On Wednesday June 1, we posed the question that if Ohio State University quarterback Terrelle Pryor were to enter the NFL's Supplemental Draft, should the Bengals "take a flyer" on him. And yes, according to an NFL source, the Supplemental Draft will happen in "in mid-to-late July" if there's applicants -- though the NFLPA isn't sure about that. As if we expected one side not to counter the other during the NFL lockout.
We actually received a variety of responses to our question. One commenter writes, "in a word, no." Another says, "Never, no way, no how". Another wrote, "Can we have a big hell no!" Other responses included "H to the No", "We don't need another tight end", "We don't need another QB project" -- not that we've actually had one since Carson Palmer; unless you include Andy Dalton. So by a variety of responses, we actually meant a resounding "no".
And it was expected. Along with Pryor's newfound reputation for being the stepping stone that eventually took down head coach Jim Tressel, Pryor isn't a particularly good throwing quarterback. And before you think I'm actually blaming Pryor for Tressel's downfall, I'm not. After reading George Dohrmann's piece in Sports Illustrated, it's clear that Tressel's blind ignorance to the multitude of NCAA infractions goes way back to Youngstown State was a complete facade. With a sentence that's expected to be worse that Southern California's infractions, Tressel could be the one that brings down the entire football program for a long time. On the other hand, most of this never sees the light of day if not for the tattoo conspiracy that Pryor was stuck in the middle of.
Many situations involved the use of his legs to get out of sticky situations. Even though Pryor converted 70.6 percent of his passes on third down with 7-9 yards to go, he only converted seven first downs. In the fourth quarter, Pryor converted only 47.2 percent of his passes with an NFL translated 51.6 passer rating. There's no doubt Pryor's legs helped the Buckeyes a lot; he's as fast as any quarterback I've ever seen. But asked to convert a big third down with his arm? No thanks. Granted. Perhaps I'm a little biased. Even though I've been a Buckeyes fan for as long as I can remember, I've been waiting for the day Pryor is no longer the team's starting quarterback. And before Bearcats fans sigh with Buckeyes irritation, take note that I'm also a Bearcats fan. I'm one of those rare breeds that can actually support both teams.
With a five-game suspension to start the 2011 season, Pryor is in a situation now that he could enter the NFL's Supplemental Draft. The NFL says it's happening; the NFLPA isn't willing to confirm. Additionally, Pryor could face further penalties because of an NCAA investigation that's looking into how he acquired his cars. If the violations are severe enough, Pryor might miss the entire season. For now however, Pryor's legal guardian Willie Burns says that he believes Pryor will return to school. This Buckeye fan can only hope not.