No Pryor Experience Required
All Buck eyes on Pryor now.
Is the Tood Boeckman era over at Ohio State?
If you watched the Buckeyes 28-10 win over Troy this weekend, you’d have to think so.
“Weren’t you at the game,” retorted Coach Jim Tressell, when a reporter asked if the highly touted freshman Terrelle Pryor was his new starter.
Terrelle Pryor took 57 of the 59 Buckeye’s offensive snaps in the game. This has come a long way from the start of the season when the two QB’s were supposed to each take 50% of the snaps.
While Pryor’s stats were not overwhelming, they were solid. Pryor was 10 for 16 with 139 yards passing and ran four times for 26 yards. Most important, however, Pryor passed for four touchdowns in Ohio State’s 28-10 win before 102,989 at Ohio Stadium. The 6’6″, 235 pound freshman was the first true freshman to start at QB for the Buckeyes since Art Schlichter in 1978.
Pryor was especially poised and made few mistakes. He took one sack out of the pocket when he could have thrown the ball away, but other than that, his only “mistake” was an interception on a 50-yard hail mary at the end of the first half.
Perhaps more importantly, Pryor knows how to do a post-game interview. He was quick to take the spotlight off of himself and put it onto his offensive line and receivers. “Without both of them, it wouldn’t have happened,” said the Jeannette (PA) High School star.
Pryor was also quick to give props to the quarterback who has likely sent to the pines. Boeckman, the sixth
Todd Boeckman hands off the Buckeye offense to Terrelle Pryor.
year senior, is certainly no slouch. He led Ohio State to a 11-2 mark and a berth in the national championship game last year. “I learned from a great quarterback in Todd Boeckman,” added Pryor.
For now, there is no doubt that Ohio State has learned who its quarterback is for both now and the future.
College Fantasy Coach Chalk Talk: Pryor gets a chance next week in a Big Ten tussle against the Minnesota Golden Gophers. The Gophers come to Ohio Stadium 4-0, but with no prominent wins thus far. Minnesota has defeated Northern Illinois, Bowling Green, Montana State, and Florida Atlantic. Its pass defense has allowed an average of 247 yards per game.
The Buckeyes offense has been less than stellar this season and has lacked innovation. Perhaps this week is the one where Ohio State breaks out and Pryor shows his running prowess to match the passing skills he showed this past weekend against Troy.
“I’ve been making plays my whole life,” said Pryor. He’ll likely make more this weekend against the Gophers. There is no doubt he is the man at Ohio State. Nor should there be.
