I was going to write this column about a variety of topics, but that plan sort of got waylaid by Jon Gruden's little quarterback skull session with former Ohio State signal-caller Terrelle Pryor that aired on ESPN Thursday night.
Gruden, a former NFL head coach who won a Super Bowl with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, did with Pryor what he does with all his QB Camp guests - young quarterbacks coming out of college and preparing for the NFL -tearing them down, only to build them back up.
Although Pryor, a likely NFL supplemental draft selection later this month, seems a little shy at times, he handled himself pretty adroitly when discussing football with Gruden, proving that he does know the game and apparently understands the ramifications of the quarterback position.
But that familiar word ''consistent,'' came up from Gruden when he and Pryor were watching game film featuring Pryor. "Hot and cold," said Gruden "Every game there are flashes of real hot, you are on fire. And then there's one or two plays where I think, 'What is he doing?' It's in you to be great. You've just got to be more consistent."
Gruden, after watching Pryor work out in person, told Pryor him that he could ''make all the throws'' and was ''a great runner.'' But after noting that Pryor probably took too many sacks and committed a few too many turnovers, Gruden said that to be successful in the pros, Pryor will have to get move involved in the pass protection by reading the defense and adjusting that protection before the snap.
When switching to wide receiver or being used in a Wildcat formation as more of a runner in the NFL was brought up by Gruden, Pryor again insisted he wants to continue to be a quarterback.
Maybe Pryor does have the wherewithall to make it in the NFL - we'll see - but one ex-Buckeye gridder got a big boost from Gruden Thursday, and that's receiver Dane Sanzenbacher, last year's top OSU wideout and the team MVP.
Gruden couldn't believe Sanzenbacher wasn't drafted in April, saying, "he's reliable, he's tough, he doesn't make mistakes, he's a football player."
Pace, one of the most dominant offensive linemen ever to play the game, was the Big Ten MVP as a junior and finished fourth in the '96 Heisman balloting. As a senior, he was the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft and became a five-time All-Pro with the St. Louis Rams.
Doss, co-captain of the national championship team in 2002 when he was the defensive MVP of the Fiesta Bowl, was a three-time all-American. In 2002 as a senior, he was the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year. Doss went on to play six seasons in the NFL.
Raskowski, a two-time All-American, helped lead the Scarlet and Gray to 16 victories in three seasons, including a 7-1 mark in 1926. He died in 1952 at 46 after an long illness.
Watkins led OSU in scoring in both 1953 and 1954, playing a major role in its 1954 national championship. One of Woody Hayes' first recruits and one of the first African-Americans to play football at Ohio State, Watkins rushed for 1,724 yards from 1952-1954.
Contact Steve Hemmelgarn at shemmelgarn@newsandsentinel.com
