Buckeyes rally as criticism of Pryor mounts

By KEN GORDON

COLUMBUS — As the crescendo of criticism rises around Terrelle Pryor, Ohio State players are rallying behind their struggling quarterback.

Coach Jim Tressel parried a number of questions about Pryor on Tuesday, flatly stating that he doesn’t plan to bench the sophomore after he gave Purdue the ball four times Saturday.

“I don’t believe at this moment that it would be the best thing for the team” was about as eloquent as Tressel got on the subject of benching Pryor, repeating some variation of that line four times in a 35-minute news conference.

His players, though, were more revealing. They made the case that to bench Pryor would be to abandon everything they have built since he took over for the fourth game of the 2008 season.

“Since the beginning of this season, since even last year, we’ve built our offense around Terrelle being our guy,” receiver Dane Sanzenbacher said. “We’ve all signed on to that. I think as a team, you all have to buy into a certain concept, you all have to buy into the program for it to work.

“So I think trying to call for changes and things like that doesn’t help in the long run.”

In other words, the Buckeyes’ wagon is hitched to Pryor, for better or worse.

But some people wondered why Pryor stayed in the Purdue game even as his mistakes mounted, particularly as Ohio State’s deficit grew in a disastrous third quarter.

Wasn’t it possible to bench Pryor for a series or two to settle him down, yet not make a permanent switch to backup Joe Bauserman?

Sanzenbacher countered that even a temporary benching would have sent unwanted shock waves through the team. The handling of a quarterback is a delicate situation.

“I don’t think there was ever really a point in the game where anybody on the offense was thinking that we needed a change,” he said. “To sit him for a series probably would have made the problem worse.

“Everybody is frustrated already, and then to throw a curveball in there like that — I don’t think that would have helped out. Maybe it could calm him down, but it might become as much of a distraction as it is helping us.”

Tressel said that only once in his career has he benched a quarterback because he didn’t believe the player understood the importance of turnovers. That move worked, he said, but “I don’t think that’s what Terrelle needs.”

Despite Pryor having accounted for 11 turnovers (eight interceptions and three fumbles) this season, Tressel said he sees progress in Pryor’s footwork, in reading defenses and in understanding where to go with the ball.

He said Pryor’s major hurdle now is making better decisions when a play goes bad — when protection fails, as it did often last week.

“I think he’s coming along just fine,” Tressel said. “As fine as I would like it to be? No. But he’s progressing.”

While Tressel was almost breezy in his discussion of Pryor, players spoke in a more candid, realistic tone.

“He’s going to get better; he really can’t do much worse,” said receiver DeVier Posey.