Ohio State QB coach Siciliano adjusting to post-Pryor world

By Doug Lesmerises

Cleveland Plain Dealer

Columbus

Nick Siciliano paused and thought and never quite found the answer.

Playing quarterback at Ohio State the last two seasons had really been a three-man job — head coach Jim Tressel, quarterback Terrelle Pryor and Siciliano, the position coach.

Today, only one of the three remains.

So for someone who knew Pryor as well as anyone at Ohio State, someone who was brought to Columbus by Tressel, what did Siciliano learn through the process that saw both head coach and quarterback leave in the wake of NCAA violations?

“That’s pretty hard to answer,” said Siciliano, a graduate of Fitch High and YSU. “There’s a lot of things I learned, some personal things, stuff I’d rather not comment on, to be honest with you.”

Consider what today will be like. Tressel, forced to resign, will be in Indianapolis with his former employer taking part in Ohio State’s hearing before the NCAA Committee on Infractions. Pryor will be working out, still hoping to take part in next Wednesday’s NFL supplemental draft.

Siciliano will be in Columbus for the first day of full pads practice with the Buckeyes, trying to shape one of his four inexperienced quarterbacks into Pryor’s replacement.

“We’re not taking any different approach to the way we’re coaching them,” Siciliano said.

But nearly everything is different for Siciliano, except for his job title. Since taking over as the full-time quarterbacks coach in 2009, after assisting previous coach Joe Daniels since 2006 while Daniels fought cancer, Siciliano’s primary job was the maturation of Pryor. In that role, he served somewhat as Tressel’s surrogate, since Tressel was a boss who understood that position better than any other.

So the last few months haven’t been easy for Siciliano.

Pryor left in early June, and Siciliano said he hasn’t spoken with him for several weeks. Pryor was, after all, banned from the football program for five years. But this was the season when Siciliano should have seen Pryor try to put it all together.

“I wish Terrelle was still here,” Siciliano said. “The one thing that’s very hard is you grow as a coach and you grow as a father coaching other people’s kids, and you treat the kids here just like you would your kids at home. And they become part of your family. Anytime a kid leaves the house to go to college to go take a job somewhere, it’s hard to handle at times.”

Pryor seeks that job in the NFL, which hasn’t yet approved him for the supplemental draft.

“I think he’ll be ready when he gets there,” Siciliano said. “He needs to get there and learn their system and learn how they do things, which he’ll be fine at. He’ll do well. The sky is the limit for him at that level.”

In Columbus, Siciliano will be testing his limits, without his star pupil and without his mentor. Siciliano said the competition among Joe Bauserman, Kenny Guiton, Taylor Graham and Braxton Miller will have to be narrowed at some point, but he’s not sure when. Asked what he’s looking for in his quarterback, Siciliano said, “Leadership, toughness and consistency.”