Ohio State Football: Determining Terrelle Pryor's Legacy As a Buckeye
Terrelle Pryor came to Ohio State in 2008 from Jeannette, PA as the most hyped high school prospect in recent memory.
With that much hype comes enormous expectations, such as multiple national title appearances and a Heisman Trophy nomination.
Three years into his career, Pryor has not achieved either one.
But is Terrelle Pryor really a failure? Or is he a success covered up by the gaze of unrealistic expectations?
Here is a look at his career as a Buckeye.
Stepping in as a True Freshman
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Fans and prognosticators believed that Pryor was much too talented to not see some playing time in his freshman season.
But no one expected that he would become the starting QB three weeks into the 2008 season after a blowout loss at USC.
He was guarded heavily his first season by coach Jim Tressel, only throwing more than 20 times in one game, the loss against Penn State where a costly fumble cost OSU a shot at beating a then-undefeated Nittany Lions' team.
But Pryor showed flashes of dominant abilities, such as the final drive to beat Wisconsin at Camp Randall Stadium.
While he was held in chains, which was fine considering RB Beanie Wells' success, Pryor showed that he could play college football and be dominant at times.
Starting Record: 8-2
The Infamous Eyeblack Incident
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As Pryor began his sophomore season, a solid performance in a win over Navy was overshadowed by his eye black sporting a tribute to Michael Vick who had signed a deal with the Philadelphia Eagles well before the OSU game.
When Pryor was asked about the eye black, he responded with a very controversial quote:
"I mean everybody does...kills people, murders people, steals from you, steals from me. I just feel that people need to give him a chance."
While his heart may have been in the right place, there is no doubt he could have chosen his words much better than he did.
Pryor's Second Season Features Tremendous Growing Pains
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Without Beanie Wells in the backfield, the offense in 2009 relied much more heavily on Terrelle Pryor's arm and legs.
And he showed inconsistency, turning out good performances including his revenge game against Penn State, then laying an egg against Purdue, committing four turnovers in the 26-18 loss.
Pryor showed that he can be a dominant player but also showed that he needed some extra polish, throwing 11 interceptions against 18 touchdowns.
And as the season went on into November, Tressel tried to take the ball out of Pryor's hands and in the hands of the running game, creating great frustration amongst Buckeye fans.
It was at this point that people were questioning whether or not Terrelle Pryor would ever get to a Vince Young level, and that Jim Tressel's offense was holding his skills back.
But New Year's Day 2010 changed quite a few perceptions about Pryor as a player.
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Terrelle Pryor Breaks Out in a Bowl of Roses
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With all of the attention on Oregon's high-powered offensive attack, Terrelle Pryor took the role of being the "other" QB in this contest hard and took his frustration out on the Ducks defense.
Pryor put together possibly his best performance by far in his career to that point, throwing for 266 yards on 23-37 passing and two TDs on his way to being named Rose Bowl MVP.
This performance came just days after Pryor admitted he had been playing on a torn PCL suffered on Halloween against New Mexico State.
But the Buckeyes' coaching staff opened up the playbook and unleashed Pryor in the aerial attack, something that caught the Ducks by surprise.
The win in the Rose Bowl got the BCS monkey off of OSU's back and gave many fans hope that OSU could play for another national title after the 2010 season.
Starting Record: 11-2, 2010 Rose Bowl Game MVP
Pryor's 2010 Season Begins with Promises of Maturity
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On the eve of the new season, word quickly spread across Columbus that Terrelle Pryor had matured into the leader that the Buckeyes needed.
He admitted to a bout of arrogance during his first two seasons as a Buckeye but had been humbled and vowed to be a much more mature player and to work harder in games.
The early story began to manifest itself, with four straight games of over 200 yards passing and his first 300-yard passing game in his career, guiding OSU to a 6-0 start and looking dominant in the process.
All of a sudden, Pryor became the runaway favorite for the Heisman Trophy before most people knew who Cameron Newton was.
But all of that changed in the blink of an eye.
A Season Lost on a Kick Return and Redeemed on Fourth Down
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On October 16, something happened to Ohio State that happens as often as an eclipse: Ohio State was out-physicaled and out-manned.
After being shell-shocked by an opening kickoff return for a TD, the Buckeyes never recovered and were physically pounded in a 31-18 loss to Wisconsin.
The loss ended OSU's chance at a national title and Pryor's Heisman hopes, in his only game without a touchdown in the air or on the ground.
Despite turnovers in every game the rest of the season, Pryor amped up his play to try to help get his team back into the BCS.
Ultimately, the season hinged on a 4th-and-10 in the final quarter at Iowa, which Pryor converted by pulling his best Vince Young imitation and leading the Buckeyes to a huge road win.
A blowout win over Michigan has Ohio State now in the Sugar Bowl against another superstar QB—Ryan Mallett and the Arkansas Razorbacks.
What happens in that game will certainly be anyone's guess until January 4.
Starting Record: 11-1
Verdict: The Flash Is Not Quite There, But All That Matters is the W
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Although it has taken quite a while for Terrelle Pryor to get to the level many expected him to be at, better late than never to see Pryor get to where he is now.
Regardless, he has never played in the national championship game or received a single Heisman vote, even after a season where he led Ohio State to the No. 18 total offense in yards per game and the No. 11 scoring offense.
But if you can sum up Pryor's three-year career, DJ Khaled can do it justice by saying, "All I do is win, win, win no matter what."
And as a starter, Pryor is 30-4. Plain and simple, no matter what stats a player has, he is judged on his ability to win games.
Pryor has a shot to win his biggest game ever against an SEC team, trying to end the 0-9 record the Buckeyes have against the best conference in the country in bowl games.
If Pryor can get No. 31 on January 4, it may be time to pencil his name onto the list of the best players in Buckeye history.
This article is featured on The BCS Blitz. Don't forget to follow me on Twitter @bielik_tim for updates and news about Ohio State and the BCS bowl games.
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