Pretty good for a project QB.
FB: Pryor Named Davey O’Brien Award Semifinalist
Junior leads the Big Ten with 18 touchdown passes; ranks 11 in NCAA in passer efficiency
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COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio State junior quarterback Terrelle Pryor is one of 16 semifinalists for the 2010 Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award, which takes into consideration quarterback skills, academics, character, leadership and sportsmanship.
Pryor leads a Buckeye offense that is averaging a Big Ten-best 40.8 points per game and is one of six active FBS quarterbacks with at least 1,000 career rushing yards and 5,000 passing yards. He leads all Big Ten quarterbacks with 18 touchdown passes and ranks 11th in the nation in passer efficiency with a 162.8 rating. Pryor has completed 66 percent of his passes for 1,775 yards and has thrown at least one touchdown pass in all but one game. He also has rushed for 408 yards and three touchdowns, which include three 100-yard rushing performances.
The Jeannette, Pa., native had his best all-around game against No. 12 Miami (FL) in September when he threw for 233 yards and a score and rushed for a career-high 113 yards and another score in the 36-24 win. In the win over Ohio, Pryor set a school-record with 16 consecutive completions against the Bobcats, the second most in Big Ten history. Pryor would go on to set another school record the very next game against Eastern Michigan by accounting for six touchdowns in a single game: four passing, one rushing and one receiving.
Against Indiana Oct. 9, Pryor threw for a career-high 334 yards and three touchdowns and is coming off a 270-yard, three touchdown passing performance in the win against Purdue in just three quarters of play – a game in which the Buckeyes racked up 415 total yards in the opening half.
Pryor joins three other Big Ten quarterbacks on the list: Michigan State’s Kirk Cousins, Michigan’s Denard Robinson and Iowa’s Ricky Stanzi.
2010 Davey O’Brien Semifinalists
Matt Barkley        SO          USC                        Pac-10
Kirk Cousins         JR           Michigan State     Big Ten
Andy Dalton         SR           TCU                        MWC
Blaine Gabbert    JR           Missouri                Big 12
Robert Griffin III  SO          Baylor                   Big 12
Landry Jones        SO          Oklahoma             Big 12
Colin Kaepernick SR           Nevada                 WAC
Andrew Luck       JR           Stanford                Pac-10
Ryan Mallett         JR           Arkansas               SEC
Taylor Martinez   FR           Nebraska              Big 12
Kellen Moore      JR           Boise State           WAC
Cam Newton        JR           Auburn                SEC
Terrelle Pryor      JR           Ohio State            Big Ten
Denard Robinson SO          Michigan               Big Ten
Ricky Stanzi          SR           Iowa                       Big Ten
Darron Thomas    SO          Oregon                Pac-10
I know a lot of people out there have yet to be impressed by his conference leading stats, but this is well-deserved.
Scratch the “SO”s off the list and the competition narrows a bit.
Looking at the underclassmen, next year looks to be a good year for CFB quarterbacking. It makes me wonder if any JR QBs on the fence about declaring at the end of this season might take the plunge, what with next year shaping up to have a glut of great senior QBs who will choke up the draft.