Thank You, Terrelle Pryor, for Not Choosing Michigan

After witnessing OSU's conservative play calling against USC and comparing it to UM's open spread offense that trusts its playmakers, you have to wonder if Terrelle Pryor is wondering what the Michigan offense would look like with him under center.

As one San Francisco Chronicle columnist put it: "Pryor should not beat himself up over this loss. What he should get mad at himself about is choosing to go to Ohio State over Michigan. As I watched freshman Tate Forcier sparkle in the Wolverines' win over Notre Dame earlier Saturday, I kept thinking how good Pryor would be in the wide-open, spread offense."

National writer Stewart Mandel offered a similar perspective:

"Youth, however, did not hinder Forcier from delivering one of the most clutch performances we've seen so far this season. Perhaps the Michigan QB is simply preternaturally developed. Or, perhaps Pryor simply chose the wrong school. On the surface, it seems like Tressel and his staff have properly adjusted their offense to fit Pryor's talents. They line him up in the shotgun. They call a fair share of options, QB draws and rollouts. In execution, however, it's still very much a work in progress. Mind you, that's not all on Pryor—the offensive line and receivers weren't always in synch against USC, either. But then look at Michigan and just how radically its offense has improved in such a short time. Seeing how smoothly the Wolverines operate under Forcier, and knowing what Rodriguez did with Pat White at West Virginia, one can't help but wonder whether Pryor would be more developed at this point if he'd gone to play for the spread guru. Of course, all that's moot now. Both teams have their quarterbacks of the present and future. What's scary is that Michigan's offense is only beginning to scratch the surface. Imagine the possibilities should Rodriguez bring in an explosive tailback to complement Forcier or find more ways to utilize speedster Denard Robinson."

Although I agree with the general premise, the thought of Pryor taking snaps at Michigan didn't cross my mind once during Saturday's performance, and it won't ever again.

We don't need Terrelle Pryor. We have Tate Forcier. If it meant taking on a 3-9 losing season without a star QB recruit in 2008 in order to return Michigan to its glory with this kid as our leader in 2009, I'll take it.

"Everyone kept saying a freshman can't do it," Forcier told reporters. "I did it."