smith mark the shark on 1460 the fan and your boy spielman have never said one word of that and im sure they know far more then some knitwit in cleveland. My god ,how stupid is that shhhit..

[Silver Bullet]

So injury excuses are OK for uos pussies but not UM's men? Can't have it both ways, assclown. Shocking that a ohio paper breaks this but no one else has heard a peep about it. Doesn't matter either way. You dipshits don't want to hear a syllable out of us about injuries, why in the hell would you think we'd be any different?

Exactly. Everyone knows that Um looses games because of referees not injuries. Ask any Um fan.........

[Silver Bullet]

Exactly. Everyone knows that Um looses games because of referees not injuries. Ask any Um fan.........

.....or bomb-sniffing dogs. Forgot about the dogs.

[rickyleach]

on a national level ,no team in college football has as many excuses as ohio state, to bad you cant sit back and listen to yourselves for once , you are still the laughing stock of college football and you still wont believe it. tressels winning percentage against winning teams is around 6.35, and that includes the 7 wins against michigan ,so looking at it that way he really doesnt beat anyone worth a shhit, unless your talkin youngstown state, cause your boy always puts them on the schedule.. the fact that you say pryor was hurt and still played, is funny as hell, oh yahhh, lets roll pryor out and make him run or better yet because he is hurt lets send him out for a pass , or better yet we have a complete healthy qb on the sidelines that led us to the title game last season , we better keep him on the bench most of the game.. tressel needs to practice what he preaches, put the best player in that gives our team the best chance to win, oh i guess he forgot that too..

[Don Unverferth]

I respect the class of tOSU especially Tressel and Pryor for not using his injury as an excuse post game. Of course, they were going to keep it quiet pre game, but many lesser men (Michigan) surely would have pulled out the "injured" card when discussing the final results.

[bigboyBlue]

but many lesser men (Michigan) surely would have pulled out the "injured" card when discussing the final results.

So after starting this thread with that cranky title, you're back to thinking that using the injured card makes you a 'lesser' man? Tool.

[bigboyBlue]

Actually now that I think about it, Tressy probably didn't tell anyone to save his skin. I would have been mad as hell to learn that an injured QB who could barely throw when healthy and couldn't afford to take hits even though he was only a threat as a runner, was starting over one who lead the team to an NC game the previous year. Wierd.

[cartyboi]

His injured arm sure reached up and caught that touchdown pass well enough.

[Mich97c]

I wonder if he hurt it when he was reaching for cash from a booster. Or maybe filing false police reports about his stolen car stero. Or was he bitch slapped by a $10 hooker for only having $9.50.

[pryorthrowslikeagirl]

this thread rationalized nothing, congrats dbag, now i just think tressel is a worse of a coach than i already did for not starting beckman. Considering he hadnt played a game in like two months id love to know how he "sprained his shoulder" and how that made him "throw like a pussy". people have been questioning his mechanics since he came out of highschool, nothing new here.

[Voleye]

I hope he was hurt. But the passes he threw looked an awefull lot like the passes he threw when they played Penn State. He puts a lot of air under the ball. I know he is a freshman. But there is a lot of room for improvement in his passing game.

[pryorthrowslikeagirl]

I hope he was hurt. But the passes he threw looked an awefull lot like the passes he threw when they played Penn State. He puts a lot of air under the ball. I know he is a freshman. But there is a lot of room for improvement in his passing game.

An unbiased realistic buckeye fan........:eek: maybe you trolls should take note, they do exist.

[bigboyBlue]

In all seriousness though, what is the depth situation at QB after TPryor? I know Boyd committed to Clemson.

[byebyelloyd]

Circling Back On Pryor
January 20, 2009 · Clevelandfan.com

There's not a lot to be said about the OSU-Texas game in the Fiesta Bowl that Jesse and yours truly haven't already committed to pixels...but there is one (rather long-winded, as it turns out) thing to say.

Lots of OSU fans were scratching their heads that night over the performance of Buckeye freshman quarterback Terrelle Pryor in the game. For my part, I feel badly now about having questioned the intensity and attitude of Pryor in my post-game article, in light of what we learned from him after the game ended. And in my conversations with friends and others since the game, it's apparent that a lot of people, even staunch Buckeye rooters, never got the word. And it explains a lot.

And the word is that Terrelle Pryor played the entire Fiesta Bowl with a badly sprained right shoulder. He injured it in practice sometime in the days leading up to the game, and was quoted after the game as saying the injury "was pretty bad", and that he had "rolled it". Watching the game again (yeah...twice) it was obvious that the shoulder was bandaged or taped, causing his jersey to hang unevenly on him.

I suppose it's to Jim Tressel's credit that he didn't make a big issue out of it after the game, knowing that it would be perceived as a "loser's limp" and an excuse for a disappointing loss. And Pryor didn't dwell on it either, for that matter. The quotes above are about all he had to say about it afterwards.

Now, I've already done my abject apology to the kid here on the TCF discussion boards, for speculating that he may have been pouting about sharing time with Boeckman...or that he lacked sufficient understanding of the intensity required to play football in January. My concern resulted from being baffled by what I was seeing from Pryor, since it was 180 degrees from the kind of intensity we had seen throughout the season. Most glaring were the two or three occasions when he stepped out of bounds on scrambles when several yards of open field remained in front of him, even as the Longhorn defenders approached to lay a hit on him.

And I'm still concerned that there exists out in Buckeye Nation, and nationally as well, an undue perception of Pryor, based on the way he looked in this game, and on the fact that his injury was underreported, both regionally and nationally.

Because it is now clear that the injury was something the OSU coaches were well aware of, and that it was significant enough to require changes to the game plan, specifically Boeckman's increased role in the offensive scheme....something we had seen very rarely since Pryor became the starter in the fourth game. I think it's fair to say the coaches would have preferred not to signal to the opponent what the OSU play call was likely to be, based on which quarterback we had in the game. But Pryor's injury necessitated that signal. Because he simply couldn't throw the ball at all.

It also seems apparent in retrospect that Pryor was acting on instructions from his coaches to avoid unnecessary contact on the sidelines. And it should also be noted that he did not avoid the necessary contact at all. In the fourth quarter, with his team behind and his star running back sitting on the bench, Pryor was running option plays and QB draws down the middle of the field, racking up crucial yardage, and taking big shots from Texas defenders. In one of the Buckeyes' two fourth quarter TD drives, Pryor ripped off gains of 15 and 26 yards on designed rushing plays.

But it was his passing performance that should have been the telltale sign early on that something was physically wrong. Now I'll acknowledge that Pryor is not yet a polished passer as a true freshman (although no less an authority than Mack Brown has said he is light years ahead of where Vince Young was at this stage) but in his roughest passing performances of the season, he had not been this ineffective throwing the ball. In fact, the coaches hardly allowed him the chances to throw the ball, bringing in Boeckman in most every obvious passing situation.

The other two points that I have repeatedly made to critics of Pryor's passing prowess in 2008 are a) that Pryor was spoon-fed his introduction to the passing phase of the OSU offense as the season went along, permitted by play-calling to make just 15 pass attempts per game, an average that dropped to just 12 attempts per game in his last three starts....and b) that the level of sophistication in the OSU passing scheme is somewhere south of your average high school offense. It's an attack that could make Colt McCoy look average. I won't even blame average OSU receivers, because Cosby and Shipley for Texas aren't Michael Crabtree either, and McCoy went off for 414 yards.

Even more of a factor than coaching or passing schemes is simple game experience. Two short years ago these same two teams met in Austin, and the freshman Longhorn quarterback was sacked, harassed, picked off, and completely stymied, scoring just seven points in a decisive 24-7 win for the Buckeyes and their two-year starter Troy Smith. And I don't remember anyone writing off Colt McCoy's career on the basis of that game.

In the two weeks days since the Fiesta Bowl, I've heard OSU fans say Pryor is a "coach killer"...or that he'll never make it as a top college quarterback because he's not a good enough passer...or that he'll fail because he can't read defenses...and so on. As often happens, these people either didn't watch much of Pryor's first nine starts, or are simply bearing the imprint of the last guy to sit on them, basing way too much of their opinion on what they saw on January 5th. And to a man they were completely in the dark a week or more later about Pryor's injury.

That didn't seem quite fair to a young man who sucked it up and played hurt, gained 104 yards in positive rushing yardage, caught a touchdown pass, and came within an eyelash of beating a top five team, and all with a painful injury to his passing arm. Knowing that doesn't make the sting of losing the game go away. But it does help us understand what we saw that night, and why we saw it
The good thing for those of us who truly believe in Pryor's abilities is that we have a couple years to still see him in S&G. He'll have plenty of time to turn the small amount of whiners into a bevy of believers.



big deal, his pussy was hurting. maybe he should look into different tampons. 1osupussy could give pointers if you can't.

[The Michigan Man]

All we heard from the tUOS trolls during the injuries to Hart and Henne were "quit whining and play". Now your making excuses for TP in the Texas game? Don't look for sympathy in here.

[Don Unverferth]

All we heard from the tUOS trolls during the injuries to Hart and Henne were "quit whining and play". Now your making excuses for TP in the Texas game? Don't look for sympathy in here.

C'mon. All we heard was that with Hart and Henne healthy the outcome of the UM vs.OSU game would have been different. Short memory. I'm not saying that the outcome of the Fiesta Bowl would have been different but this injury to Pryor helps explain some of his actions during the game that were not typical and why Boeckman was in on many passing plays.

[bigboyBlue]

C'mon. All we heard was that with Hart and Henne healthy the outcome of the UM vs.OSU game would have been different. Short memory. I'm not saying that the outcome of the Fiesta Bowl would have been different but this injury to Pryor helps explain some of his actions during the game that were not typical and why Boeckman was in on many passing plays.

But. but...


Thanks michAGAIN for the apology. And sorry about your paper cut. However I believe we would have won by 7 if Pryor was healthy, not just by 3. I seem to recall Boeckman getting quite a few reps in that game as well, maybe you didn't watch the game.?

And he digs in deeper and deeper....which one is it tool?

[Don Unverferth]

In all seriousness though, what is the depth situation at QB after TPryor? I know Boyd committed to Clemson.

Joe Bauserman will back up Pryor.

Tress also has Orhian Johnson, Zach Domicone and Rocco Pentello who played QB in H.S.

[Silver Bullet]

Joe Bauserman will back up Pryor.

Tress also has Orhian Johnson, Zach Domicone and Rocco Pentello who played QB in H.S.

In other words, our depth summed up in one word would be: sh!tty.

[Mich97c]

Joe Bauserman will back up Pryor.



Is your avatar a picture of Bauserman? Cuz that dude is f-ing old....

[Don Unverferth]

But. but...


Thanks michAGAIN for the apology. And sorry about your paper cut. However I believe we would have won by 7 if Pryor was healthy, not just by 3. I seem to recall Boeckman getting quite a few reps in that game as well, maybe you didn't watch the game.?


And he digs in deeper and deeper....which one is it tool?

Obviously you didn't appreciate the humor and sarcasm. Dumb ass!

[Don Unverferth]

In other words, our depth summed up in one word would be: sh!tty.

I prefer to say that we do not have as much depth as we've had in the past. :)

[cartyboi]

It doesn't matter how much depth OSU has at QB... They will play Pryor even if he gets his throwing arm amputated and has 2 broken legs.

[bigboyBlue]

In other words, our depth summed up in one word would be: sh!tty.

Any other big QB targets left for you guys in this class? Just wondering if, given Pryors injury and the lack of depth, Tressel will hold him back from running more to avoid contact.

[Swoosh]

Circling Back On Pryor
January 20, 2009 · Clevelandfan.com

There's not a lot to be said about the OSU-Texas game in the Fiesta Bowl that Jesse and yours truly haven't already committed to pixels...but there is one (rather long-winded, as it turns out) thing to say.

Lots of OSU fans were scratching their heads that night over the performance of Buckeye freshman quarterback Terrelle Pryor in the game. For my part, I feel badly now about having questioned the intensity and attitude of Pryor in my post-game article, in light of what we learned from him after the game ended. And in my conversations with friends and others since the game, it's apparent that a lot of people, even staunch Buckeye rooters, never got the word. And it explains a lot.

And the word is that Terrelle Pryor played the entire Fiesta Bowl with a badly sprained right shoulder. He injured it in practice sometime in the days leading up to the game, and was quoted after the game as saying the injury "was pretty bad", and that he had "rolled it". Watching the game again (yeah...twice) it was obvious that the shoulder was bandaged or taped, causing his jersey to hang unevenly on him.

I suppose it's to Jim Tressel's credit that he didn't make a big issue out of it after the game, knowing that it would be perceived as a "loser's limp" and an excuse for a disappointing loss. And Pryor didn't dwell on it either, for that matter. The quotes above are about all he had to say about it afterwards.

Now, I've already done my abject apology to the kid here on the TCF discussion boards, for speculating that he may have been pouting about sharing time with Boeckman...or that he lacked sufficient understanding of the intensity required to play football in January. My concern resulted from being baffled by what I was seeing from Pryor, since it was 180 degrees from the kind of intensity we had seen throughout the season. Most glaring were the two or three occasions when he stepped out of bounds on scrambles when several yards of open field remained in front of him, even as the Longhorn defenders approached to lay a hit on him.

And I'm still concerned that there exists out in Buckeye Nation, and nationally as well, an undue perception of Pryor, based on the way he looked in this game, and on the fact that his injury was underreported, both regionally and nationally.

Because it is now clear that the injury was something the OSU coaches were well aware of, and that it was significant enough to require changes to the game plan, specifically Boeckman's increased role in the offensive scheme....something we had seen very rarely since Pryor became the starter in the fourth game. I think it's fair to say the coaches would have preferred not to signal to the opponent what the OSU play call was likely to be, based on which quarterback we had in the game. But Pryor's injury necessitated that signal. Because he simply couldn't throw the ball at all.

It also seems apparent in retrospect that Pryor was acting on instructions from his coaches to avoid unnecessary contact on the sidelines. And it should also be noted that he did not avoid the necessary contact at all. In the fourth quarter, with his team behind and his star running back sitting on the bench, Pryor was running option plays and QB draws down the middle of the field, racking up crucial yardage, and taking big shots from Texas defenders. In one of the Buckeyes' two fourth quarter TD drives, Pryor ripped off gains of 15 and 26 yards on designed rushing plays.

But it was his passing performance that should have been the telltale sign early on that something was physically wrong. Now I'll acknowledge that Pryor is not yet a polished passer as a true freshman (although no less an authority than Mack Brown has said he is light years ahead of where Vince Young was at this stage) but in his roughest passing performances of the season, he had not been this ineffective throwing the ball. In fact, the coaches hardly allowed him the chances to throw the ball, bringing in Boeckman in most every obvious passing situation.

The other two points that I have repeatedly made to critics of Pryor's passing prowess in 2008 are a) that Pryor was spoon-fed his introduction to the passing phase of the OSU offense as the season went along, permitted by play-calling to make just 15 pass attempts per game, an average that dropped to just 12 attempts per game in his last three starts....and b) that the level of sophistication in the OSU passing scheme is somewhere south of your average high school offense. It's an attack that could make Colt McCoy look average. I won't even blame average OSU receivers, because Cosby and Shipley for Texas aren't Michael Crabtree either, and McCoy went off for 414 yards.

Even more of a factor than coaching or passing schemes is simple game experience. Two short years ago these same two teams met in Austin, and the freshman Longhorn quarterback was sacked, harassed, picked off, and completely stymied, scoring just seven points in a decisive 24-7 win for the Buckeyes and their two-year starter Troy Smith. And I don't remember anyone writing off Colt McCoy's career on the basis of that game.

In the two weeks days since the Fiesta Bowl, I've heard OSU fans say Pryor is a "coach killer"...or that he'll never make it as a top college quarterback because he's not a good enough passer...or that he'll fail because he can't read defenses...and so on. As often happens, these people either didn't watch much of Pryor's first nine starts, or are simply bearing the imprint of the last guy to sit on them, basing way too much of their opinion on what they saw on January 5th. And to a man they were completely in the dark a week or more later about Pryor's injury.

That didn't seem quite fair to a young man who sucked it up and played hurt, gained 104 yards in positive rushing yardage, caught a touchdown pass, and came within an eyelash of beating a top five team, and all with a painful injury to his passing arm. Knowing that doesn't make the sting of losing the game go away. But it does help us understand what we saw that night, and why we saw it
The good thing for those of us who truly believe in Pryor's abilities is that we have a couple years to still see him in S&G. He'll have plenty of time to turn the small amount of whiners into a bevy of believers.




If TP has the same amount metal fortitude a Vince Young, I can see why Tressel did this for him. He is three boooo's away from swallowing a gun barrel.

Pathetic

[Silver Bullet]

Any other big QB targets left for you guys in this class? Just wondering if, given Pryors injury and the lack of depth, Tressel will hold him back from running more to avoid contact.

OSU tried to late-offer some kid named Boucher (2/3-star), but he is sticking with his original commitment (Miami of OH). Can't blame him really. At Miami he will have a chance to start while at OSU he would be the doomsday QB.

I really like Bauserman and I think he could have unseated Beockman for the starting job if Todd wasn't a 6-year senior and there was no Pryor. Guys don't want to redshirt and they know that Pryor is the starter so OSU isn't really on any high school QB's radar this year...especially since Pryor may have to stay in school the entire 4 years. Henton transferring screwed the depth pretty bad, but the fact that Tressel didn't start recruiting potential QB's until late put the team in a bad way.

[rickyleach]

hey donnie boy , i guess what your saying to us with that list ,is after pryor there isnt anyone, oh well i guess boyd really didnt like ohio state very much ,did he..

[Don Unverferth]

Boyd didn't like Ohio State that's why we were one of two schools on his short list. :rolleyes:

[Silver Bullet]

Boyd didn't like Ohio State that's why we were one of two schools on his short list. :rolleyes:

Wonder what that says about Um since they were also recruiting him.....

[bigboyBlue]

Wonder what that says about Um since they were also recruiting him.....

UM has had the strangest QB recruiting this year between Newsome/Beaver/Forcier. They did offer Boyd, but never really got after him for some reason, even after he decommitted from WVU.

Here's hoping DRob is Blue, we do need an additional QB in this class.

[Don Unverferth]

Depth at qb isn't a significant concern unless we fail to pick up at least 1 qb in next years recruiting class (preferably 2). If we strike out next go round (which is very unlikely), then its time to start worrying about depth. Boyd would have been a great addition but not a need and it's very possible that he would have red shirted anyway. We're solid with Pryor and Bauserman.

This is how the depth chart should look next fall:

1. T Pryor
2. J Bauserman
3. D Unverferth (no worries, I still have some eligibility left) where do I find the chicks who will sleep with you just cuz you're on the team?

[pryorthrowslikeagirl]

Depth at qb isn't a significant concern unless we fail to pick up at least 1 qb in next years recruiting class (preferably 2). If we strike out next go round (which is very unlikely), then its time to start worrying about depth. Boyd would have been a great addition but not a need and it's very possible that he would have red shirted anyway. We're solid with Pryor and Bauserman.

This is how the depth chart should look next fall:

1. T Pryor
2. J Bauserman
3. D Unverferth (no worries, I still have some eligibility left) where do I find the chicks who will sleep with you just cuz your on the team?


That was a hilarious joke there don, seriously tho, boyd will be a better qb than pryor, boyd can throw.

[bigboyBlue]

[/B] That was a hilarious joke there don, seriously tho, boyd with be a better qb than pryor, boyd can throw.

I've always wondered how the recruiting sites try to rate dual-threat QBs. Traditionally a QB has always been the guy that a) throws, or b) hands off. The only measurables were passing yards. Its a little more complicated now with them QBs running around. Most of them, though, appear to be a high risk proposition, and better runners than passers. I see Russell Shephards' video, and the guy ain't much of a thrower.....BUT man can he run! Still, its easy to see that he is a bit of a project, and hence a risk. Whats surprising is how highly ranked he is as a QB prospect (#2 in the nation).

Thoughts? How would you evaluate a true-dual threat QB?

[pryorthrowslikeagirl]

I've always wondered how the recruiting sites try to rate dual-threat QBs. Traditionally a QB has always been the guy that a) throws, or b) hands off. The only measurables were passing yards. Its a little more complicated now with them QBs running around. Most of them, though, appear to be a high risk proposition, and better runners than passers. I see Russell Shephards' video, and the guy ain't much of a thrower.....BUT man can he run! Still, its easy to see that he is a bit of a project, and hence a risk. Whats surprising is how highly ranked he is as a QB prospect (#2 in the nation).

Thoughts? How would you evaluate a true-dual threat QB?

Boyd is actually listed as a Pro-style Qb on rivals, so unlike pryor he is a real QB that has the ability to run. Pryor is a WR that can throw better than most other wideouts. Boyd really showed his talents at the AA game that kid is a gamer, i really dont understand why RR never pursued him too hard.

[rickyleach]

don ,dont you mean ohio states SHORT BUS , and michigan was never part of this kids plan ,so dont blame us for boyd telling ohio state to go ffuuck themselves, i cant wait for pryor to get hurt so you can put in your 58th rated qb in to run the sideshow..

[byebyelloyd]

I prefer to say that we do not have as much depth as we've had in the past. :)

that would hardly be of concern to me above the fact ohio state developes QBs like my bengals develope wins. they are the single worst waste of talent in possibly all sports combined. now thats should be a big red flag to the jackass fans of the scarlet and gay.

[GoDeepHammer]

Just found this:

http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/sports/stories/2009/02/06/rumblings_2-6.ART_ART_02-06-09_C3_1BCQJ95.html?sid=101

OSU quarterbacks coach Joe Daniels squashed rumors that Terrelle Pryor had an injured shoulder during the Fiesta Bowl loss to Texas. The rumors were rampant on Internet message boards, and some even reported that Pryor had been quoted as saying he tweaked the shoulder during the game.

The whispers apparently were based in part of some poor Pryor passes and a couple of plays in which he ran out of bounds rather than turn upfield to gain a few more yards. But Daniels said this week that Pryor's shoulder was never injured.

[bigboyBlue]

Just found this:

http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/sports/stories/2009/02/06/rumblings_2-6.ART_ART_02-06-09_C3_1BCQJ95.html?sid=101

OSU quarterbacks coach Joe Daniels squashed rumors that Terrelle Pryor had an injured shoulder during the Fiesta Bowl loss to Texas. The rumors were rampant on Internet message boards, and some even reported that Pryor had been quoted as saying he tweaked the shoulder during the game.

The whispers apparently were based in part of some poor Pryor passes and a couple of plays in which he ran out of bounds rather than turn upfield to gain a few more yards. But Daniels said this week that Pryor's shoulder was never injured.

So can we go back to questioning Pryor's wussiness now? Or rather, not questioning it at all?

[GoDeepHammer]

So can we go back to questioning Pryor's wussiness now? Or rather, not questioning it at all?

I was just interested to see what Don had to say about this.

[Buckeye Sweetie]

I'm very disappointed in this article. We lost, no excuses, injury or not, we lost.

[Don Unverferth]

This thread wasn't started to make excuses for the loss. I simply posted an article that helped explain why TP played the way he did. I commented on this before. Bottom line is, if you watched him play all season and watched him against Texas, you knew something was different. Whether it was caused by an injury, we may never know the truth about that. But, both the physical (throwing) and mental (running out of bounds) aspects of Terrelle's game weren't the same.

[BBA1994]

This thread wasn't started to make excuses for the loss. I simply posted an article that helped explain why TP played the way he did. I commented on this before. Bottom line is, if you watched him play all season and watched him against Texas, you knew something was different. Whether it was caused by an injury, we may never know the truth about that. But, both the physical (throwing) and mental (running out of bounds) aspects of Terrelle's game weren't the same.

Apparently you didn't bother to read the rebuttal article whereby tuos coaches refute that TP was hurt. God dandy don you're a freakin idiot.

[bigboyBlue]

Little too late to cry about shooting the messenger when the thread was started with 'gee see pryor was hurt, please love him'.

[Don Unverferth]

Notice that we have also not heard a single person give ANY other explanation as to why he played so uncharacteristically. I am not saying that he hasn't thrown ducks or that his mechanics were outstanding before, but he went from completing 65% of his passes (ugly or not) and running people over to throwing balls in the dirt and running out of bounds. If you don't see a clear difference in performance, you are kidding yourself. It was very unusual seeing Boeckman get as many reps as he did as well.

[BBA1994]

Well folks, it looks like dandy ding-dong don has taken over as the biggest d-bag on this site. Hail to the donger.

[rickyleach]

thats funny don, i might believe this if i didnt live in c/bus ,15 min from your horseshoe, their is not one ohio state fan that i know, and i know hundreds of them that know anything about this suppoed injury, tressel has never come out and said one thing and nobody down here knows, even your 1460 the fan radio station has ever said boo about this, , look this is not some top secret bomb were talkin about, its a young man , and for osu not saying anything tells me it never happend. and if it did ,this would be another example of poor coaching on tressels part, just one more assinhine coaching move, oh ,gee pryor is hurt and we got a quality qb on the bench that lead us to the game last year , oh i guess i wont play him much because pryors hurt , what kind of tressel are you smokin don, that is pure stupidity, like i said everyone i live around is a diehard buckeye and not1 EVER HEARD THAT CRAP..

[Don Unverferth]

thats funny don, i might believe this if i didnt live in c/bus ,15 min from your horseshoe, their is not one ohio state fan that i know, and i know hundreds of them that know anything about this suppoed injury, tressel has never come out and said one thing and nobody down here knows, even your 1460 the fan radio station has ever said boo about this, , look this is not some top secret bomb were talkin about, its a young man , and for osu not saying anything tells me it never happend. and if it did ,this would be another example of poor coaching on tressels part, just one more assinhine coaching move, oh ,gee pryor is hurt and we got a quality qb on the bench that lead us to the game last year , oh i guess i wont play him much because pryors hurt , what kind of tressel are you smokin don, that is pure stupidity, like i said everyone i live around is a diehard buckeye and not1 EVER HEARD THAT CRAP..

Thanks ricky, I'll forever be indebted to you for sharing your intellect and insight on this topic.

[rickyleach]

DON ,DONT BLAME ME ,I DONT BELIEVE THIS ,your the one who thinks its true, i ask you why would you believe somthing that not one issue of the c/bus paper has said anything about, and not 1 osu fan that i know or my friends know has heard one word of this, the people down here blame one man ,and thats your hero tressel for the loss , pryor hurt , thats a good one.. the excuses never end do they don and that is sorry..

[Don Unverferth]

DON ,DONT BLAME ME ,I DONT BELIEVE THIS ,your the one who thinks its true, i ask you why would you believe somthing that not one issue of the c/bus paper has said anything about, and not 1 osu fan that i know or my friends know has heard one word of this, the people down here blame one man ,and thats your hero tressel for the loss , pryor hurt , thats a good one.. the excuses never end do they don and that is sorry..

Apparently you didn't read my previous posts. I don't really know if Pryor was injured, but I think he was based on body language and performance. That's a personal opinion. Now spin it anyway you want.

[RichRodriguez]

lol at excuses. Pryor does throw like a girl. he throws no better then any other WR in the country. if he wants a NFL career he will switch to WR. i wish failue upon his career

[StevieBrownforHeisman]

let me start by saying i only read like the first paragraph of that crap you posted cos i don't waste my time reading your or OSUnuts garbage, but the part i read about TP being 'injured' sounds like an...
EXCUSE
youre such a freaking homer. go get a job or a girlfriend and stop masturbating to that picture of woody hayes you have as you're avatar.

[Don Unverferth]

lol at excuses. Pryor does throw like a girl. he throws no better then any other WR in the country. if he wants a NFL career he will switch to WR. i wish failue upon his career

Wow. You sir are a football guru. You're right man. If a true freshman doesn't improve over a 7 week stretch in his freshman year it won't happen. After all, Colt McCoy looked exactly the same against OSU this time as he did two tears ago in Austin.

[rickyleach]

Don ,how can you sit there and compare your boy pryor with colt mccoy, colt was starting his 2nd or third game when texas played ohio state , and pryor had played an entire season, besides out of high school colt wasnt even looked at like your hero pryor , you cant compare these two..

[Bighouse]

I refuse to read this opening thread. More buckeye excuses. Do me a favor next year and WIN a BIG GAME!!!!!