The One Buckeye Who Hates Pryor

By COED Staff

If there’s one Ohio State student out there that hates Terrelle Pryor, it’s definitely Todd Boeckman.  Boeckman was the starting quarterback that led the Buckeyes back to the BCS National Championship Game last season and planned on returning to Columbus with his sights set on a return trip to the title game and more importantly, a first round selection in the upcoming NFL Draft.

Many believed the talented Boeckman could provide Ohio State with another stellar year behind center, and that his Draft stock would rise and force teams on the professional level to give him a serious look early on.

As a junior, he took over for Troy Smith and didn’t skip a beat.  He threw for nearly 2400 yards and 25 touchdowns while leading the young Bucks to a Big Ten title, an 11-1 regular season record, and a return trip to the title game.  He probably could have been drafted in the mid to later rounds, but decided to pass on leaving early after his first year as a starter knowing that most of his team would be back, and that they’d have a very reasonable shot at putting up big numbers and capturing the title that would propel him into the early rounds of the 2009 NFL Draft.

However, there was one thing he wasn’t hoping for, that conversely every other Ohio State fan in the nation was – Terrelle Pryor picking the Bucks over Ann Arbor.  Pryor chose the Buckeyes over rival Michigan and immediately became the most famous high school quarterback ever to sign with the Scarlet and Grey.  Tressel notioned that the talented dual-threat phenom quarterback out of Pennsylvania would be a secondary option behind the thriving Boeckman in a role similar to Tim Tebow’s next to Chris Leak.

Instead, we are five games deep into the season, and Boeckman has become an afterthought in Columbus, while Pryor has been increasingly valuable in the pocket and as the Buckeye’s leading rusher.  Seems more likely that the Dow Jones will shoot up 2000 points than it does Boeckman will regain the reins of this offense during the month of October.

If Pryor continues to impress, then its more than likely that the boosters who upped the ante on Tressel (and likely Pryor) this offseason will undoubtedly force Tressel’s hand into completely phasing out the quarterback who led OSU back to the national title game last year.

And in that case, Boeckman can likely kiss all of those dreams of being an NFL quarterback goodbye.