Double Feature
Two Sport Star Pryor a Special Talent
By Chris Dokish

Western Pennsylvania sports fans have been fortunate enough to have seen some of the greatest athletes ever. Fans in these parts have seen a teenage Dan Marino throw laser-passes against poor high school cornerbacks; they've watched as a young Lavar Arrington dominated his peers on both sides of the ball; they've seen a group of young defenders appear as if they were standing in quicksand while Tony Dorsett blew past them.

A current area athlete is making local-and national-observers buzz that a similar talent may soon join the legendary list of western PA athletes.

Terrelle Pryor is the name, but he has more than just one game. The Jeannette High School junior is considered one of the best prospects in the country in both football and basketball. The only question is which he will pursue in college.

Double Vision

"I want to try both," says the 17 year old, even as others are telling him it is very difficult. "If I can't do it, then I will just choose one, but I will try both."

"There's no doubt that it's really hard, but if anybody can do it, it would be him," says Jeannette head football coach Ray Reitz. "He's very competitive and wants to do it all."

Others have done it at a high level, of course. Julius Peppers played forward and defensive end at North Carolina and went on to be a first round draft pick in the NFL. Ron Curry played quarterback and point guard at the same school. Charlie Ward won a Heisman Trophy playing quarterback for Florida State, then went on to a decade-long career with the New York Knicks in basketball. And there are others on the list.

But in an age when playing one college sport is like having a full-time job, playing two at a high level is asking a lot.

"He seems to have his mind set on it," says his father, Craig Pryor. "It will be really hard, but it's his decision and if that's what he wants to do, I will back him."

"I think it will be too much," says his legal guardian Willie Burns. "I don't think he realizes what a heavy load that will be. But it will be a blessing if he can do it."

Both Pryor's father and Burns agree on something else, too: academics. Pryor currently has a 3.0 GPA and it's clear from the two men closest to him in his life that his good grades are not an accident.

"I tell him that when he is looking to see which school he is going to, he has to look at academics first," says the elder Pryor. "He's not going to be able to play sports forever, so he better have a good education."

Pryor was born in Jeannette, but moved to West Newton in third grade. A few years later, he moved again, after his parents divorced, with his mother to West Mifflin, but that did not last long. In eighth grade, he moved on to his current destination.

"He didn't like the neighborhood he was living in, so he called me up and asked if he could come live with me," says Burns, who is also Pryor's Godfather. "He felt more comfortable in Jeannette, I guess. I told him that of course he could live with me."

Pryor's mother then moved to Johnstown while his father continues to live in West Newton. He is still very close to his father, but is happy with Burns in Jeannette. He lives with teammate and good friend T.J. Burns, the grandson of Mr. Burns.

Many Suitors

Knowing which sport he will play is only one major decision that Pryor must make. He also has to figure out where he wants to play. Most observers think that Pitt, Penn State and Ohio State are the main contenders, but Pryor is quick to add Michigan and Notre Dame to that list, too.

"I want it to be within six hours of here," says Pryor. That eliminates Pryor's previous dream school, North Carolina. "It's twelve hours away. That's too far. And it's too hot."

According to Pryor, all five of the main contenders have told him they would take him as a quarterback and for both sports. The top in-state quarterback last year, Pat Devlin, redshirted this past year at Penn State; and Pitt is about to officially sign this year's top in-state quarterback, Pat Bostick. Though both are considered excellent prospects, Pryor is rated higher than both Devlin and Bostick. But both will also likely be sophomores during Pryor's freshman year, giving them a head start in any battle. Things are even tougher at Notre Dame, where the Fighting Irish are welcoming the consensus No. 1 player in the country, quarterback Jimmy Clausen, and at Michigan, who welcomes the consensus No. 2 quarterback in the country, Ryan Mallet.

Pryor admits that he has noticed who each school has at the quarterback position, and while confident, he says he wants to play right away.

"I just want to compete," he says.

Pryor has been a frequent guest at Pitt basketball and football games, as well as Penn State football games. He has yet to visit Michigan, but former Valley star Toney Clemons-Pryor's cousin-is committed to the Wolverines, and has talked to Pryor about joining him.

The two played against each other as 12-year olds and Mr. Pryor laughs," Toney was the only kid I ever saw catch Terrelle from behind."

His son laughs back and says, "Yeah, but he couldn't do that now."

As a sophomore, Pryor was overcome by excitement at a Pitt basketball game and committed to the Panthers, even though it was so early in his recruitment that the Pitt basketball staff hadn't even officially offered. It's something that Burns is looking to avoid again.

"He gets a ton of calls and I tell him to hang up once they start asking who his favorites are. I tell him to tell them that it's too early for that and he still has another year to go," Burns explains. "We saw the frenzy it caused last time when he did that."

Of course, many juniors will commit to colleges this spring and summer, but Pryor doesn't appear to be in any hurry. All involved say Pryor has not begun to seriously look at which school he will attend yet.

"He really hasn't talked about it much to me yet," says his dad.

"Nobody forces anything on him," says Reitz. "He is smart enough to make his own decision."

"He has to be a man and decide this on his own," adds Burns. "I can't influence him."

That doesn't mean the two most influential people in Pryor's life don't have opinions, of course.

"I'm a Pitt man," says his father. "I love what they are doing there now with Dave Wannstedt. They just brought in a great running back in LeSean McCoy and I can picture him and Terrelle in the same backfield. And they brought in some great linemen, too. I'm looking forward to meeting Wannstedt."

Pryor's cousin, Benji Pryor, was a tight end at Pitt in the late 1970's, but the two are not close.

When Pryor originally committed to Pittsburgh, the main reason cited was so his father-who at only 38 years old has spent years in a wheelchair due to a degenerative bone disease-could see him play in person. But Mr. Pryor says he understands if his son wants to go further away.

"He can always catch me on TV," says the younger Pryor.

While Pryor says publicly that he doesn't like either sport more, many close to him claim that basketball is his passion.

"I think he has always liked basketball more," says Mr. Pryor, "and I think he only played football because football was my thing."

While people who work at Jeannette have been careful not to influence Pryor one way or the other, many in the community, as well on as internet message boards, think his future lies in football.

"He asked me once which sport would I like to see him play if he could only play one and I said football," says Burns. "And of course I would love for him to stay around here to do it. But, again, it's his decision and he will have to make it himself."

Good and Getting Better

On the field, he has drawn many comparisons to former University of Texas great and current NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Vince Young. It's not hard to see why those comparisons are made, as the 6'6" 220 pound Pryor has similar size, combined with probably even better speed and athleticism. According to Reitz, Pryor is just scratching the surface athletically and may be 235 pounds for next season.

"He really likes to lift weights," says Reitz.

On the basketball court, his skills are nearly as good.

"He's an excellent player, obviously," says Jeannette's new basketball coach Jim Nesser. "He's a great passer. I even use him on the point sometimes. And he is a much better three point shooter than I thought. I knew he was good, just not that good. People make it a big deal if he doesn't score a lot in a game, but they don't realize that he is very unselfish and when we win it's because he does the little things, even if it means not scoring. He's the only player I've ever seen of that caliber that never looks to see how many points he's scoring. He is a great team player."

One thing is for certain, and that's that Pryor could play for any team in the country.

"I have so much mail every day that my mailman asks who lives here," laughs Burns.

Both Reitz and Nesser say his offers are too much to keep track of.

Pryor is a household name in Jeannette, and well-known by many sports fans around the county, even though he is still just a junior in high school. Is there pressure?

"A little," answers Pryor, who admits he is already hounded by phone calls. Pryor says that he already signs a lot of autographs and recently was the guest speaker for his 10-year old brother's basketball banquet. "It was pretty cool to be able to do that," he says.

The attention won't subside anytime soon. Pryor says he would like to wait until after the next football season to make his decision, though many close to him think he will be exhausted by the attention long before then. If not, Pryor plans to invite even more attention.

"I have always wanted to have a news conference," he laughs.

For the first time, Pryor is showing signs that he is taking football as seriously as basketball. In the spring, he usually attends AAU basketball games. This year, though, for the first time, Pryor is expected to also attend football combines. It will be the first time that college football programs from all over the country will get a chance to see him perform in person.

And if you never got to see the legends of the past perform before they became professionals, point your car to Jeannette and you may just get to see another one.

Ray Mernagh is the publisher of Hoopfactor.com and is authoring a book on the Mid-American Conference.