| 09 June 2011
By now, you’ve probably learned more about Terrelle Pryor than you ever cared to.
You know about the cars. You know about the tats. And you know about the checks and balances that should never be seen in a 21-year-old’s bank account (Well, unless their last name is “Hilton,” or “Kardashian,” of course). Like so much in our society these days, we all probably know a little too much about Terrelle Pryor at this point.
However, after announcing he was leaving Ohio State earlier week, just about the only thing we don’t is what’s next.
For all the questions he left behind in Columbus, Pryor has just as many going forward. Will he enter the NFL’s Supplemental Draft? Will he work out with a private quarterback coach in secrecy for the next few months? Or will he just buy a Greek island and simply disappear for a while? Because really, if there’s one 21-year-old with the cash to pull that last one off, it’s got to be Pryor, right?
Just about the only thing that no one seems to be seriously considering is the possibility of Pryor going up North to play in the Canadian Football League. And quite frankly, I can’t blame anyone for thinking that way.
From a pure football standpoint, Canada seems like the worst possible choice. If Pryor succeeds, the assumption will just be, “Ehh, it’s Canada. They’ve got wacky rules, and funny team names and goal posts in the middle of the end zone. Who cares?”
And if Pryor fails? Two words: Uh Oh. His stock is already low. Imagine what laying an egg in Canada would do? How do you say, “He’ll never play quarterback in America again,” in Canadian? Is it the same? I’m not sure.
So with all that as a background, what I’m going to say next may surprise you.
With the Saskatchewan Rough Riders acquiring his rights on Wednesday, I not only think Pryor should consider Canada, but he should absolutely, positively go. I think he should pack up all his sneakers and chains, Gucci belts and bags full of money, hop in his loaner car (co-signed by his mom of course), and hit the road. Next stop, some town no one has ever heard of. And he should do it right now.
Understand, I know you think I’m crazy, and that’s ok. But as the old John Lennon song said, “Let me count the ways,” that this makes sense.
Before we start on Pryor, the first thing you need to know about me, is that I’m almost apologetically forgiving. Hell I’m the same guy who defended Jeremiah Masoli when he got busted at Oregon, and the same guy who backed DeMarcus Cousins when he slugged one of his teammates in Sacramento. Call me ignorant if you want. A sucker if you please. But I believe that everyone deserves a second chance. Especially someone who is only 21.
And when it comes to this specific 21-year-old, I’m probably a bit more apologetic than most. Yes Pryor has proven to be arrogant, egotistical and selfish since the day he stepped onto Ohio State’s campus three summers ago. Again, I get that. But does that make him 100 percent to blame for his current situation? Hardly.
Look, I know a lot of you probably think I’m taking a soft stance on the guy, and I understand why you think that. At the same time, let me repeat: Pryor is only 21-years-old. To which I’ve got to ask, where are the adults in his life?
Yes Pryor took free tattoos and someone else’s car without paying; I’m not trying to dispute that. But where was the authority figure to hold him accountable? Where was the adult to tell him, “No Terrelle, you can’t do that.” Why did Jim Tressel- a guy who claimed to care about his players- turn a blind eye to all this? Is that what a good coach, a good parent or most importantly a good man (which Tressel claimed to be) would do? Is that what you would do with your son?
Really, it’s the same with the accusation of Pryor accepting between $20,000-$40,000 for selling autographed stuff. Should Pryor know right from wrong at this point in his life? Of course. But should the 40-year-old who was profiting off Pryor’s name be even more accountable? I’d say so. Again, who’s the adult here?
Either way, if there’s one thing that Pryor is guilty of more than anything, it’s being wildly immature (Well that, and potentially tax evasion too. But that’s another column/investigation for another day). The sooner Terrelle Pryor learns that the world doesn’t in fact revolve around Terrelle Pryor, the sooner he might start acting like an adult. Instead of the spoiled, coddled, entitled kid that he is right now.
Which is why I think Pryor needs to go to Canada.
Understand that in defense of Pryor, for the better part of the last five years, the world has in fact revolved around him. It happened in high school, when grown men who barely knew him catered to his every need. And it happened again in college too, when Tressel completely changed Ohio State’s offense for his prized recruit. Doesn’t that alone tell you everything you need to know about why Terrelle Pryor is the way he is? If one of the most successful football coaches of the past 20 years was willing to change the way he had been doing things just because you walked through the door, wouldn’t you get a big head too?
Well in Canada, I have to assume Pryor would get no such treatment.
Granted, I can’t lie and say I know a whole lot about the Saskatchewan Rough Riders or how they run their organization (I love sports. But I don’t love sports that much). Still, I can’t imagine anyone is going to bend over backwards for Pryor either. I suspect that if he’s the best quarterback he’ll play, and if he isn’t, he won’t. Unlike college, nobody is staking themselves to Pryor, living and dying by him, or putting their job on the line because of him. Which is a good thing. In Saskatchewan, Terrelle Pryor can be something he never was at Ohio State: Just another guy on the team.
Really to me though, Pryor to Canada is about the off-the-field stuff too.
Understand that it doesn’t matter who you are, or where you went to school, because when you’re in college, you are basically in your own little world. You eat in the same spots every day, go to the same bars, hang out in the same places and interact almost exclusively with people your own age. Being in college really is like being in a bubble, and totally different than anything that even remotely resembles the real world.
And as much as you’re in a bubble as a college student, it’s that much worse as a college athlete.
To put it as simply as I can, when you're a college athlete, everything (and I mean everything) is taken care of for you. Someone sets up your housing. Meals are ready to go the second practice is done. Someone helps you with your school work. They give you sweats and sneakers to walk around campus in. Most importantly, while college is supposed to prepare you for the adult world, it doesn’t totally do that for athletes. Remember, a school controls when or if you have access to the media, who interviews you, at what times, and under what circumstances. Again, it’s just not reality.
And all that is why Pryor needs Canada the most. It’s time for him to become a man.
Quick side story: When I was in my early 20’s and right out of school, I was offered a job to work for a team in the Alaska Baseball League one summer. I quickly accepted, because, well, I wanted to go Alaska! (And despite rumors to the contrary, it wasn’t just to meet a Palin daughter either)
But it wasn’t until I got there that I realized what I’d gotten myself into. Yes I’d lived away from home before, but always had friends and family close by. In Alaska, that most certainly wasn’t the case. No one was holding my hand. No one was telling me what to do and when. If I needed food, it was my responsibility to go get it. If my car broke down, I had to figure out a way to get it fixed. For the first time in my life there were no friends and family to help me out. I was completely and totally on my own.
And you know what? That summer ended up being the best thing that ever happened to me. Having to fend for myself, meet new people and trust my own instincts made me more of an adult, than living at home for 10 straight summers would’ve.
Well, it’s time for Pryor to have the same experience.
For his whole life Terrelle Pryor has lived in a bubble, has never been held accountable for anything, and look at where it’s gotten him. Well as they say, you're never too old to start over. For Terrelle Pry it's time to experience a new culture, eat new food, meet new women, fend for himself and not have everything handed to him on a silver platter. In other words, it’s time for Terrelle Pryor to be on his own and grow up. It's time for him to be a man.
And guess what? That’s not going to happen by going to Florida or California and working out with a private QB coach. It’s not going to happen by sitting around waiting to see what happens in the Supplemental Draft.
It is going to happen by going to Canada. Go there and Pryor gets to play football, get paid a real salary, will pay a real rent, pay an actual car note and meet people who don’t have anything to gain from him. In other words, he can do all the same things that real adults do, and that he couldn’t at Ohio State. Most importantly, he can do them without Jim Tressel, Gene Smith, his mentors from Pennsylvania or his buddies from high school shielding him from everything. Pryor can start the process of going from child to adult.
Which is exactly what I’d tell Pryor if he asked me for advice: Pack your car and go to Canada.
The football may be tough. The culture might be weird, and paying actual taxes on your earnings will seem silly at first. But remember, it’s not forever. The NFL will kick off again at some point, and when that does happen you’ll have both the mental and physical maturity to handle it.
So to Terrelle Pryor, I say, go North young man, go North.
It’ll be the best decision you’ll ever make.
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