I have a total statutory man crush on Terrelle Pryor, the football prospect out of Pennsylvania who is drawing comparisons to Vince Young. As any Buckeye fan knows, OSU is at the top of his list. Well...fuckin' Rich Rodriguez.
Yea, it's a small little picadillo that could result in this wunderkind going to that whore Ann Arbor, but you know what? It really isn't that big of a deal.
If OSU gets this kid...we'll win a national championship.
If Michigan gets him...eh, no big deal.
Why? Easy. Rich Rod, while being a good coach, is a terrible fit for Michigan.
First off...Michigan fans can no longer say they value ethics over winning. That became blatantly false the minute they hired Rich Rod and his lovely history of getting well mannered players (ahem...Pacman and Chris Henry). Reading Michigan blogs, the most common retort is, "yea, but now he'll have the resources to get better behaving players." Right, but when you have a guy who was willing to accept ROTTEN apples, why would he suddenly change?
Second, he's implementing the polar opposite offensive system that Michigan's current players were recruited to execute. The common retort...he was successful with Shaun King in a pass first spread. My common retort...Tulane plays whom...smells like Hawaii.
When has Rich Rod won a big game? Against Georgia in the Sugar Bowl? Eh...Georgia looked like they could give two shits less until WVU's 28 first quarter points woke them up, which led to Georgia locking WVU the fuck down. He choked this year against Pitt. He has choked twice against South Florida. He choked last year against Louisville. He plays in the Big East, it's not like WVU is going through LSU, Florida, Auburn, Georgia, and Arkansas. Fuck, that Pitt loss is inexcusable, nevermind the rest.
Even if Pryor goes to Michigan, it really won't matter. You can't just tell zone-blocking offensive linemen to start blocking for the spread, it doesn't work that way. You can't tell your cutback, downhill power backs to immediately cut off .3 seconds off their 40 time and start running out of the shotgun, it doesn't work that way. You can't tell...you get the picture. My point is, he isn't going to have the pieces around him that Vince Young had. Even if Rich Rod gets Pryor, he won't have any other big recruits because he's entering the game too late. Plus, if you think Pryor is sticking around for 4 years, please stop sniffing glue.
If I was Pryor, I'd be looking at the coaches. Sure, OSU's style of offense isn't suited to your talents...right now. But Troy Smith's version sure looked like you'd fit right in. My point is when you mention Rich Rod's offense, you get a clear picture of what it is. When you mention Tressel's...things get a little cloudy.
Before Troy, it was Tressel-ball. Grind the clock, power running, no turnovers. With Troy, that all changed. Now, Boeckman runs an offense that incorporates the best elements of both styles, a versatile passing game that favors possession yet has 2 legit deep threats and is augmented by a power running game behind a line of 315+ pound maulers. You don't think that Tressel could adapt to Pryor? Dumbass.
Sure, Rich Rod's system fits him like a glove. But you also have to deal with the coach himself. Tressel isn't going anywhere. Michigan has a sieve-like defense that isn't getting any better and has a coach who had no problem leaving his alma-mater, do you really think he'd have any second thoughts leaving Michigan for a possible Florida State (if Jimbo Fisher goes elsewhere), Miami (Randy Shannon is not the answer) or a top-tier SEC school?
Pryor is a great talent. But the way I see it, he's like a sport-tuned car suspension. OSU is like a Shelby GT Mustang...versatile enough to do anything. Michigan is like an 1996 Pontiac Trans-Am. Not the greatest year for the model, doesn't have many modern features, but has a new paint job (Rich Rod). The suspension (Pryor) would be a much better fit on a better car (OSU) rather than a nice part on a shitty car (Michigan). Sure, this is asinine and completely biased, but why go to a school that has 4 (soon to be 5) straight Bowl losses and a 1 out of their last 7 streak against their chief rivals?
Let me put it this way...would you rather go to a school that wins, or a school that loses? You turn around the losing school...you're the man, I'll give you that. You don't, you're a cautionary tale. You go to OSU, you win a national championship and cement your name amongst the legends, the Tommie Frazier's, the Vince Young's, the Matt Leinart's.
OSU is stocked. They have 4 (!) of the top 10 offensive linemen recruits committed (either soft or verbal) and you have a pipeline of new talent being poured in from Pennsylvania, Texas, Florida and Ohio. You have a coach who's name is uttered in hushed tones. You have a program which is amongst the nation's elite. Why go to a dying program, stuck in their own quicksand? Why trust a coach who flirted with another school last season, then abandoned his alma mater the next? Why go to a school which recently made history for being the first top-5 school to lose to a 1-AA school...ON THEIR HOME TURF?
I don't care if you come to OSU anymore. I realize that Tressel has a backup plan, and we'll be fine no matter what. We're looking at a top 10 team for the next 3 forseeable years and are enjoying the fruits of success. We're in our 2nd consecutive national championship game. We'll be fine with or without you. Sure, you'd look great in Scarlet and Gray, but if you'd rather wear Maize and Blue, enjoy losing.
Choose wisely Terrelle.
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