Thursday, March 13, 2008

Terrelle Pryor, is he Worthe all of the Hype?

The number 1 football recruit and 28th ranked basketball recruit in the class of 2008 according to rivals.com was recently in the news again, but this time it was for a brawl that occurred after his basketball team's game against Pittsburgh North Catholic. Pryor was evidently held back by an assistant coach as players began to fight after they shook hands. This isn't the first time that Terrelle has been around a bad situation. In October, he was escorted out of Kennywood Park in Pennsylvania for disorderly conduct.
Yes, he is just an 18 year old kid, but isn't that a blip on the radar screen if you are a college coach recruiting this young man? Obviously not, because he is still being hounded by Ohio State, Michigan, Oregon and Penn State. I am concerned, because I am an Ohio State fan and I have always thought that Jim Tressel recruited well rounded student-athletes. Ohio State fans already know what it is like to have a pre-madonna. (Maurice Clarette)
Watch some of his highlights from football and basketball games and see what you think. Bumping into players on purpose, taunting players, jumping on the scores table after a big dunk, etc.. Some players do get emotional and that is fine, but some athletes can go to far.
Do not get me wrong. He is a tremendous athlete! 6-6, 225 and awesome athletic ability. My concern is how is he going to handle 102, 000 at the Horseshoe, or The Big House? Classes, student life, practice, teammates, and most importantly, authority?
The red flag should have been raised when he decided not to sign and visit other schools. That is fine, but these schools are holding a scholarship for him and one of them will get burned when he doesn't sign with them. He has until April 1st to make his final decision, but by then all of the supposed instant impact players are already enrolled in their schools and have started Spring practice. Which brings up another reason of concern. Why isn't he enrolling early, so he can participate in Spring practice? Most of us would say because of basketball, which he is still playing. That is just a question to ponder because if I thought that football could possibly be my profession, I would want to get a head start and get to practice early. Maybe he thinks he does not need to enroll early because he is good enough to step on the field already.
Pryor will be at Penn State Saturday for an unofficial visit as Jeannette plays in the Pennsylvania state finals. Whoever lands Terrelle Pryor will have to wait and see whether he is over hyped or not, but for now, I think he will need a lot of guidance.

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