Oregon doesn’t need Terrelle Pryor.
There, I said it.
Think about it this way: You’re trying to date and pin down somebody really special. He or she is smart, beautiful, and everything you want right now. You could go after most everybody out there, but this individual is truly unique and extraordinary.
How would it feel to then have that person not only not commit to you, but actively play the field? It’s one thing to be in demand, but it’s an entirely different situation when somebody is impossible to pin down.
I wouldn’t stand for it, and that’s a reason why I’m not sold on Pryor. Sure, he’s clearly mulling a massive amount of options, but the way he’s played the media – acting as the leak to announce former West Virginia coach’s move to Michigan during December – is a little bit off-putting. He’s got an impressive high school football and basketball résumé, of course, but that only goes so far in his quest to establish credentials. The circus of media around him taking his first fall camp snaps will require three rings wherever he ends up.
Plenty of fans are still clamoring for him – Ohio State, Oregon, Michigan, West Virginia, Pitt, Tennessee, Texas, Penn State, Duke, Florida, Nebraska, Akron, and a host of others all have groups on Facebook dedicated to bringing the quarterback to their campus. Realistically, only Ohio State, Michigan, West Virginia and the Ducks have a very good shot, but with this kid, who knows?
Many of these Oregon fans are ignoring the fact that the Ducks already have a gifted quarterback prospect not only committed, but on campus. Duck fans slobbering over Pryor: meet Darron Thomas, who you may have passed over because he is a four-star prospect and not the five-star like Pryor. Ranked 15th in the nation by Scouts.com, Thomas isn’t exactly a consolation prize in the Pryor Sweepstakes; scouts compare him incredibly favorably to Dennis Dixon.
If he can step in and even provide half of what Dixon did this past season, the Ducks will be in good hands. He might not even need to, though – the Ducks will have a four- or five-way battle for quarterback next spring that could get heated. Thomas has hinted at switching to wide receiver, where he would provide just as much threat and avoid the quarterbacking log jam.
I also think about what Pryor has said and done so far in his recruitment and reflect back on the final game of the regular season, Oregon’s Civil War loss at Autzen. I think back to what I saw in the Oregon State locker room after the game, and the reports coming out from Corvallis during the build-up to that game as well as the Beavers’ bowl game. One reason Oregon State has finished hot in each of the last few years is partly because of a culture of togetherness cultivated in the Beavers’ program. It was tangible; you could sense it in the locker room and in coach Mike Riley after the game.
Oregon State has achieved a lot with players a class below what the Ducks have had. It shows in recruiting scores: Scouts.com has Oregon with the No. 31 class in the nation, while Oregon State ranks No. 72. Not all commits are in, granted, but Oregon State is proving that online scouting rankings aren’t always correct.
Oregon shouldn’t necessarily shy away from five-stars, but might need to keep that in mind when joining the pack to chase Pryor.
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