Terrelle Pryor's time at Ohio State University has come to an end. This is not really news. I believe anyone in the know, or anyone with a tv, saw this coming the moment it was announced that Jim Tressel was "resigning". Both Tressel and the university have received a share of the blame for what has happened at the school. Terrell Pryor it seems to me is being blamed far to much.
Let's review. Jim Tressel was alerted to possible rules violations being committed by a number of players. Instead of reporting to the university he emailed one of Pryor's mentors about said violations. When finally questioned about this by the NCAA months later Tressel denied knowing anything and the players were suspended for 5 games next season. Then it was revealed Tressel did in fact know and was suspended by the school for 2 games and eventually he asked that it be 5 games to match the players. Now this is where it gets good. After further investigation, particularly an article written in SI, it is found that during Tressel's tenure as coach nearly 30 players had received improper benefits. Upon hearing this from SI the university had no comment and referred all questions to Tressel's lawyer, effectively putting him out on the ledge by himself. The next day Tressel resigns.
Now since then many things have happened. There have been radio and print interviews with former players who all admit that they had in fact committed violations and that it was common knowledge. No surprise as Tressel had the same things occur at his previous job and turned what could best be described as a blind eye to it. Many have continued to support Tressel, both fans as well as current and former players. This is what happens when you have a successful coach. No one has supported or even come to the defense of the players, particularly Pryor.
Terrelle Pryor was 31-4 as a starting QB and 3-0 versus Michigan, very respectable numbers. He has also accomplished something that we only see on television or read about in comic books. He has somehow managed to make himself into at least 28 different people. That's the number of players speculated to have committed violations. Even more impressive is that by doing so he was able to be eligible to play for almost 9 seasons which is unheard of. I say all this because Pryor is the only name that you hear that had anything to do with bringing down this "respected" coach. He and only he is being blamed for ending Tressel's collegiate coaching career and tarnishing the image of the Ohio State University.
That's a lot for a 21 year old to have already accomplished, especially since he apparently begin selling memorabilia when he was 12. That's how old he would have been in 2002 when this all started.
You're forgetting Maurice Clarett & Troy Smith, both of whom have also been named as beneficiaries of Tressell's self-imposed ignorance. Personally, I have heard as much flak being thrown at the Coach as at Pryor, although Pryor seems to get the "cancer" label much more than Tressell.
ReplyDeletePryor is a punk kid, but the important word there is "kid." Tressell was the one watching him run wild through the toy store instead of hauling his ass out to the parking lot for a whupping.