Article published January 04, 2009
Pryor talked about, but not talking
Ohio State freshman quarterback Terrelle Pryor has had a lot of time to improve since the Buckeyes' win over Michigan.
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ASSOCIATED PRESS
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By MATT MARKEY
BLADE SPORTS WRITER
PHOENIX - The most talked about celebrity in the Valley of the Sun this past week has not been local loud mouth Charles Barkley, who was arrested in the wee hours of Monday morning on suspicion of drunk driving after blasting through a stop sign in his Infiniti SUV.
The most talked about celebrity has also been the least visible - Ohio State freshman quarterback Terrelle Pryor.
The Buckeyes have kept Pryor sequestered in their posh headquarters at The Fairmont Princess resort in Scottsdale, taking him out of the compound only for their closed practices and a few formal team functions.
Texas coach Mack Brown, whose No. 3 Longhorns will have to deal with Pryor and No. 10 Ohio State in tomorrow night's Fiesta Bowl in nearby Glendale, expects to see a more mature, well versed Pryor. He expects Pryor to be noticeably better than the player who won freshman of the year honors in the Big Ten.
"It has been a long time since their last game of the season and I'm sure Terrelle has used that time to practice and study and just get better in every aspect," Brown said. "That's another month or so of real concentrated work for him, so like I've said, I'm sure he's just grown by leaps and bounds."
Brown said few freshmen could handle the spotlight and the pressure the way Pryor has after being the top recruit in the country a year ago, and then getting thrown into the starting job with the Buckeyes after just three games. Pryor saw action in Ohio State's 35-3 loss to Southern California, and has gone 8-1 as a starter since then."When you look at the progress Terrelle has made since early in the year - they are a much better offensive team than they were when they showcased him against Southern California early in the year," Brown said.
The Texas coach said he sees the similarities between the 6-foot-6 Pryor and former Longhorns quarterback Vince Young (6-5), a comparison that has accompanied Pryor since his days as a record-setting high school player in Pennsylvania.
"They are real tall and strong, and they can make plays with their feet," Brown said. "I don't think anything is fair in comparison except when you go back and look at the same stage of their careers. Vince wasn't playing as a freshman, so Terrelle is ahead of him in the same time frame. I see him being a game-changer."
Texas linebacker Rashad Bobino said he sees the link between Young and Pryor every time he looks at film of this season's Ohio State games.
"When I look at Pryor, he's just so much like Vince was, and he has that same ability once he gets out of the pocket," Bobino said. "They both are a threat to make anything happen at any time. They get more dangerous as the play breaks down."
BIRD PLAY: Texas offensive coordinator Greg Davis had a slightly different take on Pryor-Young similarities. It was a man against boys, in an avian kind of way.
"When I watched Vince in high school and when I watch Terrelle, it was an eagle playing with a bunch of sparrows," Davis said. "He was toying with them, and he could score any time he wants to."
SMOOTH SPEED: Davis went on to say that like Young, Pryor has that extra gear, a cruise option, that the rest of the players on the field don't seem to possess.
"When I see TV clips of Pryor, and you see a guy running who doesn't look like he's running, but nobody's catching him. Vince was like that."
MORE SPEED: In his four years as a starter for Ohio State, defensive back Malcolm Jenkins has heard many variations of the popular bowl tome about the Big Ten lacking the speed to match up with the SEC, Big 12 or Pac 10. Different year, same tune.
"I heard it again last night. I think the misconception of the whole thing is that they talk about speed with the perimeter guys. When you talk about the interior guys these other conference have - smaller but faster guys - and we have bigger muscle guys," Jenkins said.
"On the interior, there is a bit of difference in the speed, but if you are talking about the perimeter guys, I don't think there is any difference."
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