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1/6/09
Terrelle Pryor Catches 5 Yard Touchdown Pass For Ohio State In Fiesta Bowl Against Texas
Future NFL WR Terrelle Pryor Found His Calling Halfway Through The 4th Quarter Of The Fiesta Bowl


You'll have to fast forward the video to about the 8:25 mark to see it, but in last night's Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, Terrelle Pryor took a long, hard look into his future.

In an ingenious move that should never have taken this long to happen, Terrelle Pryor caught his very first pass as a member of the Ohio State Buckeyes. QB Todd Boeckman, who led the Buckeyes to a National Championship game appearance last year, lined up as the QB, with Pryor as his WR, and lobbed a pass to the the freshman QB for a pivotal TD that brought Ohio State to within 2 points of the Longhorns.

Pryor is 6'6", and has plenty of speed. According to his evaluation as a high school basketball prospect, he also has plenty of vertical leaping ability and good hands. If there was ever a perfect recipe for a WR, that's it. Combine that with the cognitive abilities that you would assume that Pryor has as a QB, and Pryor has a chance to be an excellent receiver at the next level, if he chooses to be.

Pryor's basketball background is just one more thing that points to his potential as a solid wideout. Tony Gonzalez, arguably the best receiving tight end in NFL history, played basketball in college at Cal, and Dallas Cowboys superstar WR Terrell Owens was also an NCAA basketball player, and tried (but wasn't allowed) to play in a summer league with the Sacramento Kings.

As a quarterback, Terrelle Pryor's strength is not with his arm. The biggest threat when Pryor has the ball is his speed. As a pure passer, he is average, at best. While many high schools and some colleges put their best athlete at the quarterback position, there are many times when that player would be much better suited for another position in the long run. This was the case with guys like Antwaan Randle El and Matt Jones, and is likely true for players like Tim Tebow and Pryor.

Whether he likes it or not, Terrelle Pryor's future is brightest as a WR prospect. Should Ohio State move him there? Probably not, since they have had a good amount of success with him at QB, as well as with other mobile QB's. He could quite conceivably win a Heisman at QB before his career is over in Columbus. But if he wants to go to the next level, he should start working with the JUGS machine. He saw into his future in the Fiesta Bowl, and it was as a wide receiver.
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1/7/09
3
I still think that Tressel sacrificed this year for OSU, to allow Pryor to play QB for the majority of the season.      Let's face it, he had the all-Big 10 QB (Boeckman) returning for his senior season this year, yet went with Pryor at QB.     You saw during the Fiesta bowl how the offense actually got some rhythm going and moved the ball with Boeckman as QB, and certainly with Pryor split out wide for a few plays the 'jump-ball' worked as well (twice actually, with the ill-fated 2-point conversion wiped out due to offsetting penalties).

I say Boeckman will be a late-round draft choice, make an NFL team as a back-up & spot-starter, and have a decent NFL career; he reminds me of Brad Johnson.     As for Pryor, I just can't see him playing QB at the next level; he may be a great 'athlete', but not a great 'QB'.........

1/6/09
3
Great minds think alike. Good stuff, Pat. I was thinking the same thing. Why doesn't Tressel try someone else at QB early next season vs those bonehead directional schools they play pre-Big Ten and put Pryor out on the wing? That guy in space = TD's. If he can't find a viable QB just switch Pryor back.

1/6/09
2
I agree, T. Pryor has a butt load of talent and Tressel got a little dose of his receiving abillity yesterday so hopefully he takes that with him this off season and when next season starts, keep the defenses guessing by shaking things up like lastnight eventhough they lost, at least the Buckeye's didnt get embarrassed like the years prior...

1/6/09
1
He would be a great NFL WR, but he's also a pretty good NCAA QB.  He'll probably play QB for the next 2 years and be unwilling to make the move at the next level a la Kordell Stewart, Seneca Wallace and the Hall-of-Famer Warren Moon.  Also, Cris Carter's kid will be in Columbus next fall and he's supposed to be great, so they're kind of set at WR and yet in need of a QB if Pryor changes positions.

1/6/09
1
Just a kind of interesting side-note about basketball ability correlating into football.... LeBron James was the #1 scouted HS WR his Junior year, but didn't play his Senior year to concentrate on hoops.  Could you imagine a LeBron at WR?  Jerry Rice should feel pretty lucky that LeBron chose a career in hoops!!

1/6/09
1
beerstudk wrote:
He would be a great NFL WR, but he's also a pretty good NCAA QB.  He'll probably play QB for the next 2 years and be unwilling to make the move at the next level a la Kordell Stewart, Seneca Wallace and the Hall-of-Famer Warren Moon.  Also, Cris Carter's kid will be in Columbus next fall and he's supposed to be great, so they're kind of set at WR and yet in need of a QB if Pryor changes positions.
I'm sure OSU could bring in another QB who is more of a pure pocket passer. In my opinion, a two-headed QB attack with a pass-first QB and Pryor sharing time, and Pryor mixing it up at QB, RB and WR could develop into quite a lethal attack. I think that their offense was at it's best against Texas when Boeckman was passing and Pryor and Wells were running.

Triple threat Pryor + Solid passing QB + Solid RB = Deadly to opposing defenses.

1/6/09
0

I agree he appears to be a better fit at the WR spot, but till OSU brings in a blue chip QB he should stay at the QB spot.


1/6/09
1
Pat wrote:
I'm sure OSU could bring in another QB who is more of a pure pocket passer. In my opinion, a two-headed QB attack with a pass-first QB and Pryor sharing time, and Pryor mixing it up at QB, RB and WR could develop into quite a lethal attack. I think that their offense was at it's best against Texas when Boeckman was passing and Pryor and Wells were running.

Triple threat Pryor + Solid passing QB + Solid RB = Deadly to opposing defenses.
Maybe, but QB by committee rarely works out.  And it's not like Pryor isn't a True Freshman, it's not out of the question to expect him to throw the ball better next year and the year after.

1/6/09
0
Yup and they will still get beat in the bowl game by the pac 10 or big 12

1/6/09
0
 I saw him play in Jeannette PA and addmittedly he was a man amongst boys, but when he lined up at DE he was unstoppable.  With a year in the weight room he could be a mid 4.5 running, 250+ pound "Leo" what they call their DE/OLB hybrid.  Think of a younger and faster Chad Brown.  He's very raw and could end up at a few positions.    

1/6/09
1
beerstudk wrote:
Just a kind of interesting side-note about basketball ability correlating into football.... LeBron James was the #1 scouted HS WR his Junior year, but didn't play his Senior year to concentrate on hoops.  Could you imagine a LeBron at WR?  Jerry Rice should feel pretty lucky that LeBron chose a career in hoops!!
 Dell Curry, Dennis Scott, Scottie Burrell and Iverson were all top HS QBs.  LeBron probably would have been moved to TE, his mid 4.6 40 times would have made that move logical.  Many of the bestfootball players I have scouted were basketball players  .  Many prep basketball experts still argue about  Andre Rison if he was better than Glen Rice or 'Magic' Johnson.  Joe Monta's father was convinced his son was headed to Clemson to play basketball.  Great athletes can play, period.    

1/6/09
0
elevenbravo138again wrote:
 Dell Curry, Dennis Scott, Scottie Burrell and Iverson were all top HS QBs.  LeBron probably would have been moved to TE, his mid 4.6 40 times would have made that move logical.  Many of the bestfootball players I have scouted were basketball players  .  Many prep basketball experts still argue about  Andre Rison if he was better than Glen Rice or 'Magic' Johnson.  Joe Monta's father was convinced his son was headed to Clemson to play basketball.  Great athletes can play, period.    
He could have just as easily stayed at WR with a 40"+ vertical leap on a 6'8"-240# frame..... but ya, there are a lot of basketball players that can play football.  I've thought Dwayne Wade would be an AMAZING football player too.

1/6/09
0
I think for Osu he should drive them down to the goal at QB then move to Receiver inside the 20 for the jumpball. Thats just me though.

1/7/09
3
I still think that Tressel sacrificed this year for OSU, to allow Pryor to play QB for the majority of the season.      Let's face it, he had the all-Big 10 QB (Boeckman) returning for his senior season this year, yet went with Pryor at QB.     You saw during the Fiesta bowl how the offense actually got some rhythm going and moved the ball with Boeckman as QB, and certainly with Pryor split out wide for a few plays the 'jump-ball' worked as well (twice actually, with the ill-fated 2-point conversion wiped out due to offsetting penalties).

I say Boeckman will be a late-round draft choice, make an NFL team as a back-up & spot-starter, and have a decent NFL career; he reminds me of Brad Johnson.     As for Pryor, I just can't see him playing QB at the next level; he may be a great 'athlete', but not a great 'QB'.........

1/7/09
0
beerstudk wrote:
He could have just as easily stayed at WR with a 40"+ vertical leap on a 6'8"-240# frame..... but ya, there are a lot of basketball players that can play football.  I've thought Dwayne Wade would be an AMAZING football player too.
LeBron, after 3 years of a D-1 weight-training program, would weigh around 270 by the time he was NFL draft eligible.  He might have been a Harold Carmichael type WR, but with the emphasis on exploiting the seams in zone coverage, TE actually gives you more ways to use that kind of match up nightmare.

1/7/09
0
elevenbravo138again wrote:
LeBron, after 3 years of a D-1 weight-training program, would weigh around 270 by the time he was NFL draft eligible.  He might have been a Harold Carmichael type WR, but with the emphasis on exploiting the seams in zone coverage, TE actually gives you more ways to use that kind of match up nightmare.
I'm just glad he chose basketball.

1/7/09
0
Pat wrote:
I'm just glad he chose basketball.
So are: [in order] his agent, his ribs and his knees!

1/7/09
0
Am I the only one that thought TP pushed off both times???

 
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