Pryor is figuring out how and when to stay in the pocket and not take a sack, but also take a hit and make a throw.
One of the Big Ten's most powerful physiques, Terrelle Pryor is willing to take a hit (here from Eastern Michigan's Tim Fort last week) to deliver a pass. "I'll stand in there and take some hits," said Pryor. "That just comes with the territory of playing the quarterback position."SHOULDERING THE LOAD
Two Big Ten teams had quarterbacks go down last week. Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson is fine and will start Saturday after injuring his knee, while Purdue is still waiting on the results on an MRI on the knee of quarterback Robert Marve.
Some quarterbacks are more involved in their team's offenses than others — with more opportunities to get hits. Here's the percentage of offensive plays Big Ten starting quarterbacks have been involved in this season. All have played four games — except for Indiana and Illinois, which have played three.
• Ben Chappell, Indiana: 98 passes, 7 rushes, 191 plays, 55.0 percent
• Denard Robinson, Michigan: 80 passes, 79 rushes, 302 plays, 52.6 percent
• Dan Persa, Northwestern: 106 passes, 50 rushes, 299 plays, 52.2 percent
• Terrelle Pryor, Ohio State: 107 passes, 43 rushes, 296 plays, 50.7 percent
• Nathan Scheelhaase, Illinois: 57 passes, 40 rushes, 194 plays, 50.0 percent
• Rob Bolden, Penn State: 113 passes, 16 rushes, 264 plays, 48.9 percent
• Adam Weber, Minnesota: 123 passes, 14 rushes, 297 plays, 46.1 percent
• Ricky Stanzi, Iowa: 99 passes, 21 rushes, 267 plays, 44.9 percent
• Kirk Cousins, Michigan State: 91 passes, 16 rushes, 245 plays, 43.7 percent
• Robert Marve, Purdue: 99 passes, 22 rushes, 296 plays, 40.9 percent
• Scott Tolzien, Wisconsin: 84 passes, 9 rushes, 273 plays, 34.1 percent
— Doug Lesmerises
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Terrelle Pryor thought he had clean protection and plenty of room when he released his first touchdown pass to Dan Sanzenbacher last Saturday.
Then a diving Eastern Michigan defensive lineman crashed into his left knee. Brad Ohrman had beaten OSU left tackle Mike Adams with an inside move, and Pryor said Adams actually separated his shoulder on the play.
As for the knee, the one Pryor had arthroscopic surgery on in the off-season?
"It was a little sore after it, yeah," Pryor said Wednesday. "I mean, that's your leg. It's not a big deal. I was glad I had a knee brace on."
Pryor said Adams apologized for missing the block and Pryor readily accepted.
"His shoulder separated, so a guy got in free," Pryor said. "That's football."
That part of football is more part of Pryor's game as a junior, and he should show it more often as he enters Big Ten play against Illinois on Saturday.
The Buckeyes keep track of how many times Pryor is able to escape pressure and make a big play, and OSU receivers coach Darrell Hazell said Wednesday that Pryor is way ahead of last year's pace. But Pryor is also figuring out how and when to stay in the pocket and not take a sack, but take a hit and make a throw.
Pryor showed that on consecutive passes against EMU. On the play before the TD to Sanzenbacher, he was driven to the ground while completing a 25-yard toss to DeVier Posey after a blitzer got past running back Brandon Saine.
"I think when I prepare real good, I think I'm very comfortable standing in the pocket," Pryor said Wednesday. "I'm starting to get real good trust in the linemen and the protection. I was very young maybe last year and my freshman year and I wouldn't really stand in there. But as you saw last week there are some hits I can take by standing in there and I don't think I'll have a problem this week.
"I'll stand in there and take some hits, too. That just comes with the territory of playing the quarterback position."
At 6-foot-6 and 235 pounds, Pryor has the prototype body to break tackles from many linebackers and defensive backs. "It's kind of a gladiator feeling when you stand in there and take a shot and dust yourself off and go on to the next play," says former OSU quarterback Mike Tomczak, who has worked with Pryor.Sometimes he'll take off. Pryor said earlier this season he still wants to run for 1,000 yards. Those are the plays that scare opponents the most.
Sometimes, he'll step up in the pocket, avoid the pressure and throw. He's doing that more, keeping his eyes downfield as he moves around.
But at 6-foot-6 and 235 pounds, he also has the prototype body for looking over a collapsing pocket, standing his ground and absorbing some punishment.
"The one to Dane, he took a big shot to his leg and stood in there," Hazell said. "When he was a younger guy, he felt the pressure. Now he stands in there. He's so big back there in the pocket, that's a whole different dimension with him standing tall and being able to find those guys. That guy hit him and the ball was coming out. If he moves a little bit, that's not a touchdown."
Former Ohio State quarter Mike Tomczak, who went over Rose Bowl film with Pryor in the off-season and keeps in touch with him, said he saw it coming. He said Pryor probably is one of the two most powerful quarterbacks in college football, along with Auburn's Cameron Newton, and now he has the confidence to make throws like that.
"That's his job," Tomczak said. "It's just great to see a warrior stand in the pocket. It's kind of a gladiator feeling when you stand in there and take a shot and dust yourself off and go on to the next play."
The Buckeyes just have to make sure Pryor gets up. There's little doubt he is more valuable to his team than any player in the Big Ten. He has dealt with injuries before, originally hurting his knee against New Mexico State last season.
"Obviously you don't want your quarterback hit. Most especially you don't want him hurt," OSU coach Jim Tressel said. "I don't ever want him just to stand in there to prove that he can take a hit. If he needs to stand in to make a play, then you need to do that, but there's probably no more danger in that than there is when you get out of there and you're on the run and there's seven guys on their way to hit you."
That's what happened against New Mexico State, as Pryor was pulled down as he ran to the sidelines. Pryor saw Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson hurt his knee, though not seriously, on a similar run last week. But don't count on Pryor starting to slide at the end of his runs.
"You have to be smart about when you've got that ball in your hand. There's a lot of people coming to tattoo you, so there's a sideline there," Tressel, a former Baldwin-Wallace quarterback, said. "I've never seen him slide, I don't think. That'd be a long slide. He'd probably slide about four yards.
"We have never drilled it. I don't know how to teach it. I never got out of the pocket."
So Pryor probably will continue to take on tacklers when he gets in the open field and turn the stomachs of offensive coordinators. Now he'll also take a shot to make a throw and get up again.