Terrelle Pryor has not lived up to all the hype he had coming into the 2008 season as the most sought after high school recruit in the country.
Ohio State’s football messiah has thrown eight interceptions so far this season. That is more than any OSU starting quarterback at this point in the season since before 2003.
His completion percentage is the lowest of any OSU quarterback since 2004, at 51 percent. That was the year Troy Smith and Justin Zwick shared starting duties and accumulated the worst season record this decade.
Pryor’s passing yardage isn’t impressive either, sitting at 1169 through seven games. OSU hasn’t had that low of a mark since 2003, when Craig Krenzel and Scott McMullen shared the starting spot.
Pryor isn’t even the top performer from his 2007 high school recruiting class. Most members of the college football world know the names Jacory Harris of Miami (Fla.), Jordan Jefferson of LSU and Andrew Luck of Stanford.
Two of those three players’ teams boast better records than OSU and none of them have thrown for more interceptions than Pryor.
Pryor also has the lowest completion percentage among the group and it’s not because he is used more. He’s third in attempts among the four.
Two of the three other also have more passing yards than Pryor.
All Ohio State fans remember where they were when Pryor signed, as if it were the second coming of Troy Smith. Looking back now, the signing of Harris, Jefferson or Luck may have been the better choice.
Harris even has his name on most Heisman voters’ radars. Pryor hasn’t even sniffed that territory.
This historic of a bust is only comparable to one instance in Ohio football history, in the professional ranks. It happened in 1999 when a quarterback named Tim Couch was drafted first overall by the Cleveland Browns in the 1999 NFL draft.
Cleveland fans were excited for Couch coming into the league to be their savior, but it was not to be. Couch only mustered one playoff appearance and sunk into mediocrity.
Couch was picked ahead of Pro-Bowlers Donovan McNabb and Dante Culpepper who have had success since they were drafted into the league, McNabb more than Culpepper.
Pryor had his one great season last year behind a strong defense and a superior quarterback, who Pryor somehow started ahead of.
He is destined to ride off into the NFL draft after next season to try to prove himself at the professional level.
Having accomplished next to nothing as a college quarterback, Pryor will leave Ohio State to rebuild itself after one of the worst recruiting choices in our program’s history.
Terrelle Pryor, prove me wrong.
