Terrelle Pryor vs. Troy Smith: Who's Better?

Coming out of high school, Terrelle Pryor has been considered one of the best quarterback prospects. His accomplishments this year proved that he could become one of the best in the nation. He has been compared to Vince Young, who was very close to winning the Heisman a few years back, and he has the size and athleticism.

Even the talk of a Heisman quarterback around Columbus makes you think of Troy Smith, a come-back player who truly worked for what he received. He is arguably one of the best quarterbacks in Ohio State history, so a question arises: Who will be better after Pryor finishes his career at Ohio State, Pryor or Smith?

You have Pryor right now who is still developing as a passer. He’s done a pretty good job his freshman year, throwing 12 touchdowns, which was the most of any freshman QB at Ohio State, and he threw for 1,311 yards.

He was also very effective in his running game, rushing for 631 yards and six touchdowns. He was the second leading rusher on the team behind Chris “Beanie” Wells. With Pryor’s two aspects of being a successful runner and passer, the sky's the limit for his career.

What else can you say about Troy Smith that hasn’t been said? He was a very accurate and efficient quarterback. He’s won many awards for his phenomenal senior season, the biggest being the Heisman Trophy.

The amazing thing about Smith was his ability to be a leader, and he was constantly growing year to year. He went from being a run-first type of player, to being a run-if there’s-nothing-else-you-can-do type. Each year his stats rose and that’s what made him one of the best to ever go to Ohio State.

They’re different in numerous ways. Pryor is 6'6", while Smith was just 6'0". Although Smith didn’t have many passes batted down, it could have been just good decision making by him. Pryor may not have to do that. He’s as tall as some of the linemen.

The way they throw the ball is much more different. Pryor looks almost like he tosses it up, while Smith put his body into the throw. Pryor didn’t throw a lot of interceptions, but if he doesn’t start letting it rip he may have more picked off, while Smith got it to his receiver with some zip.

The way they run is different. Pryor has such long strides and he runs the 40 faster than Smith did. Smith had shorter legs so he kept chopping. Just because Pryor is faster doesn’t mean he’s faster. Smith may be able to make faster cuts than Pryor, so that may be better for Smith.

The biggest game of the season is Michigan, and Smith is the clear winner in that category, averaging over 300 yards a game against them. Pryor has a win against them, but it was mainly Chris Wells who carried the load. 

What both of these quarterbacks have in common is their ability to win games. Throughout Smith’s career as a starter, he only lost four games. Throughout Pryor’s career as a starter, he’s lost only two so far. They both lost two games in their first year of starting.

The other big thing they have in common is they don’t turn the ball over many times. Pryor only has four passes that went to the other team. That is terrific for a quarterback trying to find his rhythm. Smith threw 13 in his whole career and only three for his first year starting.

Considering that Pryor is still developing and he hasn’t reached his peak, I don’t think you can say who’s better just yet. If Pryor lives up to his hype and develops into more of a passing quarterback, he may beat out Smith.

The one thing that should define Smith’s legacy is the big games he won for this team. He had his best games against Michigan. Yes, he had a horrible National Championship Game, but Ted Ginn, Jr. was out with injury. That loss should not take anything away from Smith, because he still made it to that game.

Pryor needs to be the leader and the soul of the offense. The loss to USC this year was because Wells was not playing; if he was I guarantee that it would have been a better game. Pryor needs to be the guy who you can’t do without, and this year that was obviously Wells. 

Right now, Smith was better just because of his accomplishments, but Pryor has the skills to get up to that level.