Pryor commitment: QB chooses to be a Buckeye

The Jeannette, Pa., ace chose the Buckeyes over Penn State , Michigan and Oregon.

Gatehouse News Service

JEANNETTE, Pa. — In Jim Tressel’s mind, Terrelle Pryor always was a Buckeye. All the 6-foot-6, 230-pound quarterback from Jeannette High School did Wednesday was announce so to the world.

Pryor signed and faxed a letter of intent to Tressel’s office shortly before a noon press conference at Jeannette High School. It ended perhaps the most hyped and dramatic recruiting saga since Al Gore and the Internet.

Pryor feels he can help OSU get over the “hump.”

“We want to work hard and do whatever we can,” Pryor said. “That little championship losing two years in a row.”

In choosing Ohio State, Pryor passed on Michigan, Penn State and Oregon, though he never officially visited the latter two.

“When I told Coach Tressel, he said, ‘Welcome to the family,’ ” said Pryor, the only QB in Pennsylvania history to run and pass for more than 4,000 yards in a career. “Coach Rodriguez was still recruiting me and giving me lines. I felt bad. ... Coach Rodriguez did his job. He is a great coach. He’ll still make stuff happen.”

The decision certainly will add something to the rivalry.

Pryor passed on national signing day last month, but he remained in close contact with Buckeye recruits Michael Brewster, J.B. Shugarts, Mike Adams and Jake Stoneburner, as well as Tressel.

The coach recruited Pryor for two years and fell in love with him when he watched a highlight tape from Pryor’s sophomore season. Thought Pryor will not enroll at Ohio State until June, Tressel expects he’ll play as a true freshman.

“He’s one of the special ones,” Tressel said. “It doesn’t take a whole of analytical skills to turn on a film and see how good he was. What I was most interested in is finding out what made him tick, what was most important to him. ... It became apparent to me his passion is to become a great quarterback. As recently as [Tuesday] night, he and I were talking about fundamentals and what he has to work on.

“From the beginning you knew he had every tool you could possibly dream of. He’s the kind of guy who’s going to go and work on all of them.”

When Pryor delayed his decision, Tressel backed off a bit and gave Pryor space. After a 16-game football season that ended with a state title and a January filled with high school basketball, Pryor wanted more time to make his decision.

Tressel respected that.

“Our needs were not going to supersede his needs,” Tressel said. “The only guys we want to end up at Ohio State are the ones who thoroughly investigate it and know deep down this is the place for them.”

Pryor’s presence will push incumbent quarterback Todd Boeckman and create more competition among backups Antonio Henton and Joe Bauserman. How soon Pryor sets foot on the field will be up to how soon he grasps OSU’s offense and adjusts to the speed of the college game.

“I think that his passion [could] make it impossible for us not to put him in a football game,” Tressel said. “He didn’t want you to promise him that. He didn’t want to go to where they say, ‘Hey, you’re the guy.’ He’s very sensitive to his teammates. He wants to earn everything he gets.

“Once he gains a command of the system and how quickly he does that will determine how quickly it becomes impossible for us not to put him in a game.”

Michigan could have made Pryor promises that Ohio State couldn’t. He likely would have most likely been the Wolverines’ starting quarterback as a true freshman. He likely will slowly work his way in at OSU.

Many analysts compare Pryor to former Heisman Trophy winner Vince Young. Tressel said he talked with Texas coach Mack Brown and agreed that Pryor’s passing skills coming out of high school are more advanced than Young’s were at the same time.

Pryor said he felt a tremendous weight lifted from his shoulders in announcing the decision. In August, though, it will be back. Many Buckeyes fans will anoint him the starter.

“I’m aware as soon as I get to Ohio State, I know what’s going to be going on,” Pryor said. “That would be anywhere. You have to step up, be a man and prove yourself.”