Penn State head coach Joe Paterno, seen here on a recruiting trip
earlier in his career, visited with Terrelle Pryor on Wednesday.
by Matt Barker
January 31, 2008
National Signing Day, which falls on Feb. 6, is less than 134 hours away and it appears that the top-rated high school prospect, quarterback Terrelle Pryor from Jeannette, Penn., just might prolong the agony of many college football fans even further.
Both Pittsburgh newspapers, the Post-Gazette and the Tribune-Review are reporting this morning that Pryor might not make his announcement as planned, next Wednesday.
Supposedly, Pryor was going to announce his decision live on both ESPN and CSTV at 12:05 p.m. But now it seems that might not happen.
According to the published reports, Pryor said, “I’d say it’s about 50-50 that I’ll push things back.”
One of the reason he might push his decision back is that he still wants to visit Oregon, even though he had earlier canceled a planned trip to the Eugene campus this week.
Another problem is that Pryor is also a highly-touted basketball player, and his high school team plays two games over the weekend, Friday and Saturday nights, limiting his ability to travel.
On Wednesday, Penn State head coach Joe Paterno was granted permission to leave the Elmcroft of State College nursing home with two chaperones, his son, Jay, who is the quarterbacks coach for the Nittany Lions, and defensive coordinator Tom Bradley, all visited with Pryor in Jeannette before stopping at a Wal-Mart store in Happy Valley to get denture cream.
“It went OK,” Pryor said of the meeting. “I just don’t know about the area up there. I don’t know if I’d like being in that kind of area.”
Well, considering Pryor is a high-profile recruit who loves having the bright lights beaming down on him, it’s hard to imagine him being happy in such a small town as State College.
Is Pryor really just having serious doubts, or is this just grand-standing? Is he a prima donna who’s ego is getting inflated on a daily basis, while enjoying the media circus, or is he in a dilemma of selecting the right program?
I think it’s a little of both.
It was also reported that Ohio State head coach Lord James Patrick Tressel and Michigan head job Dick Rodriquez will be on hand for Pryor’s basketball game, Saturday night.
