At the end of the Jim Tressel era, the Ohio State football team was still operating at a high level. Tressel landed Terrelle Pryor as the top overall recruit in the country back in 2008. He was projected to be the future of the quarterback position coming out of Pennsylvania.
Pryor proved to be an average passer but a dynamic runner in his collegiate career. He only completed around 61 percent of his passes and never threw for more than 2,800 yards in a season. Part of that was due to Tressel's offense. However, he ran for 55.5 yards per game, as well.
Pryor's career ended unceremoniously after he was banned for selling his gold pants for tattoos. Shortly after, he was disassociated from the program for doing so. Yet, he still has some love for Tressel and told a wild recruiting story about other programs trying to bring him in.
Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor tells wild recruiting story
While appearing on the Certified Game Podcast, Pryor had some wild things to say about other schools, including Oregon.
"I was between them (Ohio State) and Oregon, but Oregon was talking some crazy sh--. Phil Knight and them had the Nike shoe deal, offering my coach at the time...they were talking to him under wraps, saying 'We got his shoes and everything designed for him, he can wear Nike for the rest of his life,' all that sh--. But Ohio State was cool because Jim Tressel was thorough."
Pryor would go on to say that the Tattoo 5 sold their memorabilia to a drug dealer, and Tressel shut his mouth about it. This is one of the reasons why fans have a complicated history with Pryor. That, and the fact that he sued the university years after he played for the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Selling gold pants would not be against NCAA rules now, and it was ridiculous at the time. Still, Pryor has a faction of fans who can't get on board with what he did while playing for the Buckeyes. Personally, I don't love him. I thought he was an overrated player while he was with the Buckeyes, although the hype over him isn't his fault.
Having Pryor paved the way for Tressel to recruit Braxton Miller to the program, who is one of my favorite players of all-time. For that reason, Pryor has a special place in my heart.
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