Ohio State Buckeyes Quarterback Terrelle Pryor Has Become Tressel-Like

When Terrelle Pryor first stepped on campus as a freshman at THE Ohio State University people were already calling him the "next" Vince Young. Terrelle Pryor was praised before he threw for his first touchdown. Coming in with the praise that Pryor received it would be hard to remain humble.

During his freshman season he replaced Todd Boeckman who was a senior quarterback. In the previous year Boeckman led the Buckeyes to the National Championship game, but the Bucks were defeated by LSU. I can only imagine what the upper classmen thought about their new "savior" at quarterback. In Pryor's freshman season he showed flashes of greatness, but was inconsistent as a passer. His fourth and one run against Penn State still haunts him until this day.

At the end of that the Buckeyes ended up losing to the Texas Longhorns that season in a heart breaking Fiesta Bowl game. Pryor had a rough start to his sophomore season by putting up pedestrian numbers against Purdue, USC, and Navy. Pryor attended quarterback 101 during the Christmas break and put it all together when the Buckeyes needed it most.

In the 2010 Rose Bowl Terrelle Pryor showed the nation what he could become. He completed a career high 23 passes and he beat the Oregon Ducks defense with his arm rather than his legs. His performance in the Rose Bowl was similar to Troy Smith's performance in the 2006 Fiesta Bowl versus Notre Dame. Troy's last four games of that season including the Fiesta Bowl gave him a confidence boost and from then on he was lights out(minus the title game vs UF). Pryor has shown dedication with his wide receivers and quarterback coach Joe Daniels to become great. It will be interesting to see Pryor this season to compare his improvement from that Rose Bowl game.

Pryor has become more of a leader despite being a Junior. He is still on the cover of every magazine and is a megastar in Columbus, Ohio, but his demeanor is like night and day. In his freshman season he acted as if he was Willie Beamen (Any Given Sunday), but now he is very calm and mature.

Like every season the Buckeyes are in the hunt for the National Title and Pryor is in the hunt for the Heisman trophy. I am pretty sure that Pryor would rather win the National Title to show that he is a winner. Winning in a team sport is a great feeling to have and the city of Columbus has not felt that feeling in about 7 years. The pressure is on for Pryor and the Buckeyes, but as long as they remain focused, humble, and dedicated the sky is the limit for the Bucks.  

In football the quarterback is normally an carbon copy of the Head Coach. Pryor's new demeanor is similar to Jim Tressel. Pryor seems to be calm, cool, and poised. In the past he was very arrogant and brash. He is ready to breakout this season but he will do it in a humble way which is very Tressel-like. The only thing Pryor is missing now is a sweater vest!