I think most of us assume Terrelle Pryor is destined for some form of greatness. But the guy's "just a sophomore", and so for now, it's prudent to set your sights on mere very-goodness and hope for the best. But through four games this year, how much more do we know about our signal caller as, you know, an actual quarterback?

First, let's take a look at what we knew about him prior to the season. Law Buckeye over on The Rivalry, Esq opined on his skills thusly:

Snap (A-):

• Security/Ball Placement (A): Pryor keeps his non-throwing hand flush with the football up until the time of the release, and tucks the ball down on roll outs.
• Retreat Speed (A-): Terrelle is quick on the drop, although (not surprisingly) most of his fallbacks are short, quick slants.
  
• Footwork (B-): Pryor's steps are dicey.  He chops at the turf rather than pushing off of it. 
  
• The Fake (B+):  Pryor puts his hands out and leans into the back, appropriately selling the handoff.  Pulls back a little too quick, so the effect is short lived.
  
• Adaptation (A): Pryor's mobility helps him to gracefully evade the pass rush, although he sometimes collapses when his primary and secondary receivers get jammed on call backs.
  

Release (B):

• Survey (A-): Pryor benefits from his height in this category.  He keeps his head up and out, although, he doesn't appear to scan much after the snap.
  
• Stance (B-): Pryor's stance is too narrow.  His leading foot is barely in front of his back foot, making him vulnerable to a tackle, and limiting his power.
  
• Step (C+): This is one of Terrelle's greatest challenges.  He only steps on deliberate long-balls.  Otherwise, he shifts his foot -- relying on his upper and not his lower body to contribute momentum to the pass.
• Wrist/Throw (B-/B+): In 2008, Pryor lifted the ball up in a U shape motion before flicking his wrist, an "extra" step that appeared to decrease the forward energy that was transferred to the ball.  Spring game footage shows a more fluid transition and better release.  Hence, the range of scores.
• Overall Score: B+
  

With my limited scouting ability, I agree with most of what he said. Pryor's biggest recurring problem is his footwork, which makes it difficult for him to set properly and throw the ball with accuracy. Pryor came to Ohio State with the intention of leaving as an NFL quarterback, and if he's still clinging onto that dream, he's going to have to learn the basic footwork, among numerous other things.

I find it interesting that Todd Boeckman had similar mechanical problems in 2007, and it frequently lead to the infamous "punterception", which debuted in full force against Purdue in West Lafayette. Boeckman threw three touchdown passes in the 23-7 win, but he also threw three picks, a few of which came off of lobbed deep balls. It would not be the last time we saw the phenomenon that year, and Pryor's deep passing looks like it needs the same amount of work. Of course, we're comparing 5th-year junior Boeckman to 2nd-year Pryor, and it's not entirely fair to the young QB. However, this still could signal the start of a worrying trend, as both Boeckman and Pryor struggled greatly with core mechanics despite general continuity in coaching ranks; Boeckman spent 2007 under the tutelage of Joe Daniels, who has abandoned his coaching duties in an ongoing fight with cancer. Daniels' protégé, Nick Siciliano, was Pryor's de facto coach for most of 2008, and assumed the duty formally prior to the 2009 season. Fortunately, there is still plenty of time to make up for mistakes; Ohio State doesn't face a passing defense currently ranked in the top-35 until the trip to Happy Valley. Now is the time to work out any and all kinks before they really start costing us.

Being a Buckeye quarterback is a demanding task and not good for various aspects of your personal well-being, chiefly your sanity; you're either the most hated or the most loved guy in the state depending on how you play. Just ask Steve Bellisari and Justin Zwick. There's an inordinate amount of pressure on Pryor, but you know he expected it coming in. I, for one, don't think the pressure is getting too him. I really don't. I think the issue here is, at least partially, the mentality JT cultivates in his quarterbacks, which sometimes leads to overprotection of the ball and the hesitancy we've seen in two straight Buckeye signal callers. However, I'm also beginning to think that JT is doing what he can to get away from that mentality in his signal callers - against Toledo, in good weather and with mostly good protection, Pryor attempted 32 passes - the most in a game since Troy Smith's masterful 41-attempt, 29-completion effort against Michigan in 2006. Even if it's only for a brief moment, I think Tressel is making the changes he feels he needs to, "in order for our offense to be successful", as he would put it, because really, turning Terrelle Pryor into Craig Krenzel just isn't going to fly for too long. . 

Against both The Midshipmen and Toledo, Pryor looked like the quarterback we'd thought he'd be for all but a few fleeting instances; instances which resulted in picks. The frustrating inconsistency should go away with age, but as Pryor enters the midway point of his sophomore year, the "age" argument is beginning to wear thin. Against USC, the main thing Pryor seemed to be afraid of doing after that first pick was turning the ball over; and you know that's a product of Tressel's emphasis on ball control. I'll let you decide whether Tressel wanted to reign Pryor in after that first pick, but from what I could tell, Terrelle did plenty of that all by himself. He frequently looked hesitant, indecisive and overly-cautious against the Trojans. Off the top of my head, I can recall only a single play where Pryor looked both comfortable and determined, and that one play showed us all that he is capable of: facing a hopeless 3rd and long, Pryor took the snap, and without hesitation found a sizable hole and picked up a first down, dragging USC defenders along with him. It was a fleeting glimpse of the greatness that could be Terrelle Pryor. Unfortunately, the rest of the game was a long gaze into the abyss of how far he has to go.

That one, true breakout game is still eluding "Lebron-in-Cleats", and as a fanbase, I think we need to remember that it's going to take baby steps. I think Toledo was a pretty large leap forward for him, and that Illinois was too, in its own special, rain-soaked way. The second of his three touchdowns versus the Rockettes was particularly striking; for the first time in his career, Pryor "threw a guy open", meaning that he placed the ball in an open area of the field near his man rather than directly on top of the open receiver - in this case Dane Sanzenbacher - and he placed it in such a way that Rocket DBs had no chance of thwarting the attempt. That's some notable progress and considerable mental fortitude from a guy coming off the worst game of his career. A week later against the Illini, Pryor showcased some good decision-making, both while running the option with Daniel Herron and while making a few key passes to keep the chains moving. He still followed that up with an awkward across-the-body quacker that was nearly intercepted, but again, baby steps. The fact that Pryor saw limited time under center shows us that Tressel is in fact opening up the offense schematically to better fit his quarterback; far more than he did at any point last year. I think that TP just suffers from a classic case of "trying to do too much": see the aforementioned Illinois quacker and the forced pass while taking a sack against Navy. Right now, his decisions are very high-risk, high-reward, and there just doesn't seem to be much of a grey area. Either he's doing fine or he's lobbing up a pass against Toledo that just might have touched the sun. He's just a sophomore, so inconsistency is par for the course. But this stretch of games coming up is key; if he doesn't look like an actual quarterback against at least two of this Charmin Soft set of defenses, then we may have to face up to the fact that he probably won't this year, setting up a 2010 season that will make or break his future as a QB.