Mailbag: Terrelle Pryor Edition
Literally, nothing. Buckeye Commentary surmised it was an Internet rumor, which is exactly what it turned out to be. What I cannot figure out is how this rumor made it into the press. I know The Capital Times in Madison, Wis. is not a bastion of journalism but come on Fritz, where did you come up with this one?
Pryor was one of the most closely followed recruits of all time. Coupled with the fact that Pryor never hid anything – quite the opposite – the story never should never have happened. I would have been more likely to believe Connecticut or Syracuse.
Where did Charlie Batch go? That dude was everywhere for about two weeks. -James B., Cleveland
Batch, the Pittsburgh Steelers backup quarterback and, apparent family friend, was noticeably absent during the announcement. According to Pryor, Batch was in Hawaii during the announcement and Pryor admitted Batch thought Michigan was the best choice.
“He's up right now, texting me actually. I mean, he's cool with my decision,” Pryor said. “He's just trying to see which one would be, for me, better to get in the NFL.”
It makes you wonder if Batch had some ulterior motive. I cannot imagine what that would be, although he did play for Eastern Michigan and then the Detroit Lions. Even then, it is hard to determine what made Batch so high on Michigan and presumably Rodriguez. Perhaps, this is another example of the Tom Brady phenomenon - that Michigan produces great NFL QBs. Huh?
What is Ohio State's revised recruiting ranking with Pryor? ESPN v. Rivals v. Scout? -Jason B., Kansas City, KS
Here is a quick breakdown of the rankings prior to Terrelle’s commitment:
Rivals – 8th; Scout – 7th; ESPN – 7th.
As you would expect, the Buckeyes shot up in each of those rankings. ESPN only moved the Buckeyes up one spot:
Rivals to 4th from 8th:
Scout from 7th to 4th:
One interesting note, if
you adjust the average star rankings for Scout and
Rivals, the Buckeyes jump to 2nd and 3rd,
respectively.
Is the Pryor commitment a bigger loss for
Michigan or bigger gain for the Buckeyes?
-Tom M., Columbus
I really thought about this one and there are
compelling arguments on each side. My initial
instinct was that it was Michigan’s loss. Pryor
is widely perceived as a perfect fit for
Rodriguez’s offense and the Wolverines have no
other viable candidates at that position.
But the more I thought about it, the more I realized
that it is a bigger gain for the Buckeyes. Why?
Because the Buckeyes actually got Pryor. Michigan
woke up as the exact same team on Thursday morning.
Nothing changed. Ohio State woke up with a potential
all-timer heading to campus. From a team-DNA
perspective, the Buckeyes changed radically; Michigan
not at all.
Does Pryor have a realistic shot at playing
this season? - Nick G.,
Dayton
Coach Tressel seems to think so.
"The thing that you need to do as a coaching staff is
get the people on the field that can make plays,"
Tressel said. "He's excited about learning the
offense and helping any way he can. He has great
respect for Todd Boeckman and all the rest of the
guys. He wants to earn every single thing that he
gets."
Many have envisioned Pryor being used the same way
Florida utilized Tim Tebow two seasons ago, with
select packages designed to exploit what he does
best. We can only hope the result is as good.
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