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OSU’s Pryor in middle of another debate
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Photo
Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor (2) watches from the sidelines during second quarter action in their NCAA college football game against Michigan on Saturday, Nov. 27, 2010, in Columbus, Ohio.
Associated Press
COLUMBUS
Quarterback Terrelle Pryor, the face of Ohio State’s football program, has been the talk of the town since the Buckeyes’ last game.
That’s not necessarily a good thing.
With a date against Arkansas coming up Tuesday in the Sugar Bowl, Pryor is looking forward to getting back in his element and putting a number of issues away from the field behind him.
The latest problem cropped up last week, when Pryor and four teammates were suspended for the first five games of next season. Already a lighting rod for controversy, Pryor was in most of the headlines when it was determined the players had sold rings, uniforms and awards for cash and had received discounts on tattoos from a local parlor over the past two years.
Many angry Ohio State fans have singled out Pryor in talk radio diatribes, on the internet and in the daily newspaper’s readers’ forum.
The Buckeyes flew to New Orleans, site of the Sugar Bowl, on Wednesday morning. As a high-profile starter, Pryor is expected to be available at Ohio State’s offensive news conference on Saturday. Then again, two years ago at the Fiesta Bowl, bowl organizers and national media were furious that Pryor was not permitted by coach Jim Tressel to talk under similar circumstances. The school will face a heavy fine if it does not produce him this time.
Controversy seems to shadow Pryor, much of his own doing.
He wore “Vick” on an eyeblack patch in honor of Michael Vick in 2009, after the Eagles quarterback had been involved in a dogfighting operation.
After Wisconsin rolled over the Buckeyes in October, handing them their only loss this season, Pryor petulantly said that Ohio State could beat the Badgers nine out of 10 times.
He also has called former Ohio State quarterback and current ESPN college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit “a fake Buckeye” for questioning Pryor’s emotional sideline behavior.
Tressel is always quick to defend his star, saying his quotes are sometimes taken out of context. The coach almost never finds fault with Pryor’s play or his actions, either.
Tressel would not say if Pryor is one of the handful of Buckeyes juniors who requested a draft evaluation from the NFL. Pryor has said he’ll definitely return, but many believe he’s reconsidering. Missing almost half of next season narrows the chances of impressing the pros.
A series of what he considers slights is partly what drives a talented yet enigmatic athlete who has won games but few admirers during his college career. Might those slights — real or perceived — provide motivation when the Buckeyes take on Arkansas?
“He’s a competitive guy,” Tressel said. “I don’t know if I’d call it a chip on his shoulder, but he would like to be very good.”