Former Ohio State Quarterback Terrelle Pryor will start for the Oakland Raiders by his 3rd year in the NFL. If not sooner. Mark that you saw that in print and on video here, first. You would have to be brain-dead, or not know football, to think that Terrelle Pryor, the most effective quarterback in Ohio State’s storied history, would not start for the Silver and Black.
Raiders fans, if you’re not jumping up and down, I will do it for all of you. For the Raiders, who have a history of misses in the NFL Draft, to make Terrelle Pryor the only player taken in the 3rd Round of the NFL Supplemental Draft, was nothing short of brilliant.
Why?
Because Mr. Terrelle Pryor is everything you want in a quarterback. He’s got the size at almost 6-6. He’s got the speed at a 40-yard dash time clocked at 4.39 and at 4.36 at his pro day, and at Ohio State once ran it in 4.33.
How does that compare to Cam Newton? Cam ran it in 4.59 at the NFL Combine, and the fastest guy, Tyrod Taylor of Virginia Tech and now the Baltimore Ravens, was 4.51. You would have to be an idiot, a fool, or a racist, to think that a player who could do that, and throw the football as well as Pryor did in his workout with Chad Ochocinco, could not play at a high level in the NFL.
If you’ve not seen Terrell Pryor work out with Chad Ochocinco here’s the video:
After that, Mr. Ochocinco said “With the right coaching after what I saw today with my own eyes he can be a great QB.” And this from a man who was working out with the man he’s going to be catching passes from this season, one Tom Brady.
On top of that, Pryor’s ready, willing, and able to learn. Plus, he has a burning desire to show that he’s worth much more than others, like ESPN’s Merill Hoge, said he was. Merill made the same ridiculous statements about Vince Young that he made about Terrelle Pryor on Monday – that he should play wide receiver.
What The Raiders Need To Do With Pryor
What the Oakland Raiders need to do, and Raiders Head Coach Hue Jackson’s the right person to do it, is coach and develop Mr. Pryor, and not rush him into the starting lineup.
With a full 2012 training camp and mini-camps before that, my prediction is that Mr. Pryor will be ready to start by mid-season 2012, and fully ready to start and manage a full game effectively by 2013.
All of that depends on the offense Coach Jackson installs. If Hue can resist falling in love with Terrelle’s athletic ability and install a Bill Walsh-would-be-proud set of really short, ball control pass plays (of the kind not seen since the Stanford professor roamed the sidelines) – and forget the cute “WildHog” or “WildCat” crap, the Ohio State star could be ready to take snaps later this season.
In fact, the best thing Coach Jackson can do is NOT use Mr. Pryor in that way. It’s what defensive coordinators are looking for, and will just get the man killed over time. In fact, falling in love with athleticism was the mistake the Raiders made with Jamarcus Russell, and was one of the dumbest coaching approaches I’ve ever seen. Say what you will about J-Russ, but he was not well coached with the Raiders under the army of offensive coaches the team rolled in, and out, of the door at 1221 Harbor Bay Parkway in Alameda.
Don’t do it a second time. Please.
In Terrelle Pryor, the Raiders have been given a gift by the Lord – a chance to get it right one more time.
Please don’t blow it.