Terrelle Pryor out of Columbus

Today, Terrelle Pryor announced that he would no longer play football for Ohio State.

Pryor was considered the top prospect coming out of high school and Ohio State was ecstatic to have him on their team.  Pryor split starting time with time with  started as a freshman, however you quickly became to see his raw talent that definitely needed some refinement.  He completed 60.6% of his passes and threw for 1311 yds. 12 Tds and 4 INTs.  He was a run first quarterback at that time where he racked up 631 yds. on 139 carriers and 6 TDs.  Anytime the pressure would be on or his first option was not open he would tuck the ball and run it.  He went 8-1 as a starter and was voted Big Ten freshman of the year.

After having a promising freshman season, Pryor was voted pre-season Big Ten offensive player of the year.  He looked much more comfortable in the pocket, gaining the confidence from last year’s experience and the time to develop his skills.  His number of pass attempts increased by over 40% as the coaches recognized that they could trust  him more.  Though his completion percentage was down to 56% that is attributed to his more attempts while he threw for 2094 yds., 18 TDs and 11 INTs.  Pryor lead the Buckeyes in rushing with 779 yds. on 162 carriers with 7 TDs.  He won his last five games in row, where he only threw 2 interceptions, on his way to lead his team to win the Big Ten Championship.  He led his team to victory in the Rose Bowl over Oregon 26-17 and he was voted most valuable player for his performance.

Coming into junior year, the sky was the limit for what Pryor could accomplish for the Buckeyes.  As a  junior, you could really see his progression over his two years, that made him a complete quarterback.  He completed 65% of his passes for 2772 yds. with 27 TDs and 11 INTs and rushed for 754 yds. on 135 carries with 4 TDs.  He led his team to a 12-1 record including a victory in the Sugar Bowl against Arkansas 31-26.

Pryor and some of his teammates were suspended for the first five games of the season as a punishment for selling memorabilia.  It was reported that Pryor made almost $40,000 in one year for autographed memorabilia.  Then, last week the NCAA called into question how he would always drive around very nice cars, he drove 8 different cars in three years.  With all of the heat on Pryor, his attorney advised him that it would be best if left school.  Now, Pryor must wait to see what happens to his career from now, possibly the supplemental draft, but you never know.  He was 31-4 as a starter, won two BCS bowl games, but will that all be overshadowed by this recent debacle, only time will tell.

Written by Greg Ling