Pryor Trims List to Two

Top-ranked quarterback prospect Terrelle Pryor may not have announced his college choice yet, but he has certainly been working toward that final commitment. Pryor has made public that he is now only choosing between two programs: Ohio State and Penn State. The dual-threat Pennsylvania native had previously demonstrated strong intent toward running the spread offense at Michigan under Rich Rodriguez. However, given the debacle the Wolverines program has become, Pryor has looked to greener pastures in their conference rivals.

Despite losing the last two national championships at the hands of an SEC foe, Ohio State has a great deal of success in the last decade. Under Jim Tressell, the Buckeyes have been Big Ten champions almost every single season, while making three BCS title appearances. More importantly, Jim Tressell has shown the ability to manipulate his offense to meet his players abilities. Ohio State ran a pro-style offense under Craig Krenzel when the Buckeyes beat Miami for the national championship. But Tressell adjusted quite nicely to an adapted spread offense with Heisman-winner Troy Smith at quarterback. Given this flexibility, Pryor is most likely going to be a Buckeye in the fall.

However, Penn State has a lot of positive attributes as well. It is his home state team. The Nittany Lions have shown the ability to change offensive schemes, such as when spread offense quarterback Michael Robinson was calling the plays and now with pro-passer Anthony Morelli behind center. However, when given the opportunity to choose between steak and cheeseburgers, the ribeye will always take precedent. Penn State does not have the track record that Ohio State does, so once again, count on Pryor wearing the scarlet and gray in 2008.