Saturday, July 24, 2010
Junior quarterback and Heisman Trophy candidate Terrelle Pryor will lead a national championship chase
Associated Press
COLUMBUS
Ohio State quarter- back Terrelle Pryor can’t wait for the preseason to start next month.
The junior pronounced himself 100 percent healthy after surgery in February to repair some damage in his left knee.
“It was minor surgery,” he said. “It’s never going to be 100 percent ever again for anybody who gets any type of surgery or anything like that. But you should definitely bounce back and be a high percentage and keep going. That’s where I am right now, I feel pretty good.”
Pryor also said he’s lost 10 pounds this year, down to 225 on his 6-foot-5 frame.
Pryor conceded that he was limited by the knee injury in the last few games of last season, but said he has been working out with his receivers this summer and is anxiously awaiting Aug. 5, when the Buckeyes report to camp.
He said he won’t be limited in any way.
“No, because once my mind gets in the game and I’m focused, nothing’s going to get in my way and nothing’s going to get in my mindset,” he said. “Not a leg injury.”
Coach Jim Tressel said he has no concerns about Pryor’s health. Tressel, going into his 10th year, says his biggest concern is that Pryor — considered by many as one of the top contenders in the Heisman Trophy race — spends too much time working out and watching film.
“The only reservation I have is I’m not so sure he doesn’t train too much,” Tressel said. “It seems like he’s there all day. He’s just a worker.”
Tressel said he felt the injury might just make Pryor a better player — and the Buckeyes a better team.
“It was valuable for him that back third of the season, when he was injured,” he said. “He really couldn’t take off and run and do some of the things that maybe he had counted on [before]. I think the rest of the guys knew he was a little bit limited and they stepped up and our running game and our offensive front came along.”
Pryor and his two main receivers from last year, Dane Sanzenbacher and DeVier Posey, have been steady teammates in the passing drills.
“The more time you spend with someone, the better it gets,” Sanzenbacher said. “I don’t believe chemistry is something where you either have it or you don’t. It’s a level. It always can grow, you can always get more familiar. So you can never do too much.”
Believe it or not, Sanzenbacher said, he’s going to miss his summers working out with the Buckeyes, especially the days they spent running the steps in an empty Ohio Stadium.
“Running the steps is very old-school, I know, but at the same time it’s pretty cool,” Sanzenbacher said. “That’s because you get to be in the place where the games happen, and you’re the only ones there. There’s an inspiration to that.”
Ohio State, coming off an 11-2 season that included a fifth straight Big Ten title and a Rose Bowl victory over Oregon, opens its season Sept. 2 at home against Marshall.
Whether the Buckeyes gained a step on their competitors with their summer work remains to be seen.
“I feel everyone on the team has worked extremely hard,” senior offensive lineman Bryant Browning said. “I think the younger players that have come in have really bought into the system. And I think our strength coaches really came with a good program this summer, with us getting in a lot position-specific work, and a lot of work in the weight room so we can be ready when camp opens.
“I feel like we’ve really worked on growing up and maturing,’ he added. “I know we’ve got a lot of guys coming back who played last year, and having that year of experience together has really helped us out.
“And I feel like we’ve done a pretty good job of coaching up the younger guys on things like techniques, because usually when camp starts things go kind of fast and those young guys can miss out on some stuff.”
Information from The Columbus Dispatch was used in this story.