Upon Pryor Review: OSU QB Could Put Gaudy Numbers

There’s no question who the face of Ohio State football is these days. Quarterback Terrelle Pryor is always a topic of conversation among students, faculty and national pundits alike. It’s pretty fair to say that OSU’s potential run to another National Championship rests on Mr. Pryor’s continued development.

Let’s take a look at the Pennsylvania native’s statistics and compare them to another dual-threat quarterback who terrorized college football a few years back, Vince Young.

In his first year as a starter, Young completed 59 percent of his passes for 1,155 yards, six touchdowns and seven interceptions. He ran for 998 yards and 11 touchdowns.

Pryor was better than Young in his first season, completing 61 percent of his throws for 1,311 yards. He had 12 touchdowns and only four interceptions. Pryor ran for 631 yards and six scores.

During his second season, Young improved. He threw for 1,849 yards, and totaled 12 touchdown passes and 11 picks. However, Young also ran for 1,079 yards and 14 scores.

In his up-and-down second year, Pryor passed for a little over 2,094 yards and 18 scores, but threw 11 interceptions. TP ran for 779 yards and seven touchdowns.

Now, in his final season, Young put it all together. He threw for 26 touchdowns and 10 picks, while also running for 1,050 yards and 12 touchdowns. Young also had one of the greatest performances in college football history in the Rose Bowl, racking up 467 total yards while ending USC’s 34-game winning streak en route to capturing the National Championship.

It’s pretty obvious Pryor doesn’t have as much success running the ball as Young. Pryor has actually carried the ball more in his first two seasons than Young did in his first two campaigns at Texas, but Pryor doesn’t have Young’s yardage because he takes more sacks.

Given his Rose Bowl MVP performance, OSU enthusiasts have very lofty expectations for Pryor. He struggled big time early in the year and down the stretch basically handed the ball off to Boom Herron and Brandon Saine.

However, if I was a projecting man, I’d say Pryor puts up the following numbers next season: Around 2,500 yards passing with 24 touchdowns and eight interceptions. Let’s say he also runs for 850 yards and nine scores.

That’s a pretty damn good season, and it should have the Buckeyes in the driver seat for a Big Ten title and possibly a berth in the National Title game.