As a college football fan, I was watching the media coverage of one of the most heavily recruited high school quarterbacks in the country, Terrelle Pryor.

 

Pryor has been compared to a faster version of Vince Young or a bigger version of Michael Vick, but did he make the right decision in choosing the more conservative,' old school' Jim Tressell over the more 'open-minded' Rich Rodriguez of Michigan?

Admittedly, Rodriguez got into the recruiting effort of Pryor a little late. His former West Virginia team lost the opportunity to play in the national championship game after losing to rival Pittsburgh late last year. Soon thereafter, Rodriguez had resigned and was announced as the new coach at Michigan.

 

If Pryor wanted to maximize his potential as a dual threat QB and be considered as a NFL QB prospect, he needed to go to Michigan. If Pryor felt he might not be ready in his first year and wanted to be used in a "Tim Tebow' role, it could have been EASILY arranged that way by Rodriquez. I just don't see Tressell 'rolling over' to do what Terrelle wants. I am not necessarily saying that Tressel is playing a 'shell game' or being two-faced, but I see some elements of the Demetrius Jones story.

Jones, a former  highly regarded Notre Dame recruit, had to lose a year of playing due to a coach's apparent misrepresentation of how he fit into his plans as a starting quarterback.

Notre Dame hasn't come close to winning a national championship since the days of  Raghib Ishmail and Tony Rice in the late 1980's. Weis' mishandling of the quarterback situation set Notre Dame back (2007 was a horrible year that was compounded by losing to all the service academy schools for the first time) and sidetracked a young QB who looked to have a promising career, but once the recruitment stopped and Jones stepped on campus, apparently things changed.

Weis apparently wasn't ready for a dual-threat QB to lead his team.

 

As for Michigan, the football team has always had an 'old school' traditional fanbase and style and I can't recall the last time an African-American had started  at quarterback , much less a dual-threat quarterback who is equally proficient in running and throwing the football. However, the Wolverines fanbase and alumni are tired of LOSING to Tressell.

 

The majority of the  fanbase at Michigan may be skeptical of Rodriquez's 180 degree style of play and may express it publicly if Pryor had early struggles, but Rodriquez would have stood by Pryor through his growing pains as a quarterback--knowing in the end it would definitely pay off for the Michigan program.

Why would Pryor be a better fit with the Buckeyes? Some make Troy Smith comparisons, but that's like comparing Quincy Carter or Tavaris Jackson to Michael Vick. They are all dual threat QB's, but the sub-4.4 speed  and the ability to turn negative situations into big plays separates Vick and Pryor (4.35/ 40) from someone such as a  Troy Smith and or even Tavaris Jackson who reminds me of an 'older, slower , less talented' McNabb with less mobility and wants to prove they can pass to appease 'haters'..

 

If Pryor struggles doing it Tressel's way, will Tressell still be supportive? Or will he treat him like the flavor of the month and look elsewhere in next year's recruiting class ala Charlie Weis?

 

Xavier Lee at Florida State had a similar situation, but Coach Bobby Bowden and the offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher had given favor to Drew Weatherford. Florida State's record has been supbar the past few years under Weatherford and it seems Lee was never really given a chance to succeed and now Lee is taking his chances in the NFL draft and hope he can catch on as a wide receiver or position player.

 

Pryor has aspirations to play on the pro level, but he runs a greater risk of not making it and falling far short with his decision to play at Ohio State.

 

Pryor's miscalculation could turn him into the next Demetrius Jones or Ronald Curry.

 

Pryor says he wants to be used the way Florida's Tim Tebow was used as a freshman when he teamed with Chris Leak two years ago. Pryor has to take into account, there was a lot of animosity with Chris Leak within the Gator fanbase (left over from Spurrier's tenure who never recruited a black QB) .(Ironically, Leak (the drop back passer) won a NCAA championship with Florida and can't get a back-up job on the NFL level) Tebow was seen as the 'golden boy' in the local media and in the fanbase. To be honest, I don't envision Tressel using Pryor the way Urban Meyer did with Tebow in his first year.

 

However, once Pryor signed that letter of intent with the Buckeyes, Pryor may face a similar fate of a Demetrius Jones, the once heralded prospect who looked at his freshman year as a 'feeling out' process and then he would be the likely starter in his sophomore year. Jones, just like Pryor, was a highly touted dual-threat QB. However, Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis had other plans and recruited Jimmy Clausen and anointed him the future starter in essence jumping over Jones as starter.

 

Jones felt betrayed. Yes, he did start in the 2007 opener versus Georgia Tech, but he knew he wasn't going to be given a chance to succeed as a QB at Notre Dam and his chances of going to the NFL as QB or even a position player would be severely compromised so he abruptly left-- and will likely play for the Cincinnati Bearcats football team in 2008.

 

Charlie Weis appeared to deceive Jones or wasn't upfront about Demetrius' role on the team as the quarterback of the future. And I get this same feeling about Jim Tressel. Yes, Coach Tressel had success with Troy Smith who started his first FULL YEAR as the chief signal caller entering his fourth year on campus (2005) after arriving at Ohio State as a freshman in 2002.

Troy Smith wasn't Tressel first choice and Smith benefited from an unexpected injury to the current starting QB at that time in late 2004. Troy Smith took advantage of his opportunity and  also beat hated rival Michigan in consecutive years.

Now back to Pryor.

 

Michigan wanted and needed Pryor more than Ohio State. Tressel prohibits a rival from getting a top prospect that could beat his team and jeopardize his own job and could care less if Terrell Pryor 'develops' as a traditional QB or not .

Coach Lloyd Carr had to resign from Michigan because he couldn't beat Ohio State. So this Pryor signing may be more of a strategic move than trying to help a young man develop his talents for the next level.

Good luck Terrelle, you may need it.