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Pryor Chooses Ohio State, Losers Move on |
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Written by David DeIulis
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Monday, 24 March 2008 |
Jim Tressel and Ohio State may have won the attritional Battle of Terrelle Pryor when the 6 foot 6, 225 pound quarterback committed to Columbus Wednesday, but even with Pryor bedecked in Buckeye regalia, the War of the Big Ten is far from being decided.
With quarterback Todd Boeckman joining Malcolm Jenkins, James Laurinaitis, Alex Boone, and nearly the entire starting lineup from last year’s National Championship team in returning to Ohio State, it’s unlikely Pryor will see the field much in 2009, but that doesn’t mean Pryor’s agonizingly aggrandized decision was the wrong one. Pryor provides the Buckeyes with much needed speed and quickness to compliment the powerful downhill style of running back Chris Wells and the languid feet of Boeckman that were exploited by LSU. With Jim Tressel at the helm, it’s easy to forecast a Boeckman-Pryor quarterback combination rivaling Florida’s championship duo of Chris Leak and Tim Tebow, but Ohio State didn’t recruit Pryor to be an undercard on its National Championship ticket. He will start eventually, and although his mere presence will make Ohio State the Big Ten favorite for the duration of his Columbus stay, the schools that came up short in the Pryor sweepstakes will want nothing more than to halt his legend before it begins.
The program most contused by Pryor’s decision is the Michigan Wolverines, not simply because it’s another loss to Ohio State and a stumbling start to new coach Rich Rodriguez’s career in Ann Arbor, but because following the departure of Ryan Mallet, Michigan has no quarterback. Even with Pryor, there were questions if Rodriguez and his offense could assimilate to and succeed in the Big Ten, and now with no quarterback at all, those questions loom large in the first year coach’s nightmares, right beside Terrelle Pryor.
The other school bypassed by Pryor was Penn State, and although Happy Valley hardly lived up to its billing when he chose Columbus over State College, Joe Paterno is unlikely to shed any tears. The 81-year-old coach may have a lethal quarterback duo of his own in 2009, with 6 foot 2, 230 pound junior Darryl Clark and redshirt sophomore Pat Devlin both returning. With Derrick Williams, Deon Butler, and Jordan Norwood all returning for their senior seasons, the Nittany Lions have one of America’s best receiving contingents to go with an adequate offensive line and perennially stellar defense led by All-American candidate Sean Lee. Depending on the outcome of the quarterback situation, Paterno’s squad may cheer up Happy Valley by filling the role of Terrelle Pryor spoiler and more importantly, Big Ten sleeper in 2009.
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