As much as I’m sure no-one wants to even think about yesterday’s game, I think it did a lot to emphasize not only that something is still wrong but, after some unhappy reflection, what exactly it is.
This comes after an article in Sports Illustrated written by Andy Staples (Many thanks to commenter Steve for pointing this out). Staples claims that Terrelle Pryor will never be a D-1A throwing quarterback and that, like Michael Vick, we should use him solely as a run-option quarterback.
I would like to beg to differ, offer an alternative issue to explain the trend and a solution to solve it. While we have seen Pryor struggle throwing the ball, often throwing it off his back foot and therefore showing incredibly poor accuracy, we have also seen Pryor occasionally step into his throws. When Pryor throws off his front foot like he’s supposed to, he’s often very accurate and perhaps one of the best throwing quarterbacks we’ve ever had at Ohio State. Clearly he has the capability, and I’m still going to argue he will eventually turn into a quarterback for the ages. Sure, I’ve been wrong before, but in order for him to make the transition the coaches must make a major change in practice.
So, let’s ask the question that we’re all dying to know the answer to: What’s wrong with Terrelle Pryor? We all know that Coach Tressel was singing his praises in the preseason, even going so far as to claim that he was 10 times better than last season. Terrelle Pryor himself has stated he wants to turn himself into a prototypical throwing quarterback (albiet with a fleet-footed gift) and is clearly trying to do that. But it’s absolutely not working in any way, shape or form. The issue is why, and the answer is surprisingly obvious.
Jeff Amey of The Ozone already stated this answer, and the more I see, the more I believe it. Terrelle Pryor is not willing to, and is most likely afraid of, taking a hit. How do we know this with such certainty? Try these points:
- How many times have we seen Pryor running down the sideline and then jump out of bounds 3 yards before contact with a Safety? I bet we could go find a random Pryor highlights video on youtube and there will be at least 10 examples of this irritating phenomenom.
- Why does a person throw off their back foot? It’s always because they’re retreating, often because they’re in a panic. I guarantee having a boatload of defensive linemen bearing down on him has got Pryor in a perpetual panic – which would also often explain why he takes his anger out on his teammates.
- Look at how evasive Pryor is. This is clearly a trait he developed through High School to evade the few defenders that could actually even get close to him – of course we already knew this.
It is clear to me that Pryor is terrified of taking a hit and it’s adversly effecting his ability to play the Quarterback position. We all know how important it is for a quarterback to be able to step into his throw, and sometimes that involves getting smacked moments after the release. This is often attributed to having poise in the pocket because any observer of the game realizes how much courage it takes to stand tall and take a hit from a screaming 250 pound defensive end.
So if this is the problem, what’s the Solution? This is perhaps not a simple solution in the sense of what it can lead to, but it certainly is simple in it’s execution: take away Pryor’s black jersey. I’m sold on the fact that the coaches are so impressed with him in practice because Pryor KNOWS that he won’t be taking a hit. If Etienne Sabino is bearing down on him, the whistle is going to be blown long before any painful hit actually occurs. I seriously think that this difference is effecting the play of Pryor from practice to the game and that it won’t be resolved until the coaches do something about it.
Now, the reason why this isn’t such a simple option is that there’s the very obvious and real likelihood that Pryor could be seriously injured in practices like these. I’m literally asking…no…begging the coaches to have Brian Rolle, Etienne Sabino, Kurt Coleman, and any defensive lineman absolutely lay the wood to Pryor. I want Pryor to understand that this is the game of football and he’s expected to take these kinds of hits and hop back up ready to go some more. The only way this happens is if we take off his black practice jersey.
Do I believe this is going to happen? No, probably not, but I do believe that it’s what needs to happen. If it doesn’t, we’re going to see a lot more of what we saw against Purdue.
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