He should have been in the Downtown Athletic Club podium receiving the 2010 Heisman Award as the best player in college football; after all, he was the prohibited preseason favorite to win it.
That honor went to Auburn quarterback Cam Newton who came from the junior college ranks to post one of the most amazing seasons in the history of the game.
The tremendous year, his powerful arm and uncanny ability to run has him, not only in the thick of a national championship but at the top of many draft boards as NFL scouts are salivating about the promise he could offer at the next level.
He has vaulted to the middle part of the first round, even going as high as in the top 10, according to many draft boards.
All those accolades were expected to be received by another “running” quarterback, Terrelle Pryor.
Instead, the Ohio State signal caller is almost an after though while preparing for the Sugar Bowl and a showdown with Arkansas QB Ryan Mallett, another possible top 10 NFL draft pick in April.
After being one of the most sought out prep prospects in years, Buckeyes Head coach Jim Tressel managed to outbid most of the South Eastern Conference big boys and signed the 6-foot-6, 235 pound Pryor who the Ohio media immediately anointed the “Next Vince Young”.
He has never lived to that hype, or even come close to that level!
By no mean that statement signaled that Pryor is a bust. In fact, there’s an argument that he has improved as a passer.
Last year’s Rose Bowl in which he pasted a very good Oregon football team is a testament to what he could be able to do.
The problem is that those games are too few and far between.
The truth is that with his incredible size, incomparable arm strength and amazing speed (clocked in the low 4.40s), he should dominate all games just like Newton did this year.
He was just 12-27 for 233 in a home win against an overwhelmed Miami Hurricane. He did rush for 113, but on 20 carriers. That’s not a dominant performance.
In fact, an argument could be made that ‘Canes QB Jacory Harris outplayed him.
Yes, there were the 4 interceptions, but three of them should have been caught.
In the Buckeyes’ only loss of the year against Wisconsin, Pryor threw for only 153 yards.
Unlike the Miami game, the big QB did not supplement his poor passing with a robust running game finishing up with 56 yards, with most of them coming against the Badgers’ preventive pass defense late in the game.
All of this from an athlete many believed who be able to snatch the Heisman in 2010.
There’s still time for Pryor to reach for more than a secondary role as he is certain to be back next year at Ohio State.
But before he reach his full potential, if he ever does, Pryor needs to develop what Newton has done in a just a season: a consistence mid-to-long range passing game.
He also needs to mature as a leader and to show that he can takeover a game before his once enormous promise is reach.
By Raul Colon
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