Terrelle Pryor: Greatest Career that is Considered a Disappointment of All-Time?

On October 25th, 2008 Terrelle Pryor was starting his first marquee college football game for Ohio State at home against undefeated and #3 ranked Penn State. Pryor had played some snaps, and played pretty well actually, in Ohio State’s loss the third game of the season at USC but he was not the starting quarterback for that game. He was inserted as the starting QB the following game and led Ohio State to five straight wins and back up to #10 in the rankings. Despite starting the previous five games, however, this game was the real beginning of what was to be one of the most anticipated and scrutinized careers in college football history and especially in Western Pennsylvania and Ohio.

I remember the date off the top of my head because it was the day of my wedding. A good buddy of mine, who was a groomsman and obviously a Penn State alumnus, wore his Nittany Lions socks under his tuxedo. My father-in-law wore a Penn State jersey under his tux and when it was time for some kind of picture during the reception we couldn’t find him because he was at the hotel bar watching the game. Needless to say, the game was an event. It was Pryor, the local kid, and his 7-1 Ohio State Buckeyes taking on the undefeated Lions and Joe Paterno, the school and coach he turned down to join the now infamous Jim Tressel in Columbus.

I had seen enough of Pryor in high school and in the games leading up to the Penn State game to know that he was not only the real deal but that he was one of the greatest athletes I had witnessed in my lifetime. Every time he stepped on a sporting field, whether it was basketball or football, nobody had the physical skills that he possessed. He also, and this is totally subjective and from third person accounts, seemed like a reasonably intelligent kid who had at least a decent enough head on his shoulders to take advantage of his tremendous physical skills. I had seen and heard enough about him to fully be on the Terrelle Pryor bandwagon. I told another friend leading up to that Penn State game, an avid Ohio State fan, that I thought the Buckeyes were going to lose and that Pryor may struggle a bit in his first game under that kind of spotlight. I followed up that statement with the prediction that the Buckeyes would not lose another game as long as Pryor was their starting quarterback; I felt he was that darn good. Half of that prediction came true as Pryor and the Buckeyes lost that night 13-6 to Penn State in large part due to two Pryor turnovers in the fourth quarter.

Today, amid the scandals, Jim Tressel’s resignation and Pryor’s subsequent departure from Ohio State and entrance into the NFL supplement draft, the second half of that prediction seems a bit crazy in hindsight. When you really think about it, however, was I really that far off? Pryor went 25-3 over the remainder of his college career (really he was 25-4 as the Buckeyes lost the 2008 Fiesta Bowl with Pryor coming off the bench) with his 4 losses coming by a combined 27 points. Pryor won two BCS Bowl games as a starter, was named the MVP of the 2010 Rose Bowl when it looked like he was becoming the quarterback everyone thought he would be, and finished high atop the Ohio State record books in many passing and rushing categories despite being there only three years.

I will save you the time of reading through the stats of all the great college quarterbacks but believe me when I tell you that both Pryor’s statistics and his win-loss record stand right in line and even surpass many of the all-time greats including Dan Marino and Joe Montana, among others. Every time I watched Pryor play I felt that there was no question who was the best player on the field at all times. It actually left you wanting more from him, and that is probably part of the legacy he is leaving Ohio State with. Despite the great achievements he accomplished, it always felt like he could do more. Maybe that is more a reflection of how we think as fans than it is on Pryor as a player but it is still the case none-the- less. Instead of remembering a fantastic college quarterback and possibly the greatest Western PA athlete of all time for what he did accomplish, we remember him for what he failed to accomplish. There was no Heisman Trophy, no National Championship, and no career that resulted in being a first round NFL Draft pick.

Time will tell how Terrelle Pryor is ultimately remembered. I would guess that much of that memory will be based on how his pro career turns out and I, for one, will be rooting for him. The odds are against him this time, with his back against the wall from the scandal at Ohio State and coming out as a likely 4th or 5th round selection in the supplemental draft. Maybe everything that has happened will be a wake-up call for the young man. Maybe he will fully realize his tremendous physical potential at the pro level. Either way, I will be rooting for him because I hate to see that kind of talent wasted and I would hate to see Pryor remembered for what he was not able to accomplish instead of what he was. It is funny that even as I write this post trying to highlight the positive accomplishments that Pryor had, I find myself being more negative and critical of him than is my intention.

Today, the general thought around the country is that Pryor’s career at Ohio State was a failure. Maybe 50 years from now when the scandals, the sense of entitlement and the hype that came with Pryor is no longer talked about his career will be looked back upon a bit more favorably. For now, however, Pryor will go down as a disappointment in the minds of those who expected so much when he walked on the Ohio State campus back in 2008. For me, I will remember him for having the greatest collegiate career that everyone else believed was a total disappointment. I guess it goes with the territory.