12/03/24
June 07, 2011
And so he leaves...: Terrelle Pryor is leaving Ohio State.
Yeah, he didn't have much of an option if he stayed. I don't think he is ready for the NFL though - maybe if he switches positions.
posted by bperk at 07:15 PM on June 07, 2011
An ESPN article says WR might be a better fit for him. I could see that working honestly, he's big, relatively fast, and athletic. They suggested that he could be the next Plaxico (hopefully for his sake that's the only way he is compared with Plaxico).
Should be interesting. One other question I had; should this affect their bowl victory last year?
posted by brainofdtrain at 08:16 PM on June 07, 2011
He didn't look half bad on this play as a WR.
posted by sgtcookzane at 08:56 PM on June 07, 2011
One other question I had; should this affect their bowl victory last year?
Him leaving school shouldn't. The fact that Tressel knowingly played ineligible players for the entire season should.
posted by Ying Yang Mafia at 09:16 PM on June 07, 2011
But wasn't he allowed to play only if he sat out the 1st five games, which was based on the promise he'd come back for this year? I understand that given all that's happened to Tressel, keeping his word to him may seem less important. Nonetheless, from what I understand those were the conditions (the second implied, otherwise the penalty meant nothing) for him to play.
I'm not trying to be a hater, but I think technically at least it is an issue.
posted by brainofdtrain at 10:30 PM on June 07, 2011
Good riddance.
posted by insomnyuk at 10:43 PM on June 07, 2011
But wasn't he allowed to play only if he sat out the 1st five games, which was based on the promise he'd come back for this year?
As I understood it at the time, Tressel made them promise to return the next season as you said. However, I don't believe that promise was binding or official in any meaningful capacity.
posted by Ying Yang Mafia at 12:25 AM on June 08, 2011
But wasn't he allowed to play only if he sat out the 1st five games, which was based on the promise he'd come back for this year?
I think the issue is that he's been caught with some more serious violations since then, and he's likely going to get banned for the whole season because of them, anyway. So there's not much point in coming back.
posted by TheQatarian at 12:37 AM on June 08, 2011
YYM & TheQatarian,
Thanks to both of you, makes sense.
posted by brainofdtrain at 12:47 AM on June 08, 2011
"In the best interest of my teammates, I have made the decision to forgo my senior year of football at The Ohio State University," Pryor said in statement released by Larry James.
Maybe he should have thought about his teammates while he and the others were trading gear for tats and cars. Trying to come off as someone who actually cares about anyone other than himself is a little late in the game.
posted by gfinsf at 06:51 AM on June 08, 2011
I hope you posted the same thing when Tressel resigned.
posted by bperk at 08:09 AM on June 08, 2011
With regard to suspensions, the NCAA's ruling was that the Sugar Bowl was different from regular season games, so the players would be eligible to play in the bowl and suspended for the first 5 games of 2011. Since the players were eligible to leave school early, Tressel added the stipulation to his players that they should promise to return for 2011 if they wanted to play in the bowl game. If they were going to leave, then he would enforce their suspension in the Sugar Bowl so they would not get off unpunished.
All of that said, given that Pryor is likely to be suspended for more games if he were to stay and has already missed the combines and draft, I would say that missing this season and leaving the team at this time is a harsher penalty than the 5-game suspension would be. He needed next season to build up his resume. I'm sure someone will give him a shot as he is a tremendous athlete, but he's not going to be making the big bucks off the bat, and he's going to have to prove it on the field.
posted by bender at 08:30 AM on June 08, 2011
Everyone in Buckeye land was so excited when Pryor chose Ohio State. A few short years later, he has helped the program achieve new heights. Unfortunately, it's new heights of chaos.
posted by dyams at 09:42 AM on June 08, 2011
I hope you posted the same thing when Tressel resigned.
I would have but it's kind of apples and oranges. Pryor is saying he is not going to play because he "cares" about the possible distractions to his teammates even though he and others caused them. Tressel on the other hand resigned/was fired because he cared too much about his players rather than reporting NCAA violations. Both were wrong in every way, but it just seems Pryor, and others, were the cause. Tressel covered it up and now he is gone. If Pryor "cared" about his teammates, and that is my point, he would not have been so blatantly stupid in his decisions over the years he was at OSU. Those athletes who come to OSU behind these violations are going to pay for Pryor's deeds for a long time. Loss of scholarships and bowl games to be sure. As the needle was painting his arm or other places, do you think he cared about his temmates?
posted by gfinsf at 09:50 AM on June 08, 2011
Maybe he should have thought about his teammates while he and the others were trading gear for tats and cars. Trying to come off as someone who actually cares about anyone other than himself is a little late in the game.
Friday Night Lights [possible spoilers] is doing a story line that while it doesn't deal with illegal benefits, it does have to do with a kid from a broken family who, for the first time in his life, is the center of attention and being told he is the man, period, end of discussion. That flattery and attention from centers of great power and wealth, when you've receive none in the past and always told you're scum, is very seducing.
Not that it justifies it, but is it really so hard to understand where the accepting of gifts comes from? To be the star. And I'm not just talking your high school varsity football team, but rather a national name on which much adulation is spoken.
posted by jmd82 at 09:55 AM on June 08, 2011
Tressel on the other hand resigned/was fired because he cared too much about his players rather than reporting NCAA violations.
Wow. You're buying that?
posted by tron7 at 10:55 AM on June 08, 2011
I don't think he is ready for the NFL though - maybe if he switches positions.
Agreed.
OT - it's amazing to me that this sort of thing is even an option...just shows how athletic these guys are. Think about it for a sec..you have overzealous dads all over the world starting their kids off at 4 or 5 years old, training them to play QB or WR, etc., buying them all the latest equipment and training gear, spending all this $ sending them to camps to hone their skills, practicing endlessly..and most of those kids never make it..yet you get a guy like this whose never played WR before in his life and he can suddenly pick it up and excel at the PRO level. Just amazing to me.
posted by bdaddy at 11:04 AM on June 08, 2011
Tressel on the other hand resigned/was fired because he cared too much about his players rather than reporting NCAA violations. Both were wrong in every way, but it just seems Pryor, and others, were the cause. Tressel covered it up and now he is gone.
Except Tressel not reporting it is a violation of NCAA, and he knew it. He showed a complete lack of accountability and responsibility because he wanted to win. It is apples and oranges because on one hand we have poor 18-20 year old kids making bad decisions and on the other we have a well-off grown man making bad decisions. I don't understand why the young ones should suffer the harshest criticism.
OT - it's amazing to me that this sort of thing is even an option...just shows how athletic these guys are.
Plus, they don't even have to have been playing the same sport. Gates was playing basketball and college, and still is a star in the NFL. They could also decide to be dancers and start winning competitions.
posted by bperk at 11:42 AM on June 08, 2011
Seeing as he was probably going to be ineligible anyway, I would have been shocked if he had returned. Now let the Big Ten schadenfreude begin.