Amazing. Phenomenal. Impressive. Interesting. Wow.
Those were only a few ways Cleveland Browns General Manager Ray Farmer described former Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor Thursday morning after the Columbus Morning Sports Report.
"It's evident that God sprinkled a little more dust on him than the rest of us, a lot of us," Farmer said. "He is tall, he's big, he's fast, he's agile. He makes it look real easy even though he's just come into playing wide receiver."
"He's been amazing. A lot of credit goes to the young man. For a person to play one position for their entire career and then have to do something different, it's a hard transition. But nevertheless, he does have the physical skills and tools to do it."– Browns GM Ray Farmer on Terrelle Pryor
Pryor had a hand in 33 wins as a quarterback under Jim Tressel at Ohio State from 2008-10, before the program disassociated from the 6-foot-6, 250-pound stellar athlete after his role in Tattoo-gate. The 2010 season was eventually vacated by the NCAA due to Pryor and others playing for the Buckeyes even though they were ineligible, but the former quarterback peaked in Ohio State's 26-17 victory over the Oregon Ducks in the Rose Bowl.
Since then, Pryor's bounced around NFL franchises, trying to make it as a quarterback in the world's best football league. It didn't work out, however, so Pryor fully committed himself to learning and playing wide receiver in June when the Browns signed him.
Farmer said Thursday when he would watch Pryor in college he evaluated him as both a quarterback and wide receiver, mainly as a result of his freakish abilities.
"I was trained in a way where you gotta look at 'Where can this player have an affect on a football field?' I remember him coming out of high school and catching a jump ball in the corner of the end zone and thinking, 'Wow, that's impressive,'" Farmer said. "You move forward and the guy goes to college and is making big things happen and you're thinking 'Wow, this guy's a phenomenal athlete.'"
The Browns are set to hold their Orange and Brown intrasquad scrimmage Friday evening at Ohio Stadium, but Pryor won't be suiting up. A nagging hamstring pull will keep him on the sideline, but he'll still be in attendance.
"I think it's always interesting to see how fans respond. In some respects, in some cases, you could get glorified and people cheer, clap and yell," Farmer said of the potential reception Pryor could receive from fans in his Ohio Stadium return. "In other instances you could see guys get booed. I don't know."
Pryor's greeting from both Browns and Buckeye fans is yet to be determined, but the man who gave him a shot at wide receiver has been nothing but pleased with what he's seen from the guy many blame as a main catalyst to the scandal that rocked the Ohio State football program.
"He's been amazing. A lot of credit goes to the young man," Farmer said. "For a person to play one position for their entire career and then have to do something different, it's a hard transition. But nevertheless, he does have the physical skills and tools to do it."
Tressel said Saturday he was excited for his former player to get a chance at returning home — this was before Pryor suffered the injury — and joked the now wide receiver "will probably drop three passes in a row."
"He loved that place and has carried a burden with him that didn't end the way he wanted to," Tressel said.
Pryor's former head coach always bought in to his ability on the field, a big reason he eventually took over as a starter his freshman season at Ohio State. Farmer's clearly bought in to his move to wide receiver, something Pryor's shown he's done as well in his own mind.
"I definitely do feel like the transition's going well," Pryor said Tuesday. "Like everything else, it's a process. I can't say I'm all the way there, because I'm not. I'd be lying."
Farmer added: "Just making that decision in his own mind, he embraced the idea of playing wide receiver. And you can see it showing up in his practice habit skills."
Pryor's still got a ways to go, Farmer said, but his competitive nature and God-given talent's got him going in the right direction trying to make the 53-man roster. Plus, playing quarterback his whole career prior to a few months ago is a valuable asset to ease the transition.
"I think when you go back and you look at the guys that did it coming out of college, they have the same thing," Farmer said. "Certain guys played quarterback in college and then go to an NFL camp they gotta play another position. That's the reality of it. It's a time sensitive business, but nevertheless I think he's got the athleticism and skills. Also having a quarterback's mind helps him not only learn the playbook and retain it but also multiple positions at once and understand concepts. All those things combined, I think he's got the opportunity of a lifetime to make that transition."
