How will Terrelle Pryor transition into the NFL?
The fact is coming out of high school Terrelle Pryor was a highly touted quarterback, with the physical tools to be a game changer at the college level. The battle was between Michigan and Ohio State and they both were recruiting hard to have Pryor be the next quarterback. Needless to say Pryor chose Ohio State (I am sure Michigan is glad, now) and thus began the whirlwind of ups and downs for the OSU program. Pryor, in my opinion, never really shaped up to be the All-World quarterback he was made to be coming out of high school. There were many questionable decisions on the field and many times he was the run first, pass last type of player. The 2010 season was really he and the teams best as they had a much improved record and defeated Arkansas in the Sugar Bowl. Then the offseason came and all the trouble with it, reports of players trading sports memorabilia for tattoos, reports of payments to players, and Pryor was right in the middle of it all. Due to all of this ‘bad press’ head coach Jim Tressel resigned amidst the allegations and the NCAA laid out a 5-game suspension for Pryor in his final season with the Buckeyes.
From Pryor’s perspective he knew that missing half of the season would not be good for his chances in the NFL, so he decided to enter the NFL and forgo his senior year, only problem he missed the draft date and all that was left was the supplemental draft. With many things in the air the commissioner Roger Goodell was to access the situation and see if Pryor was eligible to be in the draft, after much deliberation they decided he could join, with a 5-game suspension due in his first NFL season. On Monday August 22, 2011 the Oakland Raiders decided to draft Terrelle Pryor in the supplemental draft (with a 3 rd round draft pick, forfeiting the 3 rd round pick in the 2012 NFL draft).
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The question is can his skill set translate into the NFL? In my opinion, no at least not as a quarterback, for the Raiders it really is the equivalent of a younger Jason Campbell and the Raiders already have Campbell. So how can this help the Raiders, he can help only if they can transform his skill set into a wide receiver or Kick and punt returner. The Raiders are an organization that is willing to take a chance on players but their patience does run out quickly so if Pryor is going to make an impact it must be now. Pryor has tools and he has ability but learning a new position and new playbook could be too much for the OSU standout.
By Sam Adams
ProFootball-fans.com Staff Writer