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Title: A Tale of Two QB's
Category: full of life
Blog Entry: [br] [br]   There is so much to talk about going into this week - the surprise undefeated dominance and scoring binge of Penn State, the roller coaster of a season that has been the Buckeyes first eight games, the Big Ten title in the balance, BCS implications - the list goes on and on.  But one of the things that I find most intriguing is the storyline that exists with the two starting signal callers for each team - Darryl Clark of Penn State and Terrelle "I learned my stiff arm from Beanie" Pryor of tOSU - who are so similar in some ways but have traveled much different paths to get to where they are now to be sure. [br] [hr] Darryl Clark - the junior leader of the Penn State team actually grew up in Youngstown, Ohio and played at Ursuline H.S.  He came to the Nittany Lions in 2004 as a three star quarterback recruit.  He had thrown for 1800 yards and 18 TDs as a senior and was poised to fall in line as the heir apparent to Robinson who was the signal caller at the time.  However, his ACT score was not high enough so during the 04-05 academic year he attended and played at Kiski Prep so he could improve his score.  To the young man's credit he persevered and did just that but by the time he made it to Happy Valley as a freshman in the fall of 2005 - he had more academic issues that kept him from joining the team until spring of 2006 and Morelli was firmly entrenched as the current starter.  So for all of 2006 he found himself running the scout team and only playing in seven games going 14-27 for 116 yards and also adding 48 yards rushing.  His talent did not go unnoticed however; receivers Williams, Butler and Norwood used to talk about how they couldn't wait to get him in more because of the dynamic he brought to the offense.  Likewise he impressed QB coach Jay Paterno - who had fought to keep Clark at QB when a position change was discussed early on, and asked his father to play Clark more - but in the end JoPa was loyal to Morelli for most of the 2006-07 seasons.  Then came the Alamo Bowl against Texas Tech when Penn State was down 14-0 - Clark came in and rallied the offense with 78 rushing yards and two TDs leading the Lions comeback win.  This season he came in as the favorite to start but still had to battle Pat Devlin this summer but emerged as the clear leader and now heads up the offense for an undefeated #3 BCS ranked team that seems to be able to score points at will.  At 8-0 overall (4-0 Big Ten) the Lions rank in the top ten in the country in scoring (49 PPG), rushing (267 YPG), and total offense (515 YPG) with Clark leading the conference and ranking 11th in the nation in passing efficiency and he has only thrown one interception in 98 attempts.  The mid-level QB recruit that had to overcome a lot of adversity on his journey through college football has arrived. [br] [hr] Terrelle Pryor took a slightly different path.  The freshman phenom arrived just this year in Columbus from Jeannette, Pennsylvania - where played at Jeannette SHS - a school that Pryor led in a HS Championship Football as a senior (state runner up as a junior) and rewrote the record books as the only person in the history of Pennsylvania high school football to both throw and run for over 4000 yards.  Pryor also starred on the basketball team averaging over 20 PPG.  In fact the state basketball playoffs were on the Bryce Jordan Center court on Penn State's campus.  Highly touted as a junior and then becoming the top ranked five star crown jewel recruit in the land as a senior -  he was coveted by several coaches other than Tressel, including JoePa, and Dick Rod.  He ended up deciding to come to tOSU but openly said he did not plan on starting because at the time the Buckeyes were being led by senior and first team Big Ten signal caller Todd Boeckman. He was to be groomed and worked into the offense gradually as Beanie and Boeckman surely could move the ball as they had in 2007.  Then just as Pryor was getting his feet wet against Youngstown State in the first game of the season everything changed - the Heisman hopeful battering ram Beanie Wells went down with a toe injury that would sideline him for the next three games.  That injury coupled with spotty line play left the running game less than capable and the less than agile Boeckman a sitting duck for the opposing defenses rushers.  After struggling with OU and getting blasted by USC - Tressel made the decision to turn over the reigns of the offense to the fleet footed Pryor in hopes that it would be the spark needed to get the offense back on track.  He was just that and although he has not played perfectly - he has shown that he can do amazing things with his legs and also provided flashes of greatness with his arm.  He threw four TDs against Troy, threw for one and ran for two against Minnesota, led a game winning drive at Wisconsin - although he played tight against Purdue he responded with a two TD performance against Sparty.  In short - he has been as advertised and arrived in a BIG way.  This week will be the biggest of his career, taking on a top ranked team as the starter - but much like Troy Smith - when the lights come on this star shines. [br] [hr] So these two young men left their home states to play for a school in a neighboring one and it just so happens that this Saturday those two young men and their teams face each other for what is likely the deciding game in a quest for a Big Ten title.  It is difficult to know if Clark grew up a Buckeye fan and Pryor grew up following the Nittany Lions - but on their respective journeys they have obviously found their heart's calling playing for the teams they are.  But it is ironic that this week they face their home state as an opponent - with both most definitely wanting to win for the place that they each now call home. [br] [hr] Both teams are undefeated in the conference and have a lot of talent - especially at the quarterback position.  It will be interesting to me to see how these two young men - both of who are so similar and so different - respond to the magnitude of this game.  As if this weeks game needed more drama. [br] [hr] My message to Pryor is that it doesn't matter where you come from, or where you have been -  it is where you are at.  And right now Terrelle - you are where you were meant to be - leading the Buckeyes as starting quarterback in the Shoe.  Welcome to your new home - there is no where better to be on the planet. [br] [br] GO BUCKS!!