Pryor gets shot at rescue, recovery against Oregon
LOS ANGELES — In place of the eye black strips bearing Michael Vick's name that he wore to start the season were black horn-rimmed Buddy Holly glasses.
"I'm grown up," Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor said this week.
As he sat down he clutched a set of high-end headphones, a reminder that the Maturation of Terrelle Pryor has not been without some very public growing pains.
In recent months, he frequently escaped inside the headphones, Pryor said, tuning out the criticism of him that has provided the soundtrack to a 2009 Ohio State season that was a 12-game soap opera with Pryor the subject of an often heated statewide debate that has followed him west to the 96th Rose Bowl and today's matchup between No. 7 Oregon and the No. 8 Buckeyes that could prove pivotal in shaping Pryor's image and future.
"We must win," Pryor said. "It's not a maybe win. We must win."
Despite helping the Buckeyes land their Big Ten title and their first Rose Bowl appearance since 1997, Ohio remains divided over the former Jeanette High legend after a sometimes rocky season that failed to satisfy the Buckeyes program and its rabid fan base's national ambitions.
Is Pryor really the Second Coming of Vince Young? Or is he just another overrated high-profile Buckeyes recruit?
Midway through a campaign in which Pryor began as the Big Ten preseason Player of the Year, Ohio State coach Jim Tressel was having to fend off questions about whether the Buckeyes wouldn't be better off with Pryor on the bench.
Few around Columbus were surprised when Pryor admitted after the Buckeyes' 26-18 loss to Purdue Oct. 17 that it was distracting being the biggest man on the nation's biggest campus.
"Let's be real," Pryor told reporters. "If any of us were the quarterback at Ohio State, and you've got all these people around you, you're sort of like a superstar. And you start maybe thinking too much of yourself and losing your head a little bit and losing focus."
Pryor attained rock star status in Ohio after going 9-1 as a starter in 2008, earning Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors.
But this season the Buckeyes dropped a decision to USC, losing their fifth consecutive game to a ranked opponent from a BCS conference. Things really turned sour for Pryor and the Buckeyes at Purdue.
Pryor threw two interceptions and lost a pair of fumbles. Through seven games he had eight interceptions, 11 turnovers and had been sacked 12 times for 100 yards in losses.
Instead of opening the offense, Tressel became even more conservative.
Ohio State averaged 257.6 rushing yards per game in its last five games, Pryor's passing yardage dropping in each of those games along with his interceptions. Pryor threw just one interception in his final four games. He did throw a pair of TD passes and rush for another in a 24-7 victory at Penn State Nov. 7.
"He really stepped his game up after the Purdue game," Ohio State linebacker Austin Spitler said. "I think that was really a moment for him when he really understood there's so much more to this place than just Terrelle Pryor. I think he realized to be successful he couldn't do it by himself."
