Terrelle Pryor said he likes working from the shotgun, but he continues to gain comfort in every part of the Ohio State offense.
View full sizeTerrelle Pryor has dramatically improved his efficiency while throwing out of the Buckeyes' multiple offense. But the talented junior admitted he wonders what a spread offense might do. COLUMBUS, Ohio -- What would Terrelle Pryor do if he was in charge of the Ohio State offense?
Saturday night at Minnesota will be the 32nd game since Pryor took over as the starting quarterback. Obviously, the junior's responsibility and knowledge of the offense has grown over time. That offense varies from month to month and game to game, as OSU coach Jim Tressel constantly adjusts to opposing defenses and what he senses are the strengths of his personnel.
Last Saturday against Purdue, for instance, the Buckeyes were under center a little bit more than they had been, using an I formation rushing attack to get the offense going. Tressel has seen Pryor improve in that staple of the OSU plan.
"I think the fact that he's been under center a little bit more and done a little more throwing from under center than he did early in his career, I think he's becoming more comfortable in that and that's something we want him to do," Tressel said.
Against the Golden Gophers, maybe the Buckeyes will get back to, for instance, the shotgun a bit more. At least, in his world, that's what Pryor would lean toward if he assumed the title of offensive coordinator.
"Obviously, I'm going to have different views," Pryor said with a smile. "I'd probably put some small guys in the backfield, like [Dan Herron] and Jordan [Hall] and Jaamal [Berry] and get in the shotgun and spread the field and make the defense make some plays, because there's only a couple guys in the box and there's not a lot of people who can tackle Boom or Jordan or Jaamal Berry within a space, and run some zone reads and stuff like that.
"But that's not what we do. We do that a little bit, but our game plan is to attack what we see. There's a lot of things we do that I like and every week our coaches have very good game plans, but I feel comfortable with everything."
Pryor's answer is interesting because that spread, zone-read offense isn't what the Buckeyes have shown they do best since Pryor took over, and he has previously said Ohio State's pro-style offense was one of the reason he chose the Buckeyes. Any Tressel offense will continue to be multiple, and Pryor and Tressel agree that the quarterback's input into the process continues to grow.
"Are we to the point yet where we say, hey, 'we're just going to give him a formation and you're going to take over?' Probably not there yet," Tressel said. "Will we ever get there? We'll see."
Through eight games this season, Pryor has completed 66 percent of his passes (135 of 203) for 1,775 yards, 18 touchdowns and six interceptions. At the same point last season, Pryor had completed 55 percent (102 of 184) for 1,408 yards, 12 touchdowns and nine interceptions.
He also has 408 rushing yards this year on 79 carries vs. 471 yards on 101 carries a year ago.
The ninth game last season was when Pryor hurt his knee against New Mexico and the true, healthy QB vanished until the Rose Bowl. Now, Pryor said he's looking forward to the bye week after Minnesota to rest his sore quad. The quarterback continues to take his steps, just as he knows the coach continues to run the offense.
"Whatever Coach Tress believes in," Pryor said, "that's what he's going to run."
Wind worried Tressel: A Notre Dame student was killed Wednesday when wind toppled the 50-foot tower he was standing on to film football practice. On Tuesday, Tressel off-handedly mentioned he was concerned about the wind, and the Buckeyes wound up practicing inside.
"It looks a little nasty," Tressel said. "I worry about our cameramen, their well-being up there 50 feet in the air."