One fan wanted his glove. Another, a selfie. Many others just wanted to touch him, or to have him acknowledge them as he brushed by the Ohio Stadium wall with a Sharpie scribbling his name on all sort of regalia.
You'd think he never left.
Terrelle Pryor, the former Ohio State quarterback ousted by the university in 2011 after his involvement in the Tatto-gate scandal that rocked the Buckeye football program, returned home Friday as a member of the Cleveland Browns (his fifth pro team).
Lot of love for the former Ohio State QB pic.twitter.com/9HW82FOM1D
— Eric Seger (@EricSeger33) August 7, 2015
"I got a chance to talk to a lot of people that I know and got to meet a great coach in Urban Meyer," Pryor said among a sea of Orange and Brown on the east wall of the Ohio Stadium turf. "Also got to step on the field and run a little bit, so I had a good day."
Pryor worked out his gimpy hamstring early Friday afternoon, trying to keep it loose and work his way back even though he was unable to participate in the franchise's Orange and Brown scrimmage.
"I had a lot of great games here. Not a lot of losses. Makes me think of all the teammates I had and the blessings."– Terrelle Pryor
"I had a lot of great games here. Not a lot of losses. Makes me think of all the teammates I had and the blessings," Pryor, who's trying to make it as a wide receiver, said. "Just being around Coach (Jim) Tressel and seeing all the fans wearing scarlet and gray."
Ohio State issued Pryor a five-year ban from the institution for his role in the scandal but was able to attend the scrimmage as an employee of the Browns. He called the first time he ran out the tunnel Friday "surreal," and wasn't disappointed he couldn't suit up due to his injury.
"It's all business. I gotta handle my business," Pryor said. "My business is to get fresh and be ready to make plays. That's all I can do."
Browns General Manager Ray Farmer gushed about Pryor's maturation and focus at becoming a wide receiver one day earlier at the Columbus Morning Sports Report, saying he's taking his "opportunity of a lifetime" in stride.
"He's been amazing," Farmer said. "A lot of credit goes to the young man."
He won a lot of games as the starting quarterback under Tressel at Ohio State, but with how fans — both Cleveland and Ohio State supporters alike — yearned for his attention goes a long way toward thinking he was forgiven for what happened in 2010.
Terrelle Pryor signing autographs, mingling with fans. pic.twitter.com/1h6pcZGGtp
— Eric Seger (@EricSeger33) August 7, 2015
"We ain't have no bad times here," Pryor said. "It's good to be back."
All was well Friday for Pryor, who said the scrimmage was the first time he really got to talk to Meyer. Ohio State's coach recruited the 6-foot-6, 250-pound freak athlete briefly when he was the head man at the University of Florida.
He's still got that outstanding talent but is a different human being from the one that left Ohio State nearly five years ago.
"I've got a 1-year-old son," Pryor said. "I love him. I love football. I'm a praying man. I just want to go make plays. That's it."
What's next? Getting healthy and helping the Browns compete at a high level in the 2015 season. Anything further with Ohio State is fully up to Meyer, he said, but it won't slight the way he feels about the school he led to Rose Bowl and a since vacated Sugar Bowl victory.
"Absolutely," Pryor said about potentially coming back in the future. "That's going to be on Coach Urban, but I love this place."
