By: MIKE PERRY (MorningJournal.com) —
COLUMBUS — Thrust into the starting quarterback role at one of the most prestigious college football programs in the nation last season, freshman quarterback Terrelle Pryor had every built-in excuse to struggle.

Turns out he was every bit as good as advertised.

When Pryor unseated senior Todd Boeckman as the starter, the Buckeyes weren’t exactly in disarray. A lopsided loss to USC was the only blemish on their record and Boeckman, despite the loss, was not the biggest problem. He was not putting up eye-popping numbers, but the Ohio State defense was the main reason the Trojans blew them out in Southern California.

With Pryor, the 2007 USA Today high school football player of the year and top-ranked recruit in the country, Buckeyes coach Jim Tressel was like a kid on Christmas morning that did not want to wait until after breakfast before ripping into that new toy to see what it could do.

Turned out that toy was a lot of fun.

Pryor went 8-1 as a starter, leading the Big Ten in passing efficiency and setting numerous Ohio State freshman quarterback records along the way. The 6-foot-6, 235-pounder threw for 1,311 yards, rushed for 631 more, and completed 12 touchdown passes against just four interceptions. He also rushed for six touchdowns.

Things will be distinctly different this season. There is no doubt as to who the starting quarterback will be for Ohio State this fall as Pryor has a full winter’s worth of film study under his belt. He will enter the season opener against Navy on Sept. 5 a more prepared, confident player.

At times last season he seemed to be lost mechanically on the field, leading to questions about his physical approach to his throws. It’s something Pryor has worked on a great deal during the winter months in Columbus.

“Last year I didn’t go through the spring process, and I got to go through the spring process this year,” he said. “So far it’s helped me out a lot, going through the film work, getting the defenses down, learning all the zone blitzes. It’s helped a lot.

“I’m a lot more comfortable. That’s what it’s all about, getting more comfortable and bringing the footwork along. You have to work on your five-step drop and, wherever you are throwing the ball, you have to make sure everything is smooth.

“Right now I’m trying to work on not twisting my hip when I throw, I have to drive through and that will come with a lot more reps. But I’m getting better at it.”

These small adjustments are something assistant quarterbacks coach Nick Siciliano thinks will pay big dividends. Physical adjustments are the easy part, learning the quarterback position without having to think constantly on the field is where the great ones separate themselves.

“When you know where you have to go with the football the mechanics become easier,” Siciliano said. “You aren’t thinking as much and you’re not panicking. Once he becomes more knowledgeable about what’s going on the other stuff soma online without prescription will come together. It’s hard to do both at one time.”

After the loss to Texas in the Fiesta Bowl, a game Pryor said he still has not watched on film, Pryor turned the page and looked toward the 2009 season.

“That’s the past, you can’t be looking at the past,” he said.

His on-field success in 2008 proved Pryor has the physical tools to be a standout quarterback in the Big Ten, but there is another side to it, a side Pryor embraced during the off-season.

“You can’t play this game unless you use your athletic ability, but the best athlete ever in the country, if he’s playing quarterback, even if he can throw, if he doesn’t study and watch a lot of film he won’t really be successful,,” Pryor said.

“There are a lot of things that come at you, a lot of things from last year that if I would have known these things I know now it would have been so much easier. Once you know what the defense is doing, what they’re bringing to you and how they’re coming at you, it’s a whole different ball game. And that’s how I’m looking at it right now.”

That approach to the game is something Siciliano thinks will pay off immediately this season.

“He’s done the extra work, he’s watched extra film, he’s studied the playbook more, he understands where to go with the football. Now it’s just making it all happen,” Siciliano said. “If you ask him in the classroom what to do in a certain situation he knows it.

“But it’s a little different when bodies start moving on you. When you’re sure of what you’re doing you play faster and the ball comes out quicker.”

Pryor has another role for the Buckeyes this season. That’s being a team leader.

Despite being a sophomore, he knows he has to take control of the offensive unit. He also has to keep the team focused on what it has to do to be successful.

“We have a lot of seniors on our defense, and a couple on offense. I just try to throw in some words and not try to do too much,” he said of assuming the leadership role. “But that’s my offense and I’m going to run it. That’s just how it’s going to be. I don’t have anything to do with the defense so I really don’t say a lot to them, but I try to lead the team as best I can.

“On offense I have to make sure I have everyone right and everyone together, make sure we’re getting after it because there are teams out there waiting for us. And there’s teams we owe some stuff to.”

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