Michigan's Hinging Hopes
Those of us who have grown up “Bo” know that he was a staunch believer in the running game. Running quarterbacks played just as much an integral role as the parade of running backs that have strolled through Big House history. With the pending decision of all-world prep phenomenon Terrelle Pryor, the Maize and Blue could be getting the best they have ever had, run or pass, period.
From the state that produced Johnny Unitas, George Blanda, Joe Namath, Dan Marino, Joe Montana, and Jim Kelly, Pryor may be the most dynamic of them all, and that is saying something. His career running and passing numbers are virtually identical (4,250 and 4,249 respectively) and from watching his MVP performance at the U.S. Army All-American Bowl, he has the arm to excel in any offense. He happens to love the spread offense, and with Rich Rodriguez’s version soon to be the scheme in Ann Arbor, Wolverine fans are hoping another lineage of quarterbacks will lure the Jeanette, Pennsylvania prize player to bring Michigan back to prominence.
From the running quarterbacks of the past, Bob Timberlake (1962-64), Don Moorhead (1969-70), Dennis Franklin (1972-74), Steve Smith (1981-83), and Rick Leach (1975-78), to the more passer-friendly, and NFL bound bunch of Brian Griese, Tom Brady, Jim Harbaugh, Todd Collins, Elvis Grbac, John Navarre, and soon to be Chad Henne, Pryor has the chance, providing he commits to Michigan, to to equal or surpass each of them, on Saturdays at the Big House, and Sundays in the NFL. How would fans feel about a potential Heisman Trophy at quarterback? I can’t sleep at night just thinking Michigan is in the running. The visit went well and lest hope he stays north of the border (and not south in Columbus). Rodriguez would instantly be anointed savior.
Will basketball play a role in his decision? It could, and the men’s team at Michigan would not only welcome him, but feature him along side Manny Harris. In his first basketball game, a mere four days after his final football game in high school, Pryor went for 24 points, 11 rebounds, 6 dunks, 5 steals and 4 blocks without the benefit of pre-season practices or much preparation whatsoever.
How would Bo have used Pryor? He was much more apt to utilize the quarterback in the running game than Lloyd Carr ever would have. And when the Wolverines turn to the spread, an offense that tortured them throughout this past season, landing Terrelle Pryor to put at the controls would certainly send shock waves not only through the Big House (and Crisler Arena), but through the Big Ten as well. And he may even rewrite some of Michigan’s storied history while he’s at it.
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