When Ohio State suffered its 35-3 loss at USC, OSU coach Jim Tressel was faced with a painful decision.
The veteran head coach could stay with senior co-captain Todd Boeckman as his starting quarterback or he could turn over the reins of his offense to highly touted freshman phenom Terrelle Pryor.
In the week leading up to his team’s nonconference game against Troy the following week, Tressel was noncommittal about his plans at the quarterback spot. But what happened that week spoke volumes for how Tressel and the Buckeyes would handle the quarterback position for the rest of the year.
Pryor made his first career start and played all but two plays of the team’s 28-10 win over Troy. Boeckman would only see mop-up action in four games over the remainder of the regular season as the torch had clearly been passed to Pryor.
And Pryor took that torch and ran with it. He became the first freshman to start a game at quarterback at Ohio State since Art Schlichter in 1978. He went on to post an 8-1 mark as the starting quarterback over the remainder of the season. It was an up-and-down ride, including a tough 13-6 home loss to Penn State where Pryor had a pair of late turnovers that helped spell defeat. But he helped guide the Buckeyes to a share of the Big Ten championship.
It should be noted that Pryor did enjoy the help of 1,000-yard tailback Chris “Beanie” Wells during the Big Ten campaign, something Boeckman did not have as he and the Buckeyes struggled in the loss at USC.
But as the season wore on, Pryor’s progression became apparent. His command of the offense seemed to improve on a weekly basis. He made big plays running the ball and, although he only averaged a modest 15 pass attempts per game as a starter, he also made some huge plays through the air.
Pryor guided OSU on a late touchdown drive to deliver a 20-17 win at Wisconsin, scoring the go-ahead touchdown himself on an 11-yard run with a scant 1:08 left. Two weeks later, he threw for 116 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 72 yards and a score in an impressive 45-7 win at No. 20 Michigan State.
After the Penn State loss, Pryor rebounded by throwing for 197 yards and three touchdowns in a 45-10 win at Northwestern. He and Wells each exceeded the 100-yard rushing mark in a 30-20 win at Illinois.
He ended the season atop the Big Ten passing efficiency rankings at 152.1. For the year, he completed 95 of 152 passes for 1,245 yards and 12 touchdowns against just four interceptions. He also was second to Wells on the team in rushing with 553 yards and six touchdowns on 124 attempts (4.5 average).
Pryor did not have enough pass attempts to qualify for the NCAA statistical rankings, falling 28 attempts shy of the 180 attempts needed to qualify in a 12-game season. But if he had qualified, he would have been 16th nationally in passing efficiency. Only one freshman stands ahead of him in that category in Boise State’s Kellen Moore (11th at 161.5).
After being the subject of an intense recruiting battle that also involved Michigan and Penn State, Pryor, a product of Jeannette, Pa., had delivered on most if not all of his preseason hype. For a guy who didn’t know how much he would even play behind a senior incumbent starter, it was fitting that Pryor was named as the Big Ten’s freshman of the year in what had to be a landslide vote.
“I am surprised, but I think it’s great,” Pryor said upon learning of that honor. “I have to thank my coaches and all the guys on this team for having confidence in me; this has been a year that I never would have believed would happen and they have made it possible. I am really happy to be at Ohio State and looking forward to our bowl game.”
OSU will learn its bowl assignment Sunday night with most pundits believing it will be the Fiesta Bowl against current No. 3 Texas. It will be the next step in the progression for Pryor, who may have only scratched the surface of what he could accomplish at Ohio State.
While Tressel has said the decision to elevate Pryor was done strictly to help the current team, it is also obvious that the move should pay huge dividends over the next couple of years with Pryor returning as the starter and anchor for the program.
Pryor has developed under the watchful eyes of Tressel, quarterbacks coach Joe Daniels and offensive quality control assistant Nick Siciliano, who has filled in on the field as Daniels continues his recovery from cancer.
“Terrelle has done a good job of accepting coaching,” Tressel said. “He loves being coached. He wants to do well so badly. I remember him saying clear back in August, he'll do anything to help this senior class have a great year. That's the way he is. He's saying the same things late in the year.
“Has he exceeded expectations? We're so close to the situation that there are some things that you wish he'd have seen the Mike linebacker go that way and throw to this guy. We're to that point now that it's on a play-by-play, day-by-day standpoint. But we knew that he was a talented young guy. Everyone in the country knew that.
“I don't know that anyone knew just what a student of the game that he wanted to be. He was always very serious about the game when you talked to him, but you don't know until you're thrust into the situation and again, I don't think you ever evaluate anything whether it's an individual or a team until they've had their full body of work, as we call it, and then you have a chance to maybe for three minutes talk about that first year and then you worry about how he and we are going to do the next year.”
Tressel said Pryor’s toughest critic is usually himself.
“He's a competitor,” the coach said. “You have to know that he loves to compete and he's most critical of himself, and when he doesn't complete a pass or he misses a read or whatever it happens to be, he is critical of himself because he wants to compete. He has high expectations for himself and high expectations for the team that's' on.”
Pryor believes he has flourished under Tressel’s tutelage.
“You’ll never see Coach Tressel shaking his head and saying, ‘No, no, no,’ or cussing you out,” Pryor said. “He’s too much of a great person to do that. He just lifts you up and you see what happens. He won’t cuss you out or say, ‘Why would you throw that there?’ It’s like he’s a father. He tells you things that pick you up. You forget about your mistake and come back and keep throwing it. He has trust in me and I appreciate it.”
The Buckeyes had an open week after their loss to Penn State. Pryor took that loss personally because of his fumble that paved the way for PSU’s go-ahead touchdown and his interception that thwarted OSU’s comeback bid in the final seconds.
He and the Buckeyes regrouped. They averaged 24.6 points per game in their first nine games. After the open week, OSU averaged a robust 39 points per game in wins over Northwestern, Illinois and Michigan.
“We all came together,” Pryor said. “I know we came together on offense. Against Penn State, we blew that game offensively. The defense played well. Since then, we came together and we said, ‘We have to start doing this and this.’ We had to start making big plays and that’s what we did.”
Pryor reflected on his first regular season at Ohio State.
“I’m just glad Coach Tressel had some trust in me and he let me go out there and get my feet wet,” he said. “I got to play with these great guys. It’s an honor to play for Coach Tressel and an honor to play for this program. It’s an honor to play alongside (Brian) Robiskie and (Brian) Hartline and (Alex) Boone and all of them.
“You just have to appreciate a lot of things and appreciate what God does for you.”
Mastering Michigan
It was no secret that it was a rough first year for Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez. His Wolverines came to Ohio State at 3-8 for their Nov. 22 season finale. Some believed Michigan would do everything it could to derail OSU’s Big Ten championship and BCS aspirations.
But the Buckeyes shrugged off a slow start to take a 42-7 win over their rival. It was OSU’s most lopsided win in the rivalry in 40 years and was also an unprecedented fifth straight win over the Wolverines.
Pryor did his part as he bounced back from an interception on the first series to complete 5 of 13 passes for 120 yards and two touchdowns.
“This is why I came here, to play against Michigan,” Pryor said. “They have a great team and they were fighting. We just came up with some big plays.”
Although Michigan’s record was woeful, Pryor and his teammates did not take UM lightly.
“It was a big thing because we kept hearing the message, ‘We never won five in a row,’ ” Pryor said. “We are so tight with the seniors. We wanted to go out with a bang with them. It was their last time to run out on this field. I could just imagine what that feels like. It’s just incredible to play with these guys. I love them. That’s how I have to put it and I know it’s a strong word, but I love them.
“It’s like a rival in high school – you hate them. You still have to respect them because it’s a great team. I am sure next year they’ll be better.”
The game was only four plays old when Pryor dropped and threw errantly into the left flat. UM’s Stevie Brown stepped in front of the pass and returned it 34 yards down to the OSU 13 before Pryor was able to wrestle him to the ground.
“After you throw a pick like that, you can get upset,” Pryor said. “But the guys were like, ‘Don’t worry about it. It’s all right.’ Mistakes happen, but you can’t dwell on them.”
Robiskie shared his view of the interception.
“We had been running that play all week,” Robiskie said. “I don’t know if we anticipated that guy being that far out. It is a tough throw for Terrelle. He has to stop and read two guys. They did a good job of getting where they needed to be. He just broke on it and made a good play.”
Tressel joked it could have been a quick hook for the freshman if he had faltered again.
“That's not the greatest way to start your first Michigan game, but he said that will never happen again and I didn't want to tell him that if it did … so I just left it at that,” Tressel said with a smile. “But I thought he handled things well. Michigan's got a good defense. They were coming
after us.”
The Buckeyes dodged that bullet as the defense held Michigan and forced a field goal try, which was missed. Wells broke off a 59-yard touchdown run to open the scoring late in the first quarter.
Early in the second, Pryor faced a second-and-12 on the OSU 47. He executed a play fake and threw a perfect post pass to Hartline down the middle of the field. Hartline grabbed it in stride at the 10 and rolled in to complete the 53-yard touchdown that staked OSU to a 14-0 lead.
“I saw that he was running even with the defender and just threw it up to him,” Pryor said. “It was perfect timing and a perfect catch.”
OSU led 14-7 at halftime and moved up 21-7 on a 49-yard touchdown run by Boom Herron early in the third quarter. Ray Small’s 80-yard punt return midway through that period gave OSU possession at the Michigan 8-yard line.
Pryor and his cohorts wasted no time in finding the end zone. On first down, he rolled right and hit a sliding Robiskie in the end zone for the touchdown and a 28-7 lead.
“We’ve been going over that goal line pass for the longest time,” Pryor said. “We run the fake, go over to the (right) side and hit Robiskie or the tight end coming over. We have been practicing it and practicing it and today it paid off.
“After I got hit, I wasn’t sure if he got his feet in or not. But knowing Robiskie, I was sure he could get his feet in because he’s a great receiver like that. He’ll be great in the NFL. I knew I had to zip it in there.”
Pryor was not done, though. Late in the third quarter, he lofted a 35-yard pass to Dane Sanzenbacher. On the play, Pryor had one of those Troy Smith-like moments where he deftly eluded a pair of UM defenders, set his feet and delivered the ball downfield.
“I was going to the right,” Pryor said. “I was looking downfield, but I saw a guy coming. I saw No. 55 (UM pass rusher Brandon Graham) was still on a block. I knew once I got past him, I’d have someone downfield. It was so open that my hand was like … it came out all ugly. But it got there. Dane Sanzenbacher made a great play and a great catch.”
Herron punched it in for a touchdown three plays later, giving OSU a 35-7 lead and ending Pryor’s day. He took a seat to allow Boeckman a chance to play in his senior finale. Boeckman topped it off with a touchdown pass to Hartline as well as a bomb to Robiskie.
“I love Todd and it is so great that he had a good game,” Pryor said. “It was a great pass to Brian Hartline. I can't say enough about Todd and his leadership on this team.”
The Buckeyes broke open a tight game with their four-touchdown explosion in the second half.
“The offensive line really stepped up,” Pryor said. “I think Beanie's big touchdown run really gave us the momentum. We just kept punching at them.”
Pryor talked about being on the field for The Game.
“It made me think about my very first game here at Ohio State,” he said. “I was so hyped up for that game and even more for this one. We all expect to be perfect and to make big plays against this team.”
Pryor was asked if the Buckeyes will be able to keep that string going next year in Ann Arbor.
“We’re going to try our hardest,” he said. “We’ll start with the bowl game and the next game we play. I can’t answer that. I’d get in trouble. We know when we go up to Ann Arbor, it’s going to be tough. Just like Coach said, be respectful to your opponent.
“It’s a great program. We’ll see next year. We know it will be a fight next year going to Ann Arbor. I’d like to go for three (straight wins), but you never know.”
More Viewpoints
As the regular season wound down, we had a chance to talk to several of Pryor’s senior teammates. They discussed his maturation and development over the last six months since arriving on campus.
“He’s growing up,” said tight end Rory Nicol. “He’s starting to understand the offense a little more and become a little more patient. I think he’s throwing the ball better than he has and I continue to say it every week: Terrelle works hard. He’s interested in getting better. He listens to what people say to him. He’s comfortable. He does the right thing off the field. There’s not really much more you can ask for from a quarterback. When that’s how you act, generally good things happen to you.
“He makes plays that in the beginning of the year it was like, ‘Oh my gosh,’ but it sort of has become expected. He escapes things that most people wouldn’t escape and gives you some flashbacks of what Troy did when he was here.”
Nicol said it was probably impossible for Pryor to live up to the hype he had as the nation’s top high school quarterback prospect this past year.
“I remember saying early in the year before the season started, I said it wasn’t fair to put that type of expectation on a kid that was 17 or 18 years old,” Nicol said. “It ended up getting misinterepreted that I didn’t think Terrelle could play at Ohio State, which is never what I meant. What I meant was it’s not fair to say Terrelle Pryor is going to come do this and this is what we expect because he’s just a kid. What he has done has certainly been a pleasant surprise.
“He’s a great kid. I love Terrelle Pryor. He’s from western PA. We have that connection, but he’s a hard worker. That’s the kind of people I respect. I looked up to the guys that worked hard before me, and I hope some people look up to me and say, ‘Hey, Rory works hard.’ Terrelle’s going to be a guy that’s going to set that example for the next couple of years at Ohio State.
“What he has done has certainly been surprising. The sky is the limit for him. I’ve told him that many times. If he stays out of trouble and he does what’s right – which he has done to this point – the sky’s the limit. I sincerely look at him and think, ‘Man, he wants to be so good.’ He listens to every detail coach says and he’s always in the meeting room. I can’t wait to turn the TV on in two years and see what that kid’s doing, because it’s going to be amazing.”
Fullback Brandon Smith shared his observations from working alongside Pryor in practice each day.
“One thing that impresses me is he learns from each play,” Smith said. “He remembers things and learns from his experience, which is great for a quarterback. At the beginning of the season, he'd be in the back of the huddle. He'd be in a different spot every time. But he's learned to work his way to the front and is taking control and we actually get a 'break.' We didn't used to break the huddle. It was 'Here's the play.' But now he's getting the finer points of being a quarterback down.”
Robiskie had heard some of the hubbub surrounding Pryor’s recruitment over the last two years. But, while Pryor was leading Jeannette to back-to-back state titles, Robiskie said he mostly took a wait-and-see approach.
“I didn’t keep up with any of that,” Robiskie said. “Obviously, he is a great player. I didn’t pay too much attention to what he was doing in high school. If it was anything like he’s doing now against high school kids, I can only imagine. But I didn’t pay too much attention to it. I know he’s done a great job of making the transition and kind of preparing like a college quarterback and doing some of the things a college quarterback has to do.”
Robiskie said it took some time for Pryor and the receivers to get on the same page.
“I think there is definitely a noticeable difference because of the amount of time all the receivers have spent with him, the time we spend running routes and letting him throw to us,” Robiskie said. “Obviously, the first couple games we hadn’t practiced too much with him, hadn’t done too much with him. A lot of it was just trying to be in the right spot at the right time.
“As the season has moved on and guys understand where they’re supposed to be, it makes it easier on him to throw the ball and know where we’re going to be. The more comfortable he is in the pocket, the more relaxed he is and able to go through his reads and make throws he needs to make.”
Robiskie was asked about the difference between Boeckman and Pryor throwing the ball.
“The big difference was experience and the relationship I had with Todd and then the relationship that developed with Terrelle,” he said. “At this point, we’ve played enough together that he kind of knows where we’re going to be on a route and knows what we’re going to do so it’s pretty similar.
“I saw as soon as he got here he could throw the ball. I think me and a lot of other receivers were never really concerned about that. I think in a lot of these games he might not have been have able to throw it 20, 30 or 40 times but he’s making the most of his opportunities. He’s more comfortable in the pocket and making better decisions.”
