Ohio St. vs. Terrelle Pryor vs. The NFL

Terrelle Pryor

((ht: espn.com))

This is getting messy. Or maybe we should say messier. Terrelle Pryor and the word violation seem to be going hand in hand these days. And his issues are holding up the NFL's Supplemental draft.

Word comes today, courtesy of Chris Mortensen of ESPN that Pryor and Ohio State are in a bit of a...well...disagreement. Pryor (or at least his attorney since he doesn't speak to media) claims he told the NCAA in May that his so-called mentor Ted Sarniak gave his mother money and took care of his car payments. Which by the way, would explain more than a few things. He also adds (his attorney does), the NCAA was aware of this and told Sarniak to stop.

Ohio State however says no he didn't.

Read Mort's story which summarizes it all RIGHT HERE

I don't know about you, but we smell a rat here. We get the impression this is another ploy to convince the NFL Pryor would be in trouble and thusly be eligible for the Supplemental Draft. Something we might add that many so-called "NFL Experts" say he should be allowed to participate in.

We say no. We say this is a blatant attempt at manipulating the system. We don't have anything against guys who flunk out or get in legal trouble trying to get a shot at the pros. But Pryor's case is different. Yes, he would miss half this season if he stayed at Ohio State, but he CHOSE to leave. He didn't have to. He wasn't, at least on the surface, in-eligible in any way, shape or form other than the "Tattoo Issue". He would have had the opportunity to finish his degree and play the second half of the season.

No, this is a blatant attempt to cash in now and not face the damage he left behind. Plain and simple. And no, we don't think he'll be a success in the pros. He's not head and shoulders above the guys he'd be playing with in the NFL. And he's in for a shock when he realizes it. It's not like the "Little Sisters of the Poor" schedule Ohio State plays in their first 5 games. It's "Big Boy" football. If you are "that" good Mr. Pryor, there will be plenty of opportunities for you to prove it....next spring.

Oh by the way Ohio State, Terrelle Pryor is being investigated now too..

Terrelle Pryor/Courtesy: chalkthemup.com

((ht: Columbus Dispatch))

When it rains it pours...or some cliche' like that. On the heels of coach Jim Tressel resigning his job and falling on the sword at Ohio State on Memorial Day Monday, comes word that the NCAA and the school are conducting an independent investigation of quarterback Terrelle Pryor.

There's been a lot of talk during "Memorabilia Gate" and "Tressel Gate" about players receiving cushy car deals from a local car dealer. Included in that was some questions about how Pryor has been connected to over a half dozen vehicles in the past 4 years at Ohio State.

Now, we aren't casting aspersions, but most college-age football players can't afford to do that. Especially ones selling championship rings for "Spending Money".

According to the Dispatch, the investigation is separate from the issues with Coach Tressel. It includes Pryor's relationship with Ted Sarniak, a 67-year old businessman from Pryor's hometown in Pennsylvania.

Read the Dispatch story RIGHT HERE

This all falls right in line with the allegations tying in Jack Maxton Chevy and salesman Aaron Kniffin. And it ties into the statements made by Ray Small earlier this week, though Small later denied them after getting a lot of grief from Buckeye fans and former players.

The story, which we have reported on as well, details how Pryor's family all has cars purchased at Maxton Chevy, through Kniffin and the dealer has several signed jersey's on the sales floor.

Trust us when we say this is probably going to get worse before it gets better. We aren't saying what is happening in Columbus is unique, it isn't. But it is against the rules. Period. College Football players should not be entitled to any deal that you and I wouldn't. But it appears, at least on the surface, it happened quite frequently.

Ohio State and their compliance office declined commenting about the investigation, citing some sort of Federal law. As far as we know there is no Federal law that has to do with NCAA investigations, but we guess we could be wrong.