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Football
Healthy Pryor “Right Where He Needs to Be” Heading Into Fall
By Brandon Castel

COLUMBUS — It’s that time again.

Terrelle Pryor
Photo by Dan Harker

The Buckeyes are only days away from opening their 2010 fall camp, and all eyes will once again focus on Terrelle Pryor and the most talked about knee in all of football (not to be confused with the most talked about ankle, which undoubtedly belongs to Brett Favre).

Ohio State is being picked as the consensus No. 2 in the country behind reigning champion Alabama, but Jim Tressel’s 10th OSU squad will only go as far as Pryor, and his knee, can take them. Although he avoided major injury in 2009, Pryor was hampered by a number of lingering injuries down the stretch, including a knee that required minor surgery in the off-season.

He looked good in the Scarlet and Gray Spring Game, leading a 4-play, 78-yard touchdown drive on his second possession by completing all four of his passes, including a 12-yard strike to senior Dane Sanzenbacher. But he also wore a thick black brace on his left knee and played only one quarter in the game before Tressel rested him for the rest of the day.

Tressel said back in June that he expected Pryor would be ready to go for the start of fall camp—which begins a week from Thursday—and co-offensive coordinator Darrell Hazell confirmed those sentiments to The-Ozone this week. 

“No, he’s fine. I saw him walking through the Woody Hayes (Athletic Center) the other day, he had his shirt off and he looked great,” said Hazell, who coaches the wide receivers at Ohio State, but also has a hand in the offensive game plan.

“He said he felt great and I think he’s right where he needs to be coming into the season.”

Pryor is coming off a sophomore season at OSU in which he completed 56.6 percent of his passes for 2,094 yards and 18 touchdowns. He also racked up 779 yards on the ground to go with seven more scores, but the Buckeyes would like to see him cut down on the 11 interceptions he threw in 2009.

“I think he’s got to compete and do what he’s doing. He’s studying the game on his own in the off-season. He’s watching a lot of film and I think he’s just got to come out relaxed and not try to do too much,” Hazell said.

“His skill set has gotten so much better since the time he got here and he’s starting to understand defenses a lot better.”

In fact, Hazell was reminded of just how much Pryor has improved—not only since his arrival but even from the beginning of last season—by catching some of Ohio State week on the Big Ten Network.

“I watched the Penn State game that came on at like 12 o’clock on the Big Ten Network, and just watching that game and watch how much he’s grown in the first nine weeks of the season was amazing,” Hazell said of Ohio State’s 24-7 win over the Nittany Lions in Happy Valley last November. 

“He only completed eight passes, but just how well he controlled the game and made plays with his feet when he had to, made the plays with his arm when he had to. If he can continue to get better each day, I think he’s going to be a great player; a phenomenal player.”

The Buckeyes are coming off an 11-2 season in which they captured their first bowl win in four years with a 26-17 win over Oregon in the Rose Bowl. Pryor was the Offensive MVP of the game. He completed 23 of a career-high 37 pass attempts for 266 yards and two touchdowns. He also led the team with 72 yards on the ground, and the Ohio State coaching staff is still looking for better things from Pryor.

“My expectations are lofty,” said Dick Tressel, who has always been realistic his goals for Pryor.

“He’s a guy that’s been consistently maturing and consistently improving and consistently showing serious interest in getting better and being a team guy and doing everything that the Buckeyes need to be a successful team.”

Pryor has had his share of ups and downs during the first two seasons of his collegiate career, but one constant has remained: no one is praised more for his hard work and dedication to getting better than the 6-foot-6 signal caller out of Pennsylvania.

“That’s exciting for me,” Dick Tressel said.

“There’s never been a waiver in his commitment to getting better and doing what’s needed and that just means were going to be a step forward from even where we were the last go-around.”

If Pryor does take that step forward, so should the Buckeyes, which could have them playing in Glendale, Ariz. this season for another BCS National Championship.

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