Terrelle Pryor Is a Buckeye: Rodriguez to Blame?
Published March 21, 2008
In some ways, that ended up being the case, although Hayes wasn’t around for most of that time. Schlicter played well enough for the Buckeyes and still owns a variety of passing records, something that is somewhat unimaginable actually given that era and what has come since. But Schlicter had demons at the outset that went undetected despite the warning signs. How much that ultimately impacted his performance is hard to say, but Schlicter never quite instilled in anyone complete confidence and he never did lead the Buckeyes to a national championship, though he came close in 1979.
That’s not to suggest in any way that Pryor has any similar demons or any demons whatsoever. But it is to suggest that whatever accomplishments they may have or whatever potential is yet to be realized, athletes suffer from the same human frailties as everyone else. And when you’re a college kid like Pryor upon whose shoulder rests a considerable amount of pressure already, it’s very easy for the coping mechanism to become dysfunctional.
Having already built an elite program, Tressel is free to operate at a higher level. With the self-created mess he has at Michigan and a less than stable program that he inherited, Rodriguez has much more primal tasks to tackle. Tressel has the ability to work directly with Pryor in a more meaningful way than Rodriguez could initially have offered. It helps, too, that Tressel is uniquely qualified for that task while the jury is still out, literally and figuratively, on Rodriguez.
In the end, and stripping away all of the other reasons both real and invented, it’s this difference that Pryor probably most saw when he placed that Ohio State ball cap on his head and declared his allegiance to the scarlet and gray.
- Terrelle Pryor Is a Buckeye: Rodriguez to Blame?
- Published: March 21, 2008
- Type: Opinion
- Section: Sports
- Filed Under: Sports: Football (American)
- Writer: Gary D. Benz
- Gary D. Benz's BC Writer page
- Gary D. Benz's personal site
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As a tried and true West Virginian I completely disagree with the comment that football is more scrutinized in Michigan. Michigan has a professional team in every major sport, but in West Virginia we have the Mountaineers. And since Charles Woodson left, what has Michigan done? We are far closer to a national title than the Wolverines will be in the Rodriguez years. When the pressure mounts Rodriguez turns to the same play; the QB option. Michigan you'll soon find that you went with a coach with no moral values, and those are the type of recruits you are going to bring in. Good luck making it to a bowl game!
"We are far closer to a national title than the Wolverines will be in the Rodriguez years.
* * * * *
So, let me get this straight: Rodriguez was fine with Mountaineer fans - for seven seasons - as he put together a team that is "far closer to a national title" than Michigan. I think that it would be fair to say that during football season, Saturdays in Morgantown were mostly happy. Well, what with having a team that's closer to a national championship than Michigan and all that.
But now? Now that Rodriguez skipped town, he suddenly has no morals. Where were those morals in the past seven seasons? Were they called into question as he put together the team?
And speaking of team, the one that's in Morgantown right now? You know the one. It was put together by Rich Rodriguez, over the past seven seasons. What kind of recruits were *they* when they arrived and played for the Mountaineers? Indeed, some of them will be playing next year...and the next.
How is it that the morals of Rodriguez and his recruits were not in question, as long as he was head coach? Why no condemnation?
Pure and simple: sour grapes.
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Bring back Ryan Mallett!