Dave's IMO: A Pryor Development

The USC showdown is history and after the dust has settled there are some good things to take from the game as well as some painful/disturbing truths.  All things being equal, coaching decisions and execution aside, the game came down mostly to the play of Terrelle Pryor. 

Had he performed as the Buckeye faithful hoped/desired Ohio State would have won.  That's the simple and somewhat painful truth.  Obiously he is not as far along as we anticipated and that is taking nothing away from the Trojan defense.

So the question now is what can be done to help TP develop into the superstar he has been billed as since his days in high school?  Is all hope lost?  Will Pryor simply be a great athlete attempting to play quaterback, or can he still become a Heisman candidate and carry OSU to big-time success?

Maybe the best way to answer those questions is to look back at the development of Troy Smith, who also came to Columbus with a less than polished game.  Unlike Pryor he had a couple of years of getting acclimated to college and the quarterback position as he was redshirted in 2002 and then used only on special teams in '03. 

When he did burst on the scene as a third-year sophomore Smith was mostly an athlete who could burn teams with his feet and showed a strong, if sometimes erratic arm.  He almost always took off under pressure, running for 339 yards and throwing for 896 while splitting time with Justin Zwick.

The following year (2005) Troy was pretty dynamic, rushing for 611 yards and eleven touchdowns while throwing for 2282, with an excellent 16-4 touchdown to interception ratio.  But he was still an athlete playing quarterback much of the time. 

However, by his senior year, Smith was finally comfortable in the pocket, and became a prolific passeer (2542 passing yards and 30 tds), using his legs mainly to avoid pressure and buy time.  It was a five year project from undisciplined athlete to Heisman quarterback.

No one knows if Pryor has the work ethic, leadership, or teachibility to make the same progression, but the fact is, he must be given time.  He did not come out of high school as a finished product with the benefit of playing in a pro-style offense.  He is a great natural athlete, who played at a fairly small school and overwhelmed people with his sheer talent. 

History says that those type of players take a while to grasp all the nuances of a complicated college offense.  Truth is, no matter how fast or strong, a player can't run over and around eleven major college defenders on a regular basis. 

Of course the x factor in all of this is the quarterback coach.  Joe Daniels, who mentored Troy Smith was a proven quality.  But nobody is sure whether Nick Siciliano has the magic touch or not.  A 1999 graduate of Youngstown State he is not only young, but relatively inexperienced in coaching quarterbacks.  Here's hoping he is up to the job, but the jury is still out to be sure.

All appearances are that Pryor is a hard-working kid who wants to become great.  We all know Tressell is recognized for his work in coaching up signal callers.  So even if JT has to do some individual tutoring I am optimistic that the light will come on for Terrelle before his time in Columbus is done.