Hyped QB Pryor was smart to pick Ohio State over UM

Vaunted QB recruit Terrelle Pryor looks to play a change-of-pace role during his freshman season at Ohio State. AP

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Terrelle Pryor insisted for the past month and a half that he didn't put off signing with a college to shine the spotlight on himself. Maybe he was telling the truth.

Wednesday, the Jeannette (Pa.) High quarterback turned down an even brighter spotlight -- a chance to start for college football's winningest program as a freshman -- and instead signed with a team that almost certainly will force him to spend his freshman season on the bench.

By choosing Ohio State over Michigan, Pryor probably delayed his debut as a starter by a year. He also gave himself the best chance to succeed.

That may sound crazy. How could Pryor possibly be in a better position playing for a sweater-vest model at Ohio State than at a school with a hot young coach and an offense better suited to his talents? Two words: Tim Tebow.

What does the rising junior quarterback at Florida have to do with a player trying to choose between a pair of Big Ten powers? Everything. Buckeyes coach Jim Tressel referenced Tebow in his sales pitch to Pryor, suggesting Pryor might follow Tebow's career path if he chose Ohio State. In fact, rising senior starter Todd Boeckman may have provided Tressel the most assistance in landing Pryor. At Ohio State, Pryor won't face the early pressure he would have at Michigan, where he would have been expected to start immediately.

During Tebow's freshman year in 2006, Florida coach Urban Meyer eased in Tebow by occasionally using him to spell pro-style starter Chris Leak. The differing styles confounded defenses, helping the Gators won a national title. In his first full season as Florida's starter, in 2007, Tebow accounted for 55 touchdowns and became the first sophomore to win the Heisman Trophy. In Pryor's case, the part of Leak will be played by Boeckman, who led the Buckeyes to the national title game in his first year as a starter.

"[Tressel] said I'm going to work in, just how Tebow did," Pryor said during his press conference Wednesday. "That sounded good to me."

They celebrated Pryor's signing Wednesday in Buckeyeland. At the NCAA tournament regional site in Washington, Ohio State athletic director -- and tourney committee member -- Gene Smith enjoyed a giddy cell phone call near a group of reporters that included SI.com's Stewart Mandel. "... tell [quarterbacks coach] Joe [Daniels] congratulations and give him a hug for me," Smith was overheard saying.

Everyone in scarlet and gray understands all too well the value of using two quarterbacks with vastly different styles. Ohio State lost the national title game to a Gators team featuring Leak and Tebow, and in January the Buckeyes lost another national title game to an LSU team that used a pro-style (Matt Flynn) and dual-threat quarterback (Ryan Perrilloux).

Pryor said he asked several NFL scouts what they thought of his finalists. Once again, the T-word entered the conversation. "A lot of them said Michigan," Pryor said. "They also said Ohio State could be good because you could learn from a senior quarterback and then jump in and play like a Tebow."

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