Tressel: Pryor Is Being Used Correctly At OSU

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The Cavaliers played the Boston Celtics at Ohio State's Value City Arena on Wednesday night. After the exhibition finale for both teams, the subject of Ohio State football - and in particular QB Terrelle Pryor - came up.

New Cavs center Shaquille O'Neal said, "I'm familiar with Ohio State football of course. I know they're always up there. I just want to tell the quarterback to keep his head up. I saw that they're getting on him the last two games. Keep your head up, young man, and try to get this football team back on track."

LeBron James acknowledged that he has been counseling Pryor on how to handle celebrity.

"I'm trying to mentor him and get him through 'life in the spotlight' which I've been through," James said. "Being that No. 1 guy, how do you adjust to it and how do you get through it and still perform at a high level? Sometimes it can be very difficult on (an athlete). I'm trying to be that guy who can really help him get through a lot of situations which he's never seen before but now he's seeing and understanding."

James said he felt as if he had something to offer, based on his experiences.

"I try to keep up on him on game days. I wish him luck and throughout the week and how's everything going?" James said. "At the end of the day, there's a lot more than just football and basketball. Because I know. I've seen it all. From a prep kid, I was very high (profile), and then I was a professional. So I've seen it all."

NO COMMENT: Coach Jim Tressel declined to comment on allegations by Pryor's high school coach, Ray Reitz, that Ohio State's offense was stifling Pryor and that he might have been a better fit going to Michigan.

Tressel did say he felt Pryor was being used correctly at Ohio State.

"Oh, absolutely. Yeah," he said. Then, in a clear shot at Reitz, he added, "You can never know why someone says what they say. I'm beyond being surprised what is said by anyone."

INJURY UPDATE: DL Dexter Larimore won't return before November, with TB Dan Herron expected back in a week or two. OL Mike Brewster, Jim Cordle, Mike Adams and Justin Boren are all bruised and less than 100 percent from the game at Purdue last Saturday, but Tressel was hopeful they would be ready for this Saturday's home game against Minnesota.

OFF THE BUSINESS BEAT: Of all things, it now seems the Wall Street Journal is piling on the Buckeyes.

An article by Darren Everson and David Biderman in Thursday's edition, was headlined "Ohio's Best Team: Not the Buckeyes."

The subtitle was "For more than a century, there's been only one college-football team that matters in Ohio. Right now there's still only one. But it's not Ohio State."

Here's the lead paragraph: "The University of Cincinnati, a large but long-overlooked school better known for basketball, has turned this state's ancient football pecking order on its head. The unbeaten Bearcats, ranked No. 5, are in the thick of the national-title race while Ohio State, ranked No. 19 and coming off a humiliating loss to Purdue, is all but out of it."

Cincinnati Moeller football coach John Rodenberg tell the paper, "It might be that little brother is creeping up and now he's actually getting bigger than big brother."

Also cited is radio station WLW, which constantly chides the Buckeyes in ads. A narrator touts the Bearcats and taunts the Buckeyes' No. 19 ranking: "You have to use your hands AND feet to count that low."

Even Boston Red Sox infielder Kevin Youkilis, a Cincinnati alum and lifelong fan, is quoted: Ohio State fans "kind of look down upon other teams in Ohio. Hopefully in years to come, UC can put itself on the map and top players will come there."

QUOTE OF THE DAY: Tressel, speaking Thursday, on the possibility of injured RB Jaamal Berry being redshirted: "Every week you get a week closer to it - it sounds like Yogi Berra! I am getting old."

TRESSELESE: Asked whether the Buckeyes would work this week in practice to try to eliminate pre-snap penalties, Tressel responded: "I'll tell you what, that's - things you can control, and I've always believed that turnovers are a thing you can control. If you really believe that that is a game difference-maker, then you have a chance of minimizing them. You can't - hey, a ball bounces off, things happen, but if you're a ball carrier and above all else, more important than how many yards you gain is at the end of the play, that ball's still ours, and if you really believe that, then we've got a chance, and that is something that you ought to be able to do regardless of your talent level. Same thing with those penalties that you can control. Above all else, I know where the snap count is, where's the ball heading and what's my job, it's not that difficult. And that's why I say, have we made it too difficult?"

SCHOLAR-ATHLETE: Cordle is among the nominees for the $18,000 National Football Foundation Scholar-Athlete Award, formerly known as the Draddy Trophy.

Nominees come from FBS, FCS, Division II and III and NAIA.

The 16 finalists will be announced on Oct. 29.

Other nominees from Ohio colleges include: Craig Rutherford (Bowling Green) and Jeff Linkenbach (Cincinnati) in FBS; Sean Heenan (Dayton) and Ben Nowicki (Youngstown State) in FCS; Nick Belanco (Ashland) in Division II; Brock Miller (Bluffton); Lee Sasala (Case Reserve); and Joe Micca (John Carroll).


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