http://www.thebuckeyebattlecry.com/?p=5945&cpage=1
Pryor On Road To Heisman Glory?
By Jeff Seemann
Fox Sports Ohio
July 13, 2010
There are 51 days until Ohio State takes the football field, kicking off the 2010 season, but the discussion about it has already heated up.
At least it has for one player.
Phil Steele's College Football Preview has recently named Terrelle Pryor as the favorite to win the 2010 Heisman Trophy. That's quite an honor, considering the 2009 winner, Alabama's Mark Ingram, is returning for his crack at a second straight title.
Steele has the chops to make such a call. He's considered one of the top experts when it comes to college football, and his previews are always the most anticipated publication of the summer months.
But does Pryor have the skills and the drive to live up to the early hype? It will probably depend entirely on whether or not his team makes the BCS National Championship Game. With a loaded offense and a bevy of solid running backs behind Pryor, he will not be called on to make every single offensive gain. He'll be sharing the load with a lot of skill players, and therefore his numbers won't be as big as Houston's Case Keenum, Arkansas' Ryan Mallett, or perhaps Washington's Jake Locker.
» More on Pryor - A Timeline Of Terrelle Pryor's Career At Ohio State
None of those three quarterbacks have an inside track to the college football championship game, so Pryor's high-profile image will have to be pushed for him to overcome other players' stats.
But the road to a National Championship and a Heisman Trophy begins and ends with Terrelle Pryor. Of all the early contenders, his is the path of least resistance.
• Ingram has to play in the SEC, and being the reigning champion, he'll have a target on his back every single game. The non-conference schedule is pretty weak, but playing at Arkansas, at Tennessee, and at LSU will not be an easy climb.
• Locker not only has to manage getting through a re-stacked Pac-10, but he has to go to BYU, and face Nebraska before the conference slate even begins. A slow start will damage his Heisman run.
• Keenum's going to throw for serious numbers, but Houston will be overlooked in most of the major races. Sad to say, but Conf-USA players don't get the big exposure, while the rest of the Heisman hopefuls will be on national TV most of the season. Exposure will kill Keenum's chances, even if he chucks 5,000+ yards again.
• Jacory Harris from Miami has a shot at the trophy, but he hasn't yet grown up like Pryor was able to late in 2009. He's still got to learn to not take the sack and not throw the ball into traffic when he's in trouble. If he grows up early and is able to knock off the Buckeyes in Ohio Stadium, the race changes. But then again, Harris started off 2009 fast before fading even faster.
• Mallett has the same issues that face Ingram - the SEC schedule. If he can lead the Razorbacks into the SEC title game, he's going to have the exposure he needs to pull it off. That will be a fun game to watch if Mallett makes it, especially knowing that he was the heir-apparent at Michigan before Rich Rodriguez showed up and shook the roster.
• Boise State's Kellen Moore has an outside chance at it. 39 TD to just 3 INTs last year is a precursor to an outstanding year, but the voters still don't respect Boise State. Their overall record is forcing poll voters to rank them up there, but Heisman voters aren't yet ready to give a Bronco a break.
That leaves Pryor. With only three major challenges on the schedule (Miami, at Wisconsin, and at Iowa), he has the ability to run the table. Also, his MVP trophy from the Rose Bowl and his team's high ranking to start the season will act as carriers to give him the early push a Heisman winner always needs.
It may not be fair, but the Heisman hype actually starts the season before. If you don't have the stats in the previous year, your time frame for getting consideration is drastically damaged. Any outsiders won't get recognition for the top award until at least the sixth week, and it may be too late to crack the list of finalists by then.
If you're an Ohio State fan, you're looking for Troy Smith-like games from Pryor. Smith was a master at taking over the important games and being unstoppable when the Buckeyes needed him the most. He personally gained over 1,000 yards in just three games against Michigan, outgained the entire Notre Dame team in the 2006 Fiesta Bowl, and destroyed two top-ten teams on the road in Texas and Iowa. If Pryor can match or beat those performances, without having a game like Smith did against Florida, he'll be giving Buckeye fans two amazing gifts in December and January.
Smith won the Heisman in 2006, but failed in the National Championship game. There are some around Columbus who are already saying that Pryor is primed for a better year than Smith had in '06.
We'll find out for sure in 51 days.
Pryor On Road To Heisman Glory?
By Jeff Seemann
Fox Sports Ohio
July 13, 2010
There are 51 days until Ohio State takes the football field, kicking off the 2010 season, but the discussion about it has already heated up.
At least it has for one player.
Phil Steele's College Football Preview has recently named Terrelle Pryor as the favorite to win the 2010 Heisman Trophy. That's quite an honor, considering the 2009 winner, Alabama's Mark Ingram, is returning for his crack at a second straight title.
Steele has the chops to make such a call. He's considered one of the top experts when it comes to college football, and his previews are always the most anticipated publication of the summer months.
But does Pryor have the skills and the drive to live up to the early hype? It will probably depend entirely on whether or not his team makes the BCS National Championship Game. With a loaded offense and a bevy of solid running backs behind Pryor, he will not be called on to make every single offensive gain. He'll be sharing the load with a lot of skill players, and therefore his numbers won't be as big as Houston's Case Keenum, Arkansas' Ryan Mallett, or perhaps Washington's Jake Locker.
» More on Pryor - A Timeline Of Terrelle Pryor's Career At Ohio State
None of those three quarterbacks have an inside track to the college football championship game, so Pryor's high-profile image will have to be pushed for him to overcome other players' stats.
But the road to a National Championship and a Heisman Trophy begins and ends with Terrelle Pryor. Of all the early contenders, his is the path of least resistance.
• Ingram has to play in the SEC, and being the reigning champion, he'll have a target on his back every single game. The non-conference schedule is pretty weak, but playing at Arkansas, at Tennessee, and at LSU will not be an easy climb.
• Locker not only has to manage getting through a re-stacked Pac-10, but he has to go to BYU, and face Nebraska before the conference slate even begins. A slow start will damage his Heisman run.
• Keenum's going to throw for serious numbers, but Houston will be overlooked in most of the major races. Sad to say, but Conf-USA players don't get the big exposure, while the rest of the Heisman hopefuls will be on national TV most of the season. Exposure will kill Keenum's chances, even if he chucks 5,000+ yards again.
• Jacory Harris from Miami has a shot at the trophy, but he hasn't yet grown up like Pryor was able to late in 2009. He's still got to learn to not take the sack and not throw the ball into traffic when he's in trouble. If he grows up early and is able to knock off the Buckeyes in Ohio Stadium, the race changes. But then again, Harris started off 2009 fast before fading even faster.
• Mallett has the same issues that face Ingram - the SEC schedule. If he can lead the Razorbacks into the SEC title game, he's going to have the exposure he needs to pull it off. That will be a fun game to watch if Mallett makes it, especially knowing that he was the heir-apparent at Michigan before Rich Rodriguez showed up and shook the roster.
• Boise State's Kellen Moore has an outside chance at it. 39 TD to just 3 INTs last year is a precursor to an outstanding year, but the voters still don't respect Boise State. Their overall record is forcing poll voters to rank them up there, but Heisman voters aren't yet ready to give a Bronco a break.
That leaves Pryor. With only three major challenges on the schedule (Miami, at Wisconsin, and at Iowa), he has the ability to run the table. Also, his MVP trophy from the Rose Bowl and his team's high ranking to start the season will act as carriers to give him the early push a Heisman winner always needs.
It may not be fair, but the Heisman hype actually starts the season before. If you don't have the stats in the previous year, your time frame for getting consideration is drastically damaged. Any outsiders won't get recognition for the top award until at least the sixth week, and it may be too late to crack the list of finalists by then.
If you're an Ohio State fan, you're looking for Troy Smith-like games from Pryor. Smith was a master at taking over the important games and being unstoppable when the Buckeyes needed him the most. He personally gained over 1,000 yards in just three games against Michigan, outgained the entire Notre Dame team in the 2006 Fiesta Bowl, and destroyed two top-ten teams on the road in Texas and Iowa. If Pryor can match or beat those performances, without having a game like Smith did against Florida, he'll be giving Buckeye fans two amazing gifts in December and January.
Smith won the Heisman in 2006, but failed in the National Championship game. There are some around Columbus who are already saying that Pryor is primed for a better year than Smith had in '06.
We'll find out for sure in 51 days.
Terrelle Pryor: I'll return as senior
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=5792515&campaign=rss&source=ESPNUHeadlines
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Terrelle Pryor: I'll return as senior
Associated Press
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Despite saying earlier this week that he'd like to play basketball again, Ohio State (No. 9 BCS, No. 8 AP) quarterback Terrelle Pryor is committed to football and has enjoyed his almost three years with the Buckeyes.
He's liked it so much, in fact, he swears he'll be back for his senior year.
Big Ten blog
ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg writes about all things Big Ten in his conference blog. • Blog network:
College Football Nation
"I'm a Buckeye until I break all the records," he said during preparations for the Buckeyes' showdown on Saturday at Ohio Stadium against Penn State.
The junior said he had no intention -- at least right now -- of jumping into the NFL draft.
"I feel like I want to get my degree and finish off strong and maybe have a better season next year with no losses," he said. "I love being here and I need to develop more knowledge as a human being and not worry about money and stuff like that.
"My mom works a little bit so I can use some of her money, and the money that we get here," Pryor said, referring to his scholarship and stipends that athletes receive for expenses. "I don't really have to worry. I can suffer another year, I just want to gain more knowledge as a human being before I leave."
Pryor recognizes that despite starting for the Buckeyes (8-1, 4-1 Big Ten) for almost three full seasons, he still has some unfinished business.
Plus, he wants to burnish his resume at Ohio State and have his name among the Heisman Trophy winners whose numbers are placed on the facade of the upper deck at Ohio Stadium.
"I want to get my degree, so I can finish that up," Pryor said. "I want to have a legacy here and maybe someday get my jersey hung up. That's one of my goals here as well. I think I just have to develop my brain, develop my mind and the way I'm thinking and how I control situations."
Coach Jim Tressel, who brought Pryor to Ohio State when the 6-foot-6, 235-pound colt was rated the No. 1 recruit in the country, isn't surprised the Jeannette, Pa., native feels that way.
"He is a guy that wants to make a difference for his team," Tressel said. "If he could do anything so that his team would succeed, he would do it."
That's why it was such a shock to some Ohio State followers earlier this week when Pryor sent two curious messages on Twitter.
The two-sport star in high school, who once considered playing both football and basketball in college, tweeted that he missed basketball. Then he tweeted a note to Buckeyes basketball player David Lighty asking if he could say something to hoops coach Thad Matta about Pryor trying out for the team.
A day later, Pryor declined to go into much detail about his feelings of also performing on the court for the fourth-ranked Buckeyes.
"I'm playing football right now," he said unequivocally. "That's it. I was just throwing it out there. I think all the time."
Some Ohio State fans were critical of him for even thinking about another sport when the Buckeyes are faced with a huge game against the Nittany Lions (6-3, 3-2) and have other big tests awaiting at Iowa and at home against archrival Michigan.
Penn State's 83-year-old coach, Joe Paterno, tried hard to keep Pryor in his home state three years ago. Perhaps adding fuel to the fire, JoePa also mentioned Pryor's prowess on the court this week.
"He was a great, great high school player -- and not only as a football player, a heck of a basketball player," Paterno added, without a wink. "We tried everything we could to try to get him to come to Penn State."
Pryor has a bit of history against the massive program in his home state. A year ago, he accounted for all three touchdowns -- breaking the game open with a 62-yard scoring toss to DeVier Posey in the third quarter -- in Ohio State's 24-7 victory in Happy Valley.
A year earlier, the Nittany Lions stopped him on a critical fourth-and-1 situation near midfield late in a 13-6 victory over the Buckeyes in Ohio Stadium. That remains the only home loss for Pryor as a starter.
And it still haunts him.
"I took the Penn State game my freshman year so (hard) that maybe it was like the end of the world that we lost," he said. "I'm from Pennsylvania and I thought it was a big deal, but it's really not. It's the same game, and we're going to have those losses."
The win a year ago helped ease the ache of the loss in 2008.
"Playing there definitely took pressure off my chest," Pryor said. "As I grew up and got older you have time to think a lot. I'm a big thinker and I look back at it as you're playing all these games and if you keep playing this game a long time you're going to take a lot of losses and I'm going to win a lot of games."
He added, "I just look at it as you've got to get on to the next one. That's the way I'm going to view everything -- on to the next thing."
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=5792515&campaign=rss&source=ESPNUHeadlines
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Terrelle Pryor: I'll return as senior
Associated Press
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Despite saying earlier this week that he'd like to play basketball again, Ohio State (No. 9 BCS, No. 8 AP) quarterback Terrelle Pryor is committed to football and has enjoyed his almost three years with the Buckeyes.
He's liked it so much, in fact, he swears he'll be back for his senior year.
Big Ten blog
College Football Nation
"I'm a Buckeye until I break all the records," he said during preparations for the Buckeyes' showdown on Saturday at Ohio Stadium against Penn State.
The junior said he had no intention -- at least right now -- of jumping into the NFL draft.
"I feel like I want to get my degree and finish off strong and maybe have a better season next year with no losses," he said. "I love being here and I need to develop more knowledge as a human being and not worry about money and stuff like that.
"My mom works a little bit so I can use some of her money, and the money that we get here," Pryor said, referring to his scholarship and stipends that athletes receive for expenses. "I don't really have to worry. I can suffer another year, I just want to gain more knowledge as a human being before I leave."
Pryor recognizes that despite starting for the Buckeyes (8-1, 4-1 Big Ten) for almost three full seasons, he still has some unfinished business.
Plus, he wants to burnish his resume at Ohio State and have his name among the Heisman Trophy winners whose numbers are placed on the facade of the upper deck at Ohio Stadium.
"I want to get my degree, so I can finish that up," Pryor said. "I want to have a legacy here and maybe someday get my jersey hung up. That's one of my goals here as well. I think I just have to develop my brain, develop my mind and the way I'm thinking and how I control situations."
Coach Jim Tressel, who brought Pryor to Ohio State when the 6-foot-6, 235-pound colt was rated the No. 1 recruit in the country, isn't surprised the Jeannette, Pa., native feels that way.
"He is a guy that wants to make a difference for his team," Tressel said. "If he could do anything so that his team would succeed, he would do it."
That's why it was such a shock to some Ohio State followers earlier this week when Pryor sent two curious messages on Twitter.
The two-sport star in high school, who once considered playing both football and basketball in college, tweeted that he missed basketball. Then he tweeted a note to Buckeyes basketball player David Lighty asking if he could say something to hoops coach Thad Matta about Pryor trying out for the team.
A day later, Pryor declined to go into much detail about his feelings of also performing on the court for the fourth-ranked Buckeyes.
"I'm playing football right now," he said unequivocally. "That's it. I was just throwing it out there. I think all the time."
Some Ohio State fans were critical of him for even thinking about another sport when the Buckeyes are faced with a huge game against the Nittany Lions (6-3, 3-2) and have other big tests awaiting at Iowa and at home against archrival Michigan.
Penn State's 83-year-old coach, Joe Paterno, tried hard to keep Pryor in his home state three years ago. Perhaps adding fuel to the fire, JoePa also mentioned Pryor's prowess on the court this week.
"He was a great, great high school player -- and not only as a football player, a heck of a basketball player," Paterno added, without a wink. "We tried everything we could to try to get him to come to Penn State."
Pryor has a bit of history against the massive program in his home state. A year ago, he accounted for all three touchdowns -- breaking the game open with a 62-yard scoring toss to DeVier Posey in the third quarter -- in Ohio State's 24-7 victory in Happy Valley.
A year earlier, the Nittany Lions stopped him on a critical fourth-and-1 situation near midfield late in a 13-6 victory over the Buckeyes in Ohio Stadium. That remains the only home loss for Pryor as a starter.
And it still haunts him.
"I took the Penn State game my freshman year so (hard) that maybe it was like the end of the world that we lost," he said. "I'm from Pennsylvania and I thought it was a big deal, but it's really not. It's the same game, and we're going to have those losses."
The win a year ago helped ease the ache of the loss in 2008.
"Playing there definitely took pressure off my chest," Pryor said. "As I grew up and got older you have time to think a lot. I'm a big thinker and I look back at it as you're playing all these games and if you keep playing this game a long time you're going to take a lot of losses and I'm going to win a lot of games."
He added, "I just look at it as you've got to get on to the next one. That's the way I'm going to view everything -- on to the next thing."
Happy 23rd birthday
Terrelle Pryor
Age: 23
Profession: NFL Player
Best Known For: Once the top high school football player in the country, Terrelle Pryor had added success at Ohio State University, being named the 2008 Big Ten Freshman of the Year and achieving All-Big Ten Honorable Mention honors in 2008, 2009 and 2010. After a 2010 special investigation indicated that Pryor had violated NCAA rules by selling sports memorabilia, he was suspended for the first four games of the 2011 season. He subsequently withdrew from Ohio State and entered the 2011 NFL supplemental draft, where he was selected by the Oakland Raiders in the third round. He is currently Oakland’s third-string quarterback.
Terrelle Pryor
Age: 23
Profession: NFL Player
Best Known For: Once the top high school football player in the country, Terrelle Pryor had added success at Ohio State University, being named the 2008 Big Ten Freshman of the Year and achieving All-Big Ten Honorable Mention honors in 2008, 2009 and 2010. After a 2010 special investigation indicated that Pryor had violated NCAA rules by selling sports memorabilia, he was suspended for the first four games of the 2011 season. He subsequently withdrew from Ohio State and entered the 2011 NFL supplemental draft, where he was selected by the Oakland Raiders in the third round. He is currently Oakland’s third-string quarterback.
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/seahawks-acquire-qb-terrelle-pryor-004518623--nfl.html
[h=1]Seahawks acquire QB Terrelle Pryor[/h]<cite class="byline vcard top-line" id="yui_3_14_0_1_1398141881572_1077">By JOSH DUBOW (AP Sports Writer) <abbr id="yui_3_14_0_1_1398141881572_1076">3 hours ago</abbr></cite>
ALAMEDA, Calif. (AP) -- The Oakland Raiders have traded away the final player drafted by late owner Al Davis.
<section class="yom-mod " id="mediacontentrelatedstory" data-ylk="mid:mediacontentrelatedstory;mpos:1;elm:hdln;elmt:ct;cat:Related Stories;rspns:nav;t1:a3;t2:lst-ct;itc:0;sec:lst-ct;">[h=2][/h]
</section>
Oakland dealt quarterback Terrelle Pryor to the Seattle Seahawks on Monday for a seventh-round pick in next month's draft.
The Raiders fulfilled Pryor's wish to be traded a day before the start of their offseason program. Pryor had asked to be dealt after the season when he lost his starting job to undrafted rookie Matt McGloin, and the Raiders made the move after acquiring Matt Schaub from Houston to be the starter.
Pryor said on Twitter: ''Thank you Mr Davis and Raidernation for the unbelievable support!! I will miss the Fans and all of the teammates I have met over the years with the Raiders organization!!''
The Raiders took Pryor in the third round of the supplemental draft in 2011, less than two months before Davis died. Pryor was suspended for the first five games by Commissioner Roger Goodell, who ruled he must miss the time he would have served under a suspension had he stayed at Ohio State.
Pryor got on the field only once as a rookie, committing a false start before his first play. He then played sparingly late in his second season before beating out general manager Reggie McKenzie's hand-picked starter, Matt Flynn, in training camp last summer.
Pryor showed flashes of what he could do early in the season, completing 68.1 percent of his passes for 845 yards, four touchdowns, two interceptions and a 97.6 passer rating in his first four starts. He also brought the running element to Oakland's offense and set an NFL record for quarterbacks with a 93-yard touchdown run on the first play from scrimmage against Pittsburgh on Oct. 27.
That was the final real highlight of his first year as a starter. He lost his job to McGloin a few weeks later after struggling through a knee injury in a loss to the New York Giants. Pryor had completed 50.1 percent of his passes for 714 yards with one touchdown, eight interceptions and a 44.2 passer rating in his four starts before losing his job.
He played only sparingly after that until starting the season finale against Denver. Pryor finished the season having completed 156 of 272 passes for 1,798 yards, seven touchdowns and 11 interceptions, with a passer rating of 69.1. He also rushed for 576 yards on 83 carries, but was sacked 31 times.
Pryor will compete with Tarvaris Jackson and B.J. Daniels for the backup job to Russell Wilson on the Super Bowl champion Seahawks.
''Terrelle is an incredibly explosive athlete and we're excited for him to come in and compete,'' Seahawks general manager John Schneider said in a statement.
The Raiders had already decided to go in a different direction at quarterback when they traded a sixth-round pick to Houston for Schaub. Coach Dennis Allen had already chosen Schaub as his starter and McGloin is in place as the backup. Oakland could still draft a quarterback next month.
[h=1]Seahawks acquire QB Terrelle Pryor[/h]<cite class="byline vcard top-line" id="yui_3_14_0_1_1398141881572_1077">By JOSH DUBOW (AP Sports Writer) <abbr id="yui_3_14_0_1_1398141881572_1076">3 hours ago</abbr></cite>
ALAMEDA, Calif. (AP) -- The Oakland Raiders have traded away the final player drafted by late owner Al Davis.
<section class="yom-mod " id="mediacontentrelatedstory" data-ylk="mid:mediacontentrelatedstory;mpos:1;elm:hdln;elmt:ct;cat:Related Stories;rspns:nav;t1:a3;t2:lst-ct;itc:0;sec:lst-ct;">[h=2][/h]
</section>
Oakland dealt quarterback Terrelle Pryor to the Seattle Seahawks on Monday for a seventh-round pick in next month's draft.
The Raiders fulfilled Pryor's wish to be traded a day before the start of their offseason program. Pryor had asked to be dealt after the season when he lost his starting job to undrafted rookie Matt McGloin, and the Raiders made the move after acquiring Matt Schaub from Houston to be the starter.
Pryor said on Twitter: ''Thank you Mr Davis and Raidernation for the unbelievable support!! I will miss the Fans and all of the teammates I have met over the years with the Raiders organization!!''
The Raiders took Pryor in the third round of the supplemental draft in 2011, less than two months before Davis died. Pryor was suspended for the first five games by Commissioner Roger Goodell, who ruled he must miss the time he would have served under a suspension had he stayed at Ohio State.
Pryor got on the field only once as a rookie, committing a false start before his first play. He then played sparingly late in his second season before beating out general manager Reggie McKenzie's hand-picked starter, Matt Flynn, in training camp last summer.
Pryor showed flashes of what he could do early in the season, completing 68.1 percent of his passes for 845 yards, four touchdowns, two interceptions and a 97.6 passer rating in his first four starts. He also brought the running element to Oakland's offense and set an NFL record for quarterbacks with a 93-yard touchdown run on the first play from scrimmage against Pittsburgh on Oct. 27.
That was the final real highlight of his first year as a starter. He lost his job to McGloin a few weeks later after struggling through a knee injury in a loss to the New York Giants. Pryor had completed 50.1 percent of his passes for 714 yards with one touchdown, eight interceptions and a 44.2 passer rating in his four starts before losing his job.
He played only sparingly after that until starting the season finale against Denver. Pryor finished the season having completed 156 of 272 passes for 1,798 yards, seven touchdowns and 11 interceptions, with a passer rating of 69.1. He also rushed for 576 yards on 83 carries, but was sacked 31 times.
Pryor will compete with Tarvaris Jackson and B.J. Daniels for the backup job to Russell Wilson on the Super Bowl champion Seahawks.
''Terrelle is an incredibly explosive athlete and we're excited for him to come in and compete,'' Seahawks general manager John Schneider said in a statement.
The Raiders had already decided to go in a different direction at quarterback when they traded a sixth-round pick to Houston for Schaub. Coach Dennis Allen had already chosen Schaub as his starter and McGloin is in place as the backup. Oakland could still draft a quarterback next month.
