Tressel bumps Pryor’s snaps

By KEN GORDON

The Ohio State coach isn’t happy with Todd Boeckman after Saturday’s loss.

COLUMBUS — Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel has decided it’s time to break glass in case of emergency.

In this case, he’s breaking the glass ceiling on quarterback Terrelle Pryor’s playing time.

Coming into the season, fifth-year senior Todd Boeckman was the unquestioned starter, based on his command of the offense and his 11-2 record in 2007.

Pryor, the hotshot incoming freshman, would certainly play, but in a change-of-pace relief role.

That all changed after Saturday’s 35-3 drubbing at Southern California. Tressel was disappointed in Boeckman’s mistakes, most notably an interception returned for a touchdown and taking a sack and fumbling the ball away.

Tuesday, Tressel threw the job wide open, saying Boeckman and Pryor would likely split the snaps 50/50 Saturday for the 13th-ranked Buckeyes (2-1) against Troy University (2-0). He did not name a starter.

It’s a sea change in the quarterback landscape, and was brought about by equal measures of disappointment in Boeckman and surprise at Pryor’s rapid progression.

“I don’t think at the outset I thought, ‘OK, now this might happen,’ ” Tressel said. “Because what you practice and what you talk about is not having interceptions and not missing a read, a hot throw or whatever.

“I would say this — Terrelle has been very impressive. There’s not many freshmen that I’ve had with very limited reps that have been able to conceptually pick up as much as he has, and he’s a pretty special player.

“But did I think this would happen? No.”

Tressel likened it to a “disaster relief plan.”

What’s interesting is how differently he is handling this compared to the last time he had a struggling quarterback, in 2004.

Then, he stuck with starter Justin Zwick, who — like Boeckman — was not solely to blame for the offensive problems. Then and now, the offensive line and lack of a running game also were factors.

But four years ago, relief pitcher Troy Smith stayed on the bench through two straight losses and half of a third until Zwick suffered a shoulder injury.

Tressel also took pains to stamp out any budding unrest within the team.

When a senior captain is threatened by a freshman, it can divide a locker room.

Of the possibility of seniors grumbling, Tressel said, “You hope what they’re thinking is, A — they need to get their performance better, and, B — they’re going to have faith that ... the coach in the other office has the best interest of the team in mind.”

Senior guard Ben Person got that message. He was outspoken in his support of Boeckman immediately after the game Saturday, saying, “I like seeing Terrelle in there making plays, but Todd is our quarterback.”

Tuesday, Person had changed his tune.

“We definitely knew [playing both guys] was going to be a possibility, with Terrelle coming in as a big-time high school player,” he said. “We knew he was going to come in and be a good player here. If that’s what’s best for the team ...”

Clearly, Tressel is losing patience with Boeckman. He detests turnovers and believes an experienced quarterback should see a linebacker before he throws the ball, and make the right reads more often than not.

Asked who was at fault on the play that Boeckman was sacked and fumbled, Tressel said, “It was the quarterback’s hot read,” explaining that Boeckman should have recognized that a blitzer was coming unblocked, and thrown the ball quickly to running back Dan Herron.