Thursday, February 7th, 2008 by Adam Wagner
It’s a Terrelle Pryor world. We’re just living in it
Terrelle Pryor’s non-announcement drew more attention than many announcements on National Signing Day. People who usually know less about football than John Madden know who Pryor is, know that he’s the best agile quarterback since Vince Young and know that he was going to commit to Ohio State or Michigan before yesterday, when Pryor announced that he did not have an announcement. Pryor’s un-announcement was the most covered story of Wednesday, but also revealed just how messed up the whole process is.
In Pryor’s case, he will probably end up at Michigan or Penn State, despite all signs pointing to his having been ready to commit to Ohio State yesterday. Michigan is still the best fit in terms of style of play and pedigree, while Penn State’s Joe Paterno has convinced Pryor’s father that Happy Valley would be the best place for the QB. If Paterno were willing to change the offense for Pryor in order to go out as a winner, then he may actually be correct. If he is not, then he is totally wrong. Pryor will only be successful where he is happiest, meaning the place that lets him be a winner and gives him the best shot at a pro career. He apparently thought Ohio State . . . his father apparently felt differently.
The issue at hand, however, is not necessarily Pryor. It is that, and I will admit that I am as guilty of this as anyone, National Signing Day is an unnecessarily large event. These are the futures of seventeen to nineteen year-old teenagers that are being decided and it is not fair for the media to be devoting seven hour specials to them. Recruiting was once a process that only the most diehard fans followed. Now it is something that most casual fans keep track of. Sure, it is nice to know who will be playing key roles for your program in two years, but to be saying that a player is a “failure” because he was “only” three stars is ridiculous. These players are all capable of playing up to a higher level with some coaching up, just as a “five-star” player is capable of collapsing in college (see: Williams, Willie).
Amazingly enough, however hard it may be for some of us to imagine, these are high school kids who have more to worry about at times than the future of your school’s football program. Sure, they may be playing a vital role in that, but sometimes they are just being kids, something that Pryor is doing in taking further advice from his dad.
These are people from whom we expect a constant and unnatural level of maturity, so when they do something that could possibly be misconstrued as demonstrative of a weakness, they are torn apart. These are kids, no more or less sure of what they want than you were at 18 or 19 years old. Remember that next time you leave a message board post bashing a kid for “underperforming” or having less than stellar grades senior year, think about yourself at that age. If you are an NFL player, you may have some room to talk; if not, you should have a little bit of sympathy.
1 Comment
February 8th, 2008 at 4:22 am
I really respect what Prior is doing right now. He could give in to the pressure of OSU or UM, but he’s taking the time to look at the big picture. I’m a college athlete finishing up my senior year, and I wish I could go back to the time where I had to make a decision. Had I knew then what I know now, my life would of been completely different. I probably would of wrestled for Penn instead of Columbia and went to Wharton to get my degree in finance. I didn’t know the difference when I was looking, but I’m sure Prior’s advisors can steer him in the right direction.
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