QB Position Battle Shaping Up at Ohio State
QUARTERBACK
Front Runner: Joe Bauserman
After Tuesday’s practice there is an actual chance that Bauserman will get more than just an obligatory start in the season-opener against Akron. It’s important not to overvalue the importance of one practice, but if Bauserman can show that type of command and confidence the rest of camp, he could actually hold on to the top spot.
Challenger: Braxton Miller
Considering how far Miller has come in less than week, it’s scary to think what he could do before the end of camp. He is playing with a lot of poise and confidence for a young kid and that could carry him to the top. Right now he is slightly behind Bauserman in the quarterback battle, and it’s feasible they could play both of them.
Dark Horse: Kenny Guiton
Despite what Fickell says about the new rotation being a way to test all four quarterbacks, it is clear that Guiton and Taylor Graham haven fallen behind the other two. The fact Guiton is now behind a true freshman who has only been on campus since January doesn’t look good, but it’s too early to rule him out of it completely.
Pryor's pro prospects
Musings, observations and the occasional insight as we wind our way through mid-August and approach the second week of the NFL's preseason ...
• With the league postponing Wednesday's scheduled supplemental draft while it decides what to do about his thorny case, Terrelle Pryor must wait a little longer to launch his NFL career. But whenever his eligibility issues are settled and that step takes place, the larger question that looms is obvious: Does the former Ohio State star have much of a future as an NFL quarterback?
I talked to one head coach in the league who foresees Pryor being taken in the fourth or fifth round of the supplemental draft, but only as a long-term project, and even then without enough upside to ever lead an NFL franchise at the game's most pivotal position.
"He's a heck of an athlete,'' the head coach said. "Very similar to Cam Newton in the type of athlete he is. But he doesn't have the mechanics, the throwing mechanics, that he needs. I see someone taking him as a three-year project, to get him to be an NFL-level quarterback. And if you can get him to be that, I think he'll only be a No. 2 [QB] for someone, just because he doesn't have that natural throwing motion. But yeah, I see somebody taking a shot and saying, 'We've got him for three years as a No. 3 guy.' I can see that happening.''
At this relatively late date, the calendar is obviously working against Pryor having any potential 2011 impact in the NFL, if he is cleared to enter the league at all before the 2012 regular draft next April. Most likely he'll be a headline the day he's selected, generate a little buzz in the market he winds up in, then fade into semi-obscurity this fall as he attempts to craft his game to NFL standards and work his way up some team's depth chart. At the moment, the only thing Pryor and current NFL quarterbacks have in common is they all have agents.
The NFL declared former Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor eligible for the supplemental draft Thursday but ruled that he will not be able to play in the first five games of the 2011 season after he signs a contract.
If Pryor insists he'll only be a quarterback, he severely limits his value, ESPN The league announced Pryor was eligible in a memo sent to its 32 teams Thursday. The 2011 supplemental draft, originally scheduled for Aug. 17, will take place Aug. 22.
The NFL said that Pryor can play in preseason games after he is drafted and signs, but he is not eligible to practice with his new team or play in a game until Week 6 of the season. Pryor will be allowed at his new team's training facility for meetings and to work with coaches during the time he is ineligible, however.
"... Pryor made decisions that undermine the integrity of the eligibility rules for the NFL Draft," the league said. "Those actions included failing to cooperate with the NCAA and hiring an agent in violation of NCAA rules, which resulted in Ohio State declaring him ineligible to continue playing college football.
"Pryor then applied to enter the NFL after the regular draft. Pryor had accepted at the end of the 2010 college football season a suspension for the first five games of the 2011 season for violating NCAA rules. Pryor will be ineligible to practice prior to or play in the first five games of the NFL regular season after he signs."
Terrelle Pryor's agent Drew Rosenhaus comments on the NFL's decision to allow Pryor into the supplemental draft and says Pryor will have a pro day workout Saturday in Pittsburgh.
An NFLPA source told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter that the union recommended Pryor fight the five-game suspension but Drew Rosenhaus, Pryor's agent, and David Cornwell, Pryor's attorney, believed it was a losing battle and that Pryor should accept the NFL's punishment and move on.
However, a source close to Pryor told ESPN's Joe Schad: "There is a cooperative environment between the NFL and NCAA. But there should be concern that the NFL would become an enforcement arm of the NCAA."
The source also expressed concern that this decision could set a precedent that would enable the NFL to suspend and/or fine future incoming rookies based on NCAA violations.
Rosenhaus told ESPN's "SportsCenter" on Thursday that his client will hold a pro day workout Saturday afternoon in Pittsburgh and will run the 40-yard dash, do agility drills and throw passes.
Rosenhaus also said that NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith and commissioner Roger Goodell worked together for the arrangement that will allow Pryor into the draft with the five-game suspension.
"The five games we happily agreed to, voluntarily," Rosenhaus said. "The alternative wasn't very attractive. We're grateful for the chance."
Rosenhaus, who called Pryor a "first-round talent," said he wouldn't try to predict when Pryor would be drafted Monday due to the "abbreviated" nature of the NFL's decision just days before the draft. He did say however, that he was confident that Pryor would be selected Monday.
Rosenhaus said Pryor was "elated" when he informed his client of the NFL's decision. Pryor tweeted Thursday morning: "God bless and thanks for support! Time to have a little fun!!"
“Personally, I hope this causes everyone to pause and conclude that we must challenge the NCAA on its 'amateurism' rules. Terrelle is going to the NFL because the NCAA mandated that he feed their families, but he could not feed his own. ”-- Attorney David Cornwell
Cornwell said he and Pryor were happy with the NFL's decision but said the NCAA must be challenged on its "amateurism" rules.
"Ultimately we are pleased that Terrelle will have the opportunity to fulfill his dream to dream to play in the NFL," Cornwell said. "Personally, I hope this causes everyone to pause and conclude that we must challenge the NCAA on its 'amateurism' rules. Terrelle is going to the NFL because the NCAA mandated that he feed their families, but he could not feed his own."
If he hadn't been ruled eligible, Pryor would have had to wait until the regular April 2012 draft.
In order to qualify for the supplemental draft, a player must show that his status has changed -- such as being declared academically ineligible by his school -- after the NFL's regular college draft has been held.
A star with the Buckeyes for three years, Pryor and several teammates were suspended for the first five games of the upcoming season for receiving improper benefits from a Columbus tattoo-parlor owner. The quarterback subsequently left school, hoping he'd be eligible for the supplemental draft.
Pryor, regarded as the nation's top quarterback recruit coming out of high school, had three terrific seasons for the Buckeyes. Ohio State's career-leading rusher among quarterbacks with 2,164 yards also tied a school mark with 57 touchdown passes.
As a freshman, he led Ohio State to an 8-1 record as a starter and was the Big Ten freshman of the year. Pryor led the Buckeyes to the Big Ten title the following season and a victory in the Rose Bowl, in which he was named the game's MVP after beating Oregon 26-17.
QBs in Supplemental Draft
There is good news and bad news for Terrelle Pryor and agent Drew Rosenhaus. A quarterback hasn't been taken in the supplemental draft since 1992 ... but all five QBs selected were taken in the first round.
QBs taken in Supplemental Draft*
Dave Brown 1992 1st (Giants)
Steve Walsh 1989 1st (Cowboys)
Timm Rosenbach 1989 1st (Cardinals)
Bernie Kosar 1985 1st (Browns)
Dave Wilson 1981 1st (Saints)
As a junior, Pryor had his best season statistically, throwing for 2,772 yards and 27 touchdowns with 11 interceptions. He also ran for 754 yards and four scores while helping the Buckeyes to a 31-26 victory over Arkansas in the Sugar Bowl.
But shortly before the Sugar Bowl, it was revealed that Pryor and other players traded Buckeyes memorabilia for cash and discounted tattoos. In the following months, it became clear that coach Jim Tressel knew about the improper benefits in spring 2010 but didn't inform his bosses, as was required under his contract and NCAA rules. Tressel was forced out of his job May 30 and Pryor left Ohio State soon after.
Tressel acknowledged knowing his players were taking improper benefits but covered it up for more than nine months before Ohio State officials discovered the violations.
Five other players are eligible to be drafted Monday: former Georgia running back Caleb King, former Northern Illinois safety Tracy Wilson, former Western Carolina cornerback Torez Jones, former Lindenwood University defensive end Keenan Mace, and former North Carolina defensive end Michael McAdoo.
Forty players have been selected in the NFL supplemental draft since its inception in 1977.
Teams submit picks to the league and if their bid is the highest, they receive the player but lose the corresponding draft pick in the following year's regular draft.
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