Updated throughout the day with quick takes from staff.
If Nick Montana's Washington commitment presages a bright
new post-Willingham day for the Huskies, it further twists the intestines of Ohio State fans peering past
Terrelle Pryor into a great wavering unknown.
But don't take my word for it. Here's Ohio State blog Eleven
Warriors:
While I try not to think ahead to the time when TP will no longer be under center, Nick Montana's spurning of the Bucks for 0-12 Washington is a bit concerning.
This might not seem like much, but when you're 6-1 against Michigan in the last seven years, "this is a bit concerning" is the psychological equivalent of raw, unadulterated, swine-flu-level panic.
The concern is well-founded. Last year the Buckeyes struck out on Virginia's Tajh Boyd, who was cut loose by Lane Kiffin and ended up at Clemson. They then proceeded to get shot down by kids who were committed to Miami (not that Miami, the one in Ohio) and Temple (!) before settling on Texan Kenny Guiton, Rivals' #35 dual-threat QB and a guy who had offers from Kansas, Iowa State, Rice, and ... Prairie View. He's the only guy on the roster other than Pryor and fifth-year walk-on Joe Bauserman.
According to Scout's rankings, 15 of the top 20 QB prospects have already given verbal commitments and Ohio State doesn't appear on the radar until Barry Brunetti's list at #24.
Ohio State's one shot at a guy who would not be a Guiton-level reach is Cincinnati Moeller's Andrew Hendrix, who's probably going to choose between OSU and Notre Dame. (The Irish, by the way, would be in the same boat as OSU but for redshirt freshman Dane Crist.) Past that, OSU is looking at 2011 in-stater Braxton Miller, who's got Pryor hype but also won't arrive on campus until Pryor is a senior ... or gone. And also isn't a commitment, at least not yet. That is a veritable ton of eggs in a single basket spread across seven years. Quarterback injuries at Ohio State threaten to be devastating.
And a Lane Kiffin tangent, because this is a blog and therefore must talk about Kiffin at all times: when he swept into office at Tennessee he booted the Vols' two quarterback commitments, one of whom was the highly-rated but shortish Boyd, and basically told one of the enrolled quarterbacks to transfer or eat bench. Next year the quarterback depth chart looks like this:
17 Nick Stephens -- QB -- Jr. -- 6-4/215 -- Flower Mound, TX (Flower Mound)
No, I didn't leave anyone out. The idea was to pick off the 2010 equivalent of thunderback Bryce Brown, the #1 player in the 2009 class, except it's an extraordinarily poor year for quarterbacks and they whiffed on all the attractive options. Now they're after the above-mentioned Brunetti ... who's basically Tajh Boyd a year later minus a half-star and a lot of swanky offers. Whoops.
This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.
13 comments
Certain photos copyright © 2012 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
Scoreboard data copyright © 2012 by STATS LLC. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC is strictly prohibited.
OpenCalais - Powered by Thomson Reuters
•
Odds Shark 
Comments
this reads as if OSU fans should be concerned
by buckifreak on Jun 11, 2009 6:11 PM EDT reply actions
Our back-up Bauserman isn’t that bad….
AT ALL!
TP is gonna be special….
We should be concerned because 1 kid chose to stay closer to home…
or one kid chose to get playing time earlier if you ask me…
what’d I have Wash in my post-season ranking?….112-114….
yeah….were concerned…NOT
Hendrix is every bit as good only without the name.
and it’s likely he’ll come to OSU….
We never really thought we have better than a 35-40% shot at montana anyway….put’em back on the schedule….we always kick those Washington teams’ &#$ anyway. :)
and for the record….in all of history….and likely not for some time did anyone have ,‘Pryor hype’…….Braxton Miller is good but my God…
my insider just recorded vitals… 6’5" 241…4.41…
Pryor is unreal
by buckifreak on Jun 11, 2009 6:17 PM EDT reply actions
last point…
no one thought we found a saving grace in craig krenzel either….
I mean we’ve mananged 5/7 NC depending on how you look at it without fielding a single NFL all-pro…..
and Kenny Guiton of this years class had more hype than Troy Smith.
by buckifreak on Jun 11, 2009 6:26 PM EDT reply actions
last point…
no one thought we found a saving grace in craig krenzel either….
I mean we’ve mananged 5/7 NC depending on how you look at it without fielding a single NFL all-pro…..
and Kenny Guiton of this years class had more hype than Troy Smith.
by buckifreak on Jun 11, 2009 6:28 PM EDT reply actions
Ohio State is no different than many other storied programs that generally get a workable QB that isn’t so flashy. Pryor happens to be an exception. Only within the last few years have the Big 12 had so many because of the spread. There is no cause for panic.
Someone will always be there that can do the job. This season, the SEC has two collecting attention. There are seldom more than a dozen or so note-worthies each season, and a few of those are not at major schools. OSU will remain a force, with or without a big name.
by johnofbham on Jun 11, 2009 7:29 PM EDT reply actions
Ohio State has almost never been a destination for top QB talent. Art Schlichter and Joe Germaine – that’s pretty much the resume, so c’mon. This is nothing new. Ohio State wins ball games on the ground, not in the air – that’s how it’s always been…for about 100 years, ever since the days of Chic Harley, before Ohio Stadium was on the map. Technically, even though Pryor was a 5-star, he’s going to win ball games by threating to run the ball. So even that concept is not necessarily new.
Someone will be aorund to take Pryor’s spot. Whoever it will be, even if it’s a mediocre talent, he’ll be backed-up by a workhorse RB to bear most of the load.
I think you also have to look at it like this: Jake Locker is a junior, Pryor is a sophomore. Montana might have an extra year of starting at Washington (right now, there is no true backup for Locker) that he might not get at Ohio State if Pryor sticks around (where there is a solid backup, as buckifreak points out above).
It’s not as big a loss as Eleven Warriors is whining about. They whine a lot.
by BuckeyeXB on Jun 11, 2009 8:14 PM EDT reply actions
The people at Montana State are really pissed.
by L'etat, c'est moi on Jun 11, 2009 10:58 PM EDT reply actions
"qb’s hate Ohio State" is an awfully strong statement that is in no way backed up in the article. that’s like seeing a story with the headline ‘man murdered’ and then reading the story to find out he only broke his leg. ok yeah, breaking your leg isn’t pleasant, but at least he’s still breathing.
Ohio State losing out on big name qb’s who don’t want to sit behind Pryor for at least 2 years is such a non-story that i don’t know why they bother running it. except that they know putting Ohio State in the title will generate interest.
think about it, if you were a top ranked high school qb, that felt like you had the talent to play right away, would you want to go to a place where you’d have to sit behind someone else for at least 2 years. i mean playing qb isn’t like playing any other position. you can rotate rb’s, wr’s, ol, dl, lb’s and db’s all game long, but you can’t just switch quarterbacks out every other play. so if a school has a super star at the qb position, the only playing time the backups will get is garbage time play. that or you’d have to hope for an injury. which if they’re that type of person, you wouldn’t want them on your team anyway.
next years recruiting will be much better at the qb position. count on it.
additionally, at a place like Ohio State, having a Pryor or Troy Smith is a luxury. generally speaking, qb’s at OSU aren’t asked to win games, they’re simply asked not to lose them. let the ground game and defense win the ring for you. the Buckeyes have proven that they can do very well with a Krenzel or Boeckman under center.
by Buckeyesoldier on Jun 12, 2009 12:30 AM EDT reply actions
Ohio State will have no problem at QB. They will get whomever they really want. Give me a break, QB’s hate Ohio State. Worst headline I have read in a long time. Get a life.
by patriot82 on Jun 12, 2009 1:40 AM EDT reply actions
Great shirt! lol!!!!!!!
by Dandy Lion on Jun 12, 2009 5:30 AM EDT reply actions
I do not think QB’s hate Ohio St., unless they have aspirations to play in the NFL, but buckeye fans should be concerned with the depth behind Pryor. It is almost a catch 22 when you get a player like Pryor, you are glad you have him, but now no decent prospect wants to go there. At least the vest is trying to get some to go there and he is not making the huge mistake that Lloyd Carr made at Michigan. He landed Drew Henson in 98 then stopped recruiting QB’s and us Michigan fans were stuck with John Navarre for 3 plus years as a starting QB. You can win with the Krenzel’s. etc., but it is much easier to have some big time talent at the most important position on the field.
by Prod on Jun 12, 2009 11:41 AM EDT reply actions
If I was a buckeye fan, I’d be more worried about defense/ and running back. As long as Coach Tressel has those things in place, OSU eill suceed.
by jcurtis on Jun 12, 2009 12:23 PM EDT reply actions
If I was a buckeye fan, I’d be more worried about defense/ and running back. As long as Coach Tressel has those things in place, OSU eill suceed.
by jcurtis on Jun 12, 2009 12:23 PM EDT reply actions
Comments For This Post Are Closed