Big Lead Sports Bar

3/19/2008

He's Going to THE University of Ohio State

"If everyone's here," Pryor said to start the news conference, "University of Ohio State."

And so starts the college saga of Terrelle Pryor. He took an extra month to make up his mind, and he still got the name of the school wrong. I guess he's never watched Monday Night Football's player introductions.
It was a moment eerily reminiscent of Anthony Morelli's famous "University of Penn State" comment the day he turned his back on the Pitt program he once committed to. For OSU's sake, I hope Pryor's college career turns out better than Morelli's.

On signing day, Pryor famously delayed his choice, saying that he also wanted to visit Penn State and possibly Oregon. A month later, he visited neither PSU nor Oregon. For those of you looking for the exact quote, here it is: "I want to visit Penn State."

So the most-hyped college football recruiting process in history is now over. Michigan is left high and dry at QB, especially considering the transfer of Ryan Mallett to Arkansas. That Rich Rodriguez is sure on a roll: a lost chance at a national title (at the hands of Pitt, no less), the drama of a West Virginia scorned, and now his runner-up status in the Terrelle Pryor Derby.

So much for the shot of life he would've injected into the Penn State basketball program if he indeed suits up for hoops. Plus, you have to admit, the vision of him being yelled at by Joe Paterno would've been priceless.

It's been a story that at times looked like it would never end, with an incredible amount of sub-plots. The autograph chaser. The action figure. The North Catholic incident. The national signing day faux press conference. And now it's over.

Along the way, Pryor has gotten an incredible amount of attention and face time. He's also made a tremendous amount of enemies, including the fan bases of every other school in the Big TenLeven and numerous schoolboy opponents, as referenced above.

He has become an intriguing and polarizing personality, grabbing attention in mass quantities. He drove interest in All-Star Games and WPIAL/PIAA playoff games. He's a full-fledged internet phenomenon. He's constantly on television and he has a diary for the Post-Gazette. Unfortunately, he can't really cash in on any of this notoriety for at least a few years, so he'll have to make do at UOS until then.

(photo via The Big Lead)

He's been compared to Vince Young, Kordell Stewart, Michael Vick, and Anthony Morelli. No player in recent memory has ever been delivered to a school with so much to live up to. I just hope for his sake that he's mentally ready for what lies ahead.

7 comments:

HotDog_Zanzabar said...

Don't forget his arrest at Kennywood as part of his timeline.

sshisheng said...

Great, now I have to continue to hear about this kid, since I live in the cesspool that is home to THE UOS. I was hoping he would go to Oregon, its far away and I could just enjoy the occasional Pryor story.

He should have consulted with the people (Pittsburghers that live in Columbus) first, this place is Hell incarnate.

Justin said...

finally, he's someone else's problem

Unknown said...

All things considered, I'm glad he's going to old "UOS". Why you ask? Just consider these three reasons for starters:

1) I can't stand Rodriguez and I'm glad he didn't get him.

2) I'm glad that senile old man didn't get him. For ruining the rivalry they don't deserve to have anything good happen to them.

3) I'm glad that Pitt won't have to deal with this young prima dona either. The 'stash will be winning without him. Just watch, the winning begins this year.

Yeah, all things considered, I'm glad that Tressel gets to deal with him. Then again, he could have been a Duck. Oh well, you can't have everything.

HotDog_Zanzabar said...

14:57....14:58....14:59....15:00

Congratulations Ray Reitz, your 15 minutes are up.

Jim said...

I think people are being a little harsh on the kid. Sure, he's been involved in a few scuffles, but he probably gets more attention than your average 18 year old. As for taking forever to pick a school, it doesn't seem like he did it to keep the spotlight on him. He hasn't had a break since football season started and going on recruiting trips to PSU or UO would of cut into practice/game time. Plus, Pryor apologized more than once for not picking Michigan. He seriously felt bad about it.

Deaner said...

I LOVE the Booster's Millions poster!