In what can only be termed shocking, disappointing, and above all, bizarre, prized-recruit Terrelle Pryor was arrested late Monday evening in suburban Pittsburgh. Pryor was cited for disorderly conduct after the young man was apparently unable to place an order at a local pizza joint, Abie’s & Bimbo’s Pizza, and refused to leave.

Sources at the scene say Mr. Pryor was pontificating about taking one’s time, while considering the virtues of each pizza and soliciting the help of those more knowledgeable.

“He kept saying that he wanted to make the best decision for himself and his family,” said frequent Abie’s patron Stacey Greenwich, 24. “Honestly, he must have asked the waiter about every slice twice.”

At one point he enlisted the assistance of a much older patron, whom he called a friend. Read More...

I wanted to give Terrelle Pryor a break (as well as the “e,” “r,” and “l” keys on my computer). But it is still the hottest topic in Buckeye Nation. Instead of droning on and on about how soon Pryor will play, whether his throwing motion needs a bunch of work, or if his perceived ego will get in the way I thought I would defer to these articles.

ESPN’s Ivan Maisel takes a quick look at whether Pryor should follow a path similar to Vince Young or Tim Tebow. Personally, I would like the Tebow approach. I think Pryor is too talented to keep off the field. Then again, I just sit in the stands each week and Tressel and staff know the score. Judging from this article, it sounds like Tressel thinks he is as good as we hope.

A Rivals Roundtable also takes a look at Pryor’s impact this fall. Nothing earth shattering, but a nice, short discussion.

Unfortunately, the Atlanta Journal Constitution’s Tony Barnhart, self-proclaimed Mr. College Football, posted on his blog last Thursday that he believes Terrelle Pryor is going to be a problem once he arrives on Ohio State’s campus. Why, you ask? Because he held a couple of press conferences. Huh?

I am disappointed in Mr. Barnhart because I always enjoy his pieces and I really liked his former role on ESPN’s College Gameday. But his post smacks of inflammation. Why else would he write, ostensibly, that Pryor will be harm than good for the Buckeyes? Barnhart’s only mention of Jimmy Clausen’s announcement after appearing for his announcement in a limousine was this (over a year later). It is fashionable to pile on the Buckeyes these days, especially in SEC country, but claiming Pryor is going to be the next Ryan Perrilloux seems to be self-serving and short sighted. Read More...

What happened with Memphis? –Nina J., New York, NY
Nothing, literally. Buckeye Commentary surmised it was an Internet rumor, which is exactly what it turned out to be. What I cannot figure out is how this rumor made it into the press. I know The Capital Times in Madison, Wis. is not a bastion of journalism but come on Fritz, where did come up with this one?

Pryor’s recruitment was one of the most closely followed recruiting processes of all time. Coupled with the fact that Pryor never hid anything – quite the opposite – the story never should have happened. I would have been more likely to believe Connecticut or Syracuse.

Where did Charlie Batch go? That dude was everywhere for about two weeks. -James B., Cleveland
Batch, the Pittsburgh Steelers backup quarterback and, apparent family friend, was noticeably absent during the announcement. According to Pryor, Batch was in Hawaii during the announcement but Pryor admitted Batch thought Michigan was the best choice.

“He's up right now, texting me actually. I mean, he's cool with my decision,” Pryor said. “He's just trying to see which one would be, for me, better to get in the NFL.” Read More...

Updated: There is no way to know if Terrelle Pryor will turn out to be the best Ohio State player in recent memory. One thing is for sure, however, he is Tressel's most celebrated and most well known recruit to date. That is saying a lot considering the recruiting haul the Buckeyes typically bring in. If Pryor is the most high profile recruit during Tressel's tenure, who are the runners up? There are a lot of names to choose from , but he is my stab at the five best recruits under Tressel, at the time they were recruited.

5. Chris Wells - He was a 2006 Parade All-American and named the top running back in the nation by many recruiting experts. Wells rushed for 2,134 yards and 27 touchdowns (9.6 avg) as a senior. He was named the 2005 National Player of the Year and the No. 1 prospect in the nation by several publications. A soft-spoken kid, he has been the real deal since day one and he is only a junior.

4. Justin Zwick - Prognosticators called him one of the top QB prospects in the nation and the best QB prospect to come out of the state of Ohio since Art Schlichter. Unfairly, Zwick was widely heralded as the savior for Buckeye Nation and, at the time, saddled with more pressure than Terrelle Pryor. If memory serves me correctly, The Dispatch deified him within moments of his commitment. Although he endured a career less-imagined, he handled every twist and turn with class.

3. Maurice Clarett - A great running back from Tressel's former stomping ground, Clarett immediately committed to Ohio State upon Jim Tressel being named head coach. Maurice rushed for 2,200 yards averaging over 12 yards per carry his senior season, scoring 40 touchdowns and was named the Offensive Player of the Year nationally by USA Today and The Touchdown Club of Columbus. Sadly, his stats belied an undercurrent of petulance that would derail his career.

2. Ted Ginn, Jr. - Ginn was initially known as the next Deion Snaders although he never played one down on defense for the Buckeyes. Still, he was the most sought-after defensive prospect in the country, earning USA Today First Team All-USA honors in addition to being named the USA Today Defensive Player of the Year. Ginn, Jr. was considered a top 5 player nationally by virtually every recruiting publication known to man. The cherry on top was Ginn, Jr.'s performance as a high school track star. As he entered Ohio State, he was the reigning high school national champion in the 110-meter high hurdles and was timed at Olympic caliber speeds.

1. Terrelle Pryor - Pryor was a household name by the end of this recruiting adventure. In some ways that journey has overshadowed his incredible physical gifts. I will spare you the litany of accolades, but he was widely considered the second coming of Vince Young - a skill set rarely seen at the high school level. For now, it seems like the sky is the limit.

I usually take a late lunch around 1:15pm. I like the way it breaks up the day, the lines have dwindled to a reasonable length, and the employees are in better moods after the rush has stopped.

But, not today, baby!

Nope, I will be sitting squarely in front of the tube watching Terrelle Pryor announce his decision to attend The Ohio … er, his college of choice. Sure, I know this is a little presumptuous and I will look like an idiot if he does not commit to the Buckeyes. But the way I see it, how can I not be watching? I have been following this saga for weeks. Actually, months.

I would be a fool to miss the final scene in what has to be considered one of the most intriguing recruiting episodes of all time. It is like one of those classic Magnum P.I. episodes where he cannot quite escape and capture the baddies in one hour, so you received the cryptic “To be continued…” at the credits. You had to wait an entire week to find out how the mustached sleuth was going to solve it.

Admit it, just like those episodes you thought you had the Pryor situation all figured out on February 5th. The next day you would eventually read the headline “Nation’s No. 1 recruit headed to Ohio State.” Instead, “to be continued…” Now, you have waited the entire week and the second episode is about to finish. You are not totally sure what is going to happen but you have confidence that the protagonist will make the right move (minus the mustache).

Here’s hoping tomorrow’s lunch break ends as well as those Magnum episodes. Just don’t expect a Ferrari or helicopter to play a role.

[Full disclosure: The author is not old enough to have watched first run Magnum P.I. episodes.]

Terrelle Pryor has made a decision to make a decision. After winning another high school championship, this time in basketball, Pryor said that he will announce his college selection soon.

Next week, I'm going to say the school I'm going to, sign it and get it over with.

Pryor stated he was down to two schools but would not say which two schools he is still considering. I am 99% confident that Ohio State is among the two finalists. I am less certain, however, about he ultimate choice of joining the Buckeyes. I consider the unofficial visit a couple of weeks for an Ohio State basketball game to be a tacit admission taht Ohio State was still his leader. Then again, Pryor has shown contradictory behavior, which tempers my burgeoning optimism.

So, who is the other team? Michigan, Oregon, or Memphis? My guess is that Michigan is still in the running. The system is too perfect for him and the campus is close enough to make the Wolverines very attractive for Pryor and his family. Despite that, The Plain Dealer is reporting that Penn State is the other horse in the race.

Pryor told reporters he was deciding between two schools, he coyly refused to divulge them. But everyone around Pryor knows, and has been discussing, that his choice is between Ohio State and Penn State.

That is the first I have heard of that. In fact, Pryor sounded lukewarm on PSU when he recently discussed the Nittany Lions saying that Penn State is a good school with good coaches.

As an Ohio States fan, I think Penn State is the best possible “opponent” in this recruiting battle. Penn State was his home state school yet he never expressed serious interest in the program until after Signing Day. To the best of my knowledge, Pryor never made an official visit to Happy Valley (or Oregon for that matter). I am not in the prediction business, but I think we will all be happy in one week’s time.

NIT Action: The NIT Selection Committee (who knew they had one) will announce the pairings for the old tournament at 9:00pm tonight. You can tune into ESPN2 to watch the riveting unveiling, but I am guessing you have something better to do. More commentary to follow...

Even though the Buckeyes are not playing in the NCAA Tournament doesn't mean you should not sign up for the Buckeye Commentary Pool on ESPN. Follow the link to join.

Before I get started, I want to make a couple of things perfectly clear: (1) objectively speaking, I want Terrelle Pryor to play football for Ohio State. I want phenomenal talent to play for the Buckeyes and by all accounts he is such a talent. (2) I have no personal knowledge/opinion of Mr. Pryor as a person; I only know what I read (true or not).

With that out of the way, I think we should all agree on one thing – Pryor seems to be a walking, talking contradiction. In one breath, Pryor delays his college signing because he wants to take all of his visits and make the most thoughtful decision possible. In the next, he fails to schedule a single new visit over the next six weeks, yet visits Ohio State (again). Yeah, I know he has basketball to play, but he managed to make it to OSU’s campus, which, incidentally, is twice as far from his high school as State College.

In a recent article, Pryor states that basketball will not have an effect on his college decision and then allegedly schedules a visit to Memphis, a basketball school.

Now that I'm starting to get more realistic about this whole thing, I just think there's no way I could play both football and basketball. Just with school alone, I think there's no way I can do both. Plus, I'm going to want at least a little bit of time to myself.

That story is not completely substantiated in my mind but it is being reported by major players. If it is true, how do you make sense of it? And, I have to imagine that it counts as one of his official visits. (Bye, bye Oregon.)

Finally, he offers himself up as a controlled young man, wanting to fully control his destiny. After all, that is why he is talking these extra two visits, right? Then he goes out and gets in two fights in a matter of a few weeks? Where did the maturity go? Isn't he jeopardizing all he is working towards? (And, while I am on the topic, how long does he have to take these extra visits? Until April 1? Beyond? I have no idea.)

I know he is an 18-year old high school kid with a lot of pressure on him. I know he has coaches, teammates, friends, and family pulling him in every direction. Believe me, I get it. I am not saying he is a bad person. Far from it. I just call it like I see it. I am simply saying that his statements and actions make it impossible to read his character or intentions.

One last thing, I really hope he comes to Ohio State.

New Feature: If you are anything like me you love to hear opinions about Ohio State from other fans. So, readers willing, I want to offer a Mailbag column. This will allow me to take the temperature of fans while allowing more interaction with the site. I love these columns on other sites and routinely send questions to the authors.

I will take questions all week and answer as many as I can on Fridays. If you have a question about Ohio State and/or college football in general, send it to feedback@buckeyecommentary.com or click the contact link above.

Does this picture make you nervous? According to AOL Sports, it should. Michael David Smith cites Phil Fritz’s story and reports that Terrelle Pryor visited Memphis this weekend. Fritz’s report suggests there is much more money to be earned in professional basketball as opposed to the NFL, and that John Calipari is offering Pryor the opportunity to play both sports. You can make your own judgment on this one, but it seems to be a classic Internet rumor if you ask me.

In fact, as pointed out by Michael David Smith in the AOL piece, Pryor recently stated that basketball would no longer play a role in his decision:

"No, it won't," Pryor said. "I really like playing basketball and I'm still considering playing both football and basketball in college, but I'm not sure. I'm leaning toward just football, but I haven't decided for sure."

And, I take issue with the assertion that basketball may be a better sport for Pryor because there is less risk of injury and more money to be made. I seem to recall Michael Vick getting a contract in the neighborhood of $100M and I am sure Vince Young will command similar cash soon. I know that talent like Vick does not grow on trees but if Pryor is as good as they say he could reach that level.

There may be fewer injuries in the NBA but injury is a risk in any sport. Besides, football (especially the NFL) is America’s game now. The NBA is played at night during the week and broadcast on cable networks (mostly). Football owns the weekend and even Monday nights depending on your perspective. Football is king. If Pryor wants to play on the biggest stage he needs to be on one made of grass, not hardwood.

Most valuable college team: Back in November, ABC News and Forbes reported on the income and net worth of major college football teams. The Buckeyes are ranked 10th on the list with a mythical value of $71M. According to Forbes, Ohio State is the second most valuable team in the Big Ten behind Michigan whose $85M valuation placed them 4th on the overall list. Notre Dame, buoyed by its own television contract and not saddled with a conference, is at the top of the list.

Surprisingly, you have to scroll through most of the list until you see USC. I would have guessed their valuation to be much higher. After all, USC is a high profile, successful program in the nation’s second largest city with no NFL team to compete. Maybe unofficial coach/spokesperson Snoop Dogg needs to get the word out.

Another Early Top 25: I stumbled upon Sports Projections.com and if you are anything like me you cannot get enough prognostication (hey, it's what I do). They recently published their NCAA Football Top 25, which has the Buckeyes pegged at #2 behind Georgia, with Oklahoma, Florida and USC rounding out the top 5. Other ranked Big Ten include #8 Wisconsin, #18 Penn State, and #21 Illinois. Ohio State plays USC, Wisconsin, and Illinois on the road in ’08.