Ohio State's Terrelle Pryor Has Yet to Prove He Is Heisman Worthy
57 out of 87 for 928 yards, 12 touchdowns, 4 interceptions, and a 191.4 QB rating. Or, how about 67 out of 96 for 1008 yards, 7 touchdowns, 1 interception, and a 180 QB rating; not to mention 905 yards on the ground, with another 8 touchdowns.
These are stat lines of Heisman worthy quarterbacks, neither of which belong to Terrelle Pryor. He is currently residing at #14 in the country with a 161.7 passer rating, sitting comfortably behind conference colleagues Dan Persa, Denard Robinson, Ricky Stanzi, Ben Chappell, and Kirk Cousins, and barely ahead of Scott Tolzien. Shoot, I would like to think that, in order to be considered a candidate, one would at least have to satisfy the minimum qualification of being the best at the position in their own conference, something Pryor is nowhere near.
Glimpses of "greatness" came against Miami and Eastern Michigan, but glimpses of his sketchy past were evident in 2 meaningless interceptions thrown against Ohio University, and his POOR performance against Illinois (even before the injury).
Granted, Pryor doesn't have an arsenal of weapons to throw to like Smith had in GInn Jr. and Gonzalez. Nor does he have strong support in the backfield with the last name of Clarett, George, or Wells (it can't be denied that Clarett had RIDICULOUS potential to be amazing). But a great player should help lift good players to his level. Posey has been nearly irrelevant this year, Sanzenbacher has had a few big plays, but most of his receptions are within the 10-15 yard range. And don't get me started on Herron and Saine, neither of which have lived up to their Boom and Zoom reputations.
But what is to blame for Pryor's lackluster performance through the first 5 games? Is it the talent around him, or lackthereof? Poor motivation/momentum due to hopeless special teams? A coach that hasn't been convinced that Pryor deserves the reigns? A battering to his ego because the positive attention has been focused on the OSU defense?
There's no question that Pryor has the physicality to play football, but maybe going after the Heisman as a QB isn't the right path for him. If his cards were played right next year, he'd be the third TE in college football history to win the Heisman Trophy.
I guess I'm not convinced Pryor should even be talked about in the same breath as Mallett, Luck, or Newton; unless you're comparing apples and oranges.
