Why You Should Feel Sorry for Former Ohio State Buckeyes QB Terrelle Pryor

The Terrelle Pryor ordeal should be over in the next day or two when he and his representation go to meet with NFL Commissioner, Roger Goodell, about his status for the NFL supplemental draft.

Before the verdict is passed down, I already feel sorry for the kid.

The public backlash that I have seen on twitter, fan message boards and the like is just disgusting to me. Terrelle Pryor is just 22 years old.

What were you doing when you were 22 years old? What kind of decisions were you making?

For the sake of the argument, lets say you were in still in college or recently graduated. Most likely you had some cash, but not enough to really be comfortable doing all the things you felt like. I bet if you were offered $40,000 (which Pryor was allegedly said to have received), the overwhelming majority of you would have taken it in a heartbeat. You can say you would taken the high road, but it is a little different when the money is in your face, so save it.

Let's be real for a second. Since when has $40,000 been a large amount of money? It's not. I'd love to have 40 grand, don't get me wrong, but I am not naive enough to think that it is a significant sum of money.

What Terrelle Pryor did (allegedly) is not illegal, it was just an NCAA violation. Yes, "just" a NCAA violation. The NCAA is the not the law of the land. It is just a misguided and borderline ridiculous set of rules that are stone-age and need to be revamped.

To me it is honest money. So what, he sold some memorabilia and got some free tattoos. Where I am from that is called a hook-up.

And who doesn't love a good hookup, right? You know the guy at your local gas station and he lets you slide with your 99-cent fountain drink for free. Or you know the guy at McDonald's and he gives you an extra double cheeseburger. Or if you are really close, a free meal.

It happens.

But to demonize this kid for getting some cash and some tattoos is wrong. In most cases, I am sure there is some hypocrisy going on by the anonymous Pryor-haters typing away on their keyboards.

I just do not understand the venom I have seen thrown at this kid. The idea that these NCAA athletes are supposed to be amateur enough to not get paid, but have the maturity, mindset and judgement of a grown man or woman is laughable.

Another comment I have seen on these boards is that he should not be rewarded for breaking NCAA violations.

Wow. Since when has the NFL supplemental draft been a reward?

Training camps have already been going on for about two weeks and multiple preseason games have been played.The fact of the matter is that Terrelle Pryor will most likely not even see the field in game action at all in 2011. The beginning of the regular season is less than a month away and he is a quarterback! He is not going to play.

I have also seen people state that TP2 should have to sit out a year in the NFL, or at the very least have to wait until the 2012 draft.

Sometimes I wonder if people think before they type this stuff.

Since when has the NFL and the NCAA been one in the same?

NEVER.

NCAA violations should not and do not carry over into the NFL. They are two completely different entities. Name one player in the NCAA with a past full of violations that had his draft stock significantly decline. I'll wait.

In this past draft alone there are a few first-round picks who have either been seriously suspected of or proven to have committed NCAA violations. I have listed the players with their draft position in parentheses.

Cam Newton (1), Marcel Dareus (3), A.J Green (4), Robert Quinn (14)...and the list goes on.

Should the guys I listed—and the others I didn't—have to sit out a year? No.

Do you think the Carolina Panthers care if it is ever proven that Cam Newton was paid to play at Auburn? I think not. Green and Quinn, for example, sat out some—if not all—of 2010 for Georgia and North Carolina, but lets not kid ourselves. There was no way Terrell Pryor was going to play for the Buckeyes this season anyway.

None.

He was already suspended five games before his most recent violations came to light. What is he supposed to do? Wait until after the supplemental draft and then have Ohio State tell him not to come back?

He did what he had to do and should be given the opportunity to play in the NFL this season. This is his life, it should not be used as a lesson for current NCAA players. The NFL is a win now league and if a team thinks Terrelle Pryor can help their team in any capacity, that team should have the opportunity to draft him.