How will the Buckeyes fill Terrelle Pryor's running shoes if injury relegates the fleet-footed quarterback merely to throwing the ball?
View full sizeTerrelle Pryor apparently is showing no effects of the quadriceps injury he suffered in the Buckeyes' win over Illinois last week, but Ohio State still needs to consider how to fill in the gap if the team's most dangerous running threat is slowed by injury.Tailbacks Dan Herron and Brandon Saine, according to Plain Dealer OSU beat writer Doug Lesmerises in a story in today's paper, have combined for 470 yards on 109 carries, a 4.3-yards-per-carry average. But those figures are inflated, quite frankly, by runs against lesser opponents like Marshall. And, as Lesmerises pointed out in his story, since Marshall, the tandem has averaged only 3.5 yards per carry. That might cut it against Eastern Michigan but it's not going to work against the real Michigan.
By all accounts, Pryor's strained quad is getting better by the day. But as OSU receiver Dane Sanzenbacher told Lesmerises, rival coaches are smart enough to exploit any possible chink in the Buckeye armor, up to and including an injury that hampers Pryor's skills as a runner.