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3/20/2008 10:08 AM
 
Re: PA QB Terrelle Pryor   (United States)
When can he start?
Buckeyes could look at two-QB system with Boeckman, Pryor
Thursday,  March 20, 2008 3:37 AM
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
<p>Top quarterback prospect Terrelle Pryor showed in high school that he is equally adept at running and passing the football.</p>
Carolyn Kaster | Associated Press

Top quarterback prospect Terrelle Pryor showed in high school that he is equally adept at running and passing the football.

Carolyn Kaster | Associated Press

Pryor results

Terrelle Pryor leaves behind a mountain of yards, points and wins in Jeannette, Pa., where over the past three years as quarterback he:

  • Rushed for 4,250 yards
  • Passed for 4,249 yards
  • Either ran or passed for 115 touchdowns
  • Led his team to a 38-4 overall record, 13-2 in the playoffs, including the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League titles in 2006 and 2007, and the state Class AA championship in 2007 (16-0)

In 2007 alone, he:

  • Rushed for 1,899 yards, 38 TDs
  • Passed for 1,889 yards, 21 TDs
  • Helped Jeannette set a state all-classes record for points (860)

In basketball, he:

  • Finished eighth on the WPIAL all-time scoring list with 2,285 points
  • Led his team to the Class AA state semifinals in 2007 and to the state championship this year, making Jeannette just the third school in state history to win a football and a basketball title in the same school year

Source: Josh Funk, PennLive.com

JEANNETTE, Pa. -- Terrelle Pryor probably could have started from day one at Michigan. Penn State promised it would change its offense. And Oregon? It already has a wide-open offense, but he probably could have picked his own uniform scheme from the Ducks' deep walk-in closet.

Yet when it came time to choose a college yesterday, Pryor -- the top overall prospect in the nation this year -- signed with Ohio State. The Jeannette High School quarterback did so even though there was no promise of a starting job from coach Jim Tressel.

Senior Todd Boeckman returns, and he took the Buckeyes to the national championship game last season. There are two other competitors, Antonio Henton and Joe Bauserman, already on the roster. But there is a precedent for Pryor's situation, and it shows how he might fit in with the Buckeyes this season.

Two years ago, the personnel was similarly stacked when freshman Tim Tebow signed with Florida. As the season wore on, though, coach Urban Meyer used Tebow's running and throwing talents to augment the play of senior Chris Leak, and the Gators went on to beat the Buckeyes for the national title. Last season, Tebow became the first sophomore to win the Heisman Trophy.

Pryor said Tressel told him that he had a similar vision for him in his freshman season if he earns playing time.

"He explained that as Todd Boeckman is in there, he said he is going to work me like Tebow, use me on runs," Pryor said. "That sounded good to me."

Tressel said it's no surprise that Pryor was the top-ranked recruit. From the first time he watched video of him, it was obvious "he had every tool you could ever dream of."

He is 6 feet 6 and 230 pounds with 4.35-second speed in the 40-yard dash. He has nifty feet, the ability to break and avoid tackles, and a quick passing release, all of which he used to become the first high school quarterback in Pennsylvania to run and pass for 4,000 yards. But he also aspired to play college basketball.

"What I was most interested in was finding out what made him tick, what was most important to him, was it basketball, was it football, all those kinds of things," Tressel said. "It has become very apparent to me that his passion is to become a great, great quarterback."

As Pryor put it, "I think it's my ticket."

He said he chose Ohio State in part because of the continued strength of the program under Tressel, which includes the depth of talent on the field. All he was promised was a shot to compete as a freshman.

"I can guarantee (the fans) I will work hard. … I am going to try to win games for them when my name, my number is called," said Pryor, who plans to enroll for summer quarter, which starts June 16. "And I will try to contribute as much as I can."

Between him and Boeckman on the depth chart are Henton, an athletic playmaker, and Bauserman, more of a drop-back quarterback.

"The thing I know about those two guys is they love to compete," Tressel said. "And I'm sure they know enough about the game of football to know there is more competition on the field now. I'm sure they will have great respect for what Terrelle can bring to the table."

Pryor led the Jeannette High School football team to a state title in December and the boys basketball team to a state title last weekend. Jeannette became just the third school in state history to win both in the same school year.

Tressel expects to see the same fire when Pryor hits the practice field in August.

"I think that is his passion, to make it impossible for us not to put him in the football game," Tressel said. "That's what's exciting about a guy with goals. He didn't want you to promise him that.

"He didn't want to necessarily go where they said, 'Hey, you're the guy,' because he is very sensitive to his teammates. And he wants to earn everything he gets with his teammates. … I love guys that have that outlook.

"I think full well he has the ability once he gains command of the system and all that it takes to be a quarterback. How quickly he can do that will determine how quickly he can make it impossible for us not to put him in the game."

[email protected]

Terrelle Pryor is 6 feet 6, 230 pounds with 4.35-second speed in the 40-yard dash. He has nifty feet, the ability to break and avoid tackles, and a quick passing release, all of which he used to become the first high school quarterback in Pennsylvania to run and pass for 4,000 yards in his career.

 
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3/20/2008 10:09 AM
 
Re: PA QB Terrelle Pryor   (United States)
OSU tops Michigan to reel in star QB
Thursday,  March 20, 2008 3:28 AM
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
<p>Terrelle Pryor's cap shows his pick.</p>
Keith SrakocicAssociated Press

Terrelle Pryor's cap shows his pick.

JEANNETTE, Pa. -- Quarterback Terrelle Pryor, the nation's No. 1 football prospect in the 2008 class, presided over his second news conference in six weeks yesterday, but this time he didn't waffle.

"University of Ohio State," he said as he reached for a block O cap and pulled it snugly onto his head in his high-school auditorium.

That the name was wrong didn't muddle the message: The 6-foot-6, 230-pounder from Jeannette High School had picked Ohio State over Michigan and chosen a side in what some people consider the greatest rivalry in college football.

His mother, Toni Pryor, said she could tell earlier in the day that her son was feeling the impact of the moment.

"He couldn't eat," she said. "He had to say, 'No, thank you' to some coaches at Michigan, men he had developed a great relationship with, so it was hard. But he also feels great about where he is going."

As Terrelle Pryor put it, "I'm going with coach Tress."

Ohio State coach Jim Tressel was out of Columbus on a short holiday before the start of spring practice next week. He said he listened on his cell phone as someone in the OSU football office held a phone up to a live telecast of the announcement.

That's when he knew for sure that he had landed Pryor, even if he had good feelings all along, Tressel said. Pryor is the most ballyhooed quarterback recruit to sign with the Buckeyes since Woody Hayes persuaded Art Schlichter to join the fold in 1978.

So when Pryor made his declaration, "it was an exciting moment," Tressel said. "But it's not like I was sitting here nice and relaxed, thinking that game was over, because when you're talking about the great schools like the ones he was considering, the game is never over."

Penn State made the in-state-loyalty plea. Oregon pitched its wide-open offense. When Pryor decided six weeks ago to give those schools more consideration, OSU fans held their breath.

As expected, though, Michigan and its new coach -- Rich Rodriguez, guru of the spread-option offense the past few seasons at West Virginia -- provided the toughest competition.

Tressel, 6-1 against Michigan on the field, didn't equate yesterday's news to a head-to-head win.

"There was a whole bunch of people at the start of the race, and the funny thing about recruiting is, the only place that matters is first," he said. "And it feels good to be in first."

[email protected]

"There was a whole bunch of people at the start of the race, and the funny thing about recruiting is, the only place that matters is first. And it feels good to be in first."

Jim Tressel
Ohio State football coach
 
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4/25/2008 9:46 AM
 

Quarterback Kevin Newsome, a Chesapeake (Va.) high school star who called Pryor "a beast" and said Pryor's decision not to attend Michigan increased his interest in coach Rich Rodriguez's program, has committed to the Wolverines.

Newsome, Rivals.com's 39th-ranked player in the class of 2009, decided that Michigan was the place for him after attending the Wolverines' spring football game. He might now get to go head-to-head against the player he didn't want to play behind.

"I love the winning tradition of Michigan," he told TheWolverine.com. "I really believe Michigan is the godfather of college football, and that's what makes the Michigan-Ohio State game so notorious."

He sounds like a good addition to the rivalry.

 
New Post
6/15/2008 5:46 PM
 
Terrelle Pryor

Incoming Football Freshman Studied for Flaws

The incoming freshman class was on campus Saturday to undergo tests by the Biomechanical and Sports Medicine Department to study each player’s internal and external characteristics and evaluate their potential for injury.

Read More..

 
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HomeHomeRecruitingRecruiting2008 Football R...2008 Football R...PA QB Terrelle Pryor - Ohio StatePA QB Terrelle Pryor - Ohio State