Is OSU QB Terrelle Pryor Trying to Win Darwin Award For Stupidity?

Being quarterback for THE Ohio State University has its ups and downs, as sophomore Terrelle Pryor has learned in a trial-by-fire these past two seasons.

Despite being an insanely hyped prospect coming into college—one who had nearly half of the Big 10 knocking down his door for his services—Pryor continues to make headlines for all the wrong reasons.

With news leaking this week about Pryor planning to play in the Rose Bowl despite a partially torn PCL, I wanted to take a minute and look back on some of the dumber things that Pryor's done since deciding to become an Ohio State Buckeye.  

While he's done nothing egregious like "kill or murder someone" (see: No. 2), it may be time to ask whether his poor decision-making off the field has any bearing on his decision-making abilities on the field.

1) His college recruiting/decision process

Pryor was one of the hottest recruits in college football two years ago, ranked the top quarterback in his recruiting class by ESPN 150.

Pryor led his high school to both football and basketball state championships in his senior year, and he wanted to wait on deciding on a college until after the conclusion of the basketball season.  With Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State, and Oregon hot on his tail, Pryor announced his decision to attend Ohio State four days after winning the state basketball championship.

I'm not here to rip his college choice (my own mother was a Buckeye also), but instead, the way he handled himself toward the end of the process.  (Although a 6-6, 230 pound mobile QB who runs under a 4.3 40-yard dash committing to playing conservative "Tressel-ball" at Ohio State does raise some eyebrows.)

Pryor managed to throw an entire fanbase under the bus after deeming Penn State "too country" for his liking during his recruitment process.

"I don't like that place," Pryor said about Penn State's rural environment . "It's the country but they were in it."

Needless to say, Penn State fans remember.  Don't believe me?  Check out this quote from the Cleveland Plain Dealer , taken the week of the Penn State/Ohio State game this week.

"White T-shirts sold around State College early in the week depicted the Nittany Lion mascot with one arm around Pryor and the other holding a box of tissues. A caricature of Pryor drawn in his Ohio State uniform reaches for a tissue with the phrase, 'The Nutcracker: A Terrelle Cryer Story.'”

This is a team he'll be facing every year he's in college, along with a possible Big 10 Championship contender.  You don't see professional free agents thinking about one team, darting to their rival, and trashing the original team for good reason.  Dumb move by Pryor.

2) The Mike Vick eye-paint debacle

For the first week of the season, Pryor came onto the field against Navy with the words "Vick" on the eye black under his right eye and "Mika" under his left.  (He said that "Mika" was a reference to his sister.)

Much like his college choice above... I'm not ripping the decision to support Vick (in fact, as an Eagles fan, I already own a green No. 7 jersey that I tend to wear most Sundays these days), but instead, the comments he delivered after the game.

When asked why he decided to support Vick by putting his name under his eye black, Pryor explained how Vick was a role model to him while he was growing up.  Except Pryor carried on a bit too far with his comments.

"Not everybody is the perfect person in the world," Pryor said of Vick . "Everyone does—kills people, murders people, steals from you, steals from me. I just feel that people need to give him a chance."

Shockingly,  Pryor caught some serious flak for his comments.  

Everyone kills and murders people?  Looks like you're hanging out with the wrong crowd, Terrelle.

(Naturally, this media meltdown led Tressel to shield his young QB from reporters for most of the rest of the season, including during the Rose Bowl's media day.  For someone who got media coaching from another Ohio superstar  [LeBron James] this season, is it time to start wondering when the kid gloves come off for Pryor?)

3) Playing the Rose Bowl with a torn PCL

Now comes the news that Pryor's been nursing a slightly torn PCL , but have no fear, OSU fans—he plans to play in the Rose Bowl in spite of the injury.

"It's improved a little bit [since the end of the season], but sometimes I can have trouble making some types of cuts," Pryor said in an interview session earlier this week.  "It's not really a big deal. It's just a little sore. It's fine. When I'm in the game or at practice, I don't really worry about it, to tell you the truth."

Oh boy.  Now, I know football is a sport where players prove their toughness by playing through gruesome injuries.  But at what point is enough enough?

Assuming that Pryor's got NFL aspirations after college, he might want to look at this description of a PCL injury :

"One study estimates that PCL injuries make up as many as 20 percent of all knee ligament injuries, but the diagnosis is often missed. This is due to the fact that many people can function normally without a PCL. However, detection of PCL injury is important because untreated PCL ruptures will lead to significant degeneration (i.e. osteoarthritis) of the knee and disability in later life."

In fact, orthopedics.about.com suggests that anyone with even a slight tear in the PCL refrains from athletics, instead suggesting that they opt for crutches, ice, and physical therapy to rehabilitate the injury.

If Pryor's got one eye on the future, he would not put himself at further risk for a debilitating injury.  But as has been a running theme with Pryor's decisions so far...his choice to play in the Rose Bowl seems to be another shortsighted choice in a growing list of mistakes. 

4) The "Block O" Tattoo

Look, I understand loving your school, but getting the school symbol tattooed across your right forearm ?

As the good folks at Monday Night Football say..."C'mon, man!"

Getting the "Block O" on his forearm seems like another impulsive, shortsighted decision from Pryor—not exactly a list of qualities I'd want my starting quarterback attributed with. (How happy was he with his decision after OSU lost to USC Week Three this year, when OSU fans were calling for Pryor's head?)

But if he keeps exhibiting these qualities off the field, is it reasonable to expect anything different on the field?

Buckeyes fans you better hope your QB wises up, and wises up quickly.  Because right now, it looks like he's in contention for the NCAA's 2009-10 Darwin Award.