COLUMBUS — Ohio State coach Jim Tressel has no doubt that Terrelle Pryor is his quarterback.
Not all of his players agree.
Tight end Jake Ballard believes Tressel should reintroduce sixth-year senior Todd Boeckman back into the offense to share the job with Pryor. Pryor has shown flashes of skill but also has been hesitant and has committed typical freshman mistakes since taking over as the starter four games ago.
“I think it would only help,” Ballard said of using Boeckman, easily the better passer of the two. “The senior leadership that Todd brings to the table and just how he commands the huddle would definitely help us out. And he could make some big throws for us. … I don’t think a two-quarterback system would be a bad idea.”
But Tressel clearly has his mind locked in on developing Pryor full-time at the expense of Boeckman even as the Ohio State offense founders. The Buckeyes are last in the Big Ten in passing and next to last in total offense.
Asked Tuesday if he has misgivings about thrusting Pryor into the starting job and benching Boeckman, Tressel said, “Do I have any misgivings? I’m not sure what a misgiving is.”
Later, Tressel said he wanted nothing more than to get Boeckman on the field, even though he hasn’t played a second in the last two games. When a reporter pressed him on why he hasn’t put Boeckman in if he wants him to play so badly, Tressel appeared to stiffen.
“(I) haven’t determined that that was the right moment (or) situation,” he said tersely.
A year ago, Boeckman led Ohio State to an outright Big Ten title and a spot in the Bowl Championship Series title game. This year, he had the job for three games before Pryor, who was playing high school ball in Jeannette, Pa., a year ago, was ordained the new starter.
Boeckman said the transition has been painful but he’s tried to make the best of it.
“When you’re on the sidelines, you always want to play,” Boeckman said. “You always want to be that guy out there. Terrelle is doing some good things out there. He’s getting better each and every week. I’m doing what I can. If my number’s ever called, I’m going to be there, ready to go.”
The 12th-ranked Buckeyes (6-1, 3-0 Big Ten) have won all four games that Pryor has started — but not so much because of anything the offense has been doing.
A unit that returned nine starters from an 11-2 team currently stands 94th in total offense among the 118 teams in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision. Most of the other offensive numbers are just as ugly: 37th in rushing, 108th in passing, 70th in scoring, 69th in third-down conversion and 80th in fourth-down success.
Tressel is aware of the problem.
“If an apology is what you’d like, we can all go to lunch,” he cracked. “I apologize. And we’ll try to get better.”
But at the same time, he knows it’s no laughing matter. The Buckeyes have some serious problems scoring. They’ve totaled 18 touchdowns in their first seven games; a year ago at this point they had 31.
Fans weighing in on radio call-in shows and in open forums and Web sites have said the play-calling is unimaginative and predictable. Several Southern California players said they knew what the Buckeyes were going to do on almost every snap. USC pounded the Buckeyes 35-3 in Boeckman’s last game as a starter.
Even Tressel seemed to question his own approach Tuesday.
“You always have to start by being troubled by the plan, because there’s got to be some reasons why you’re not executing,” he said.
Almost everyone lays the blame for the Buckeyes’ offensive problems on a porous offensive line. After all, Ohio State is 106th in the nation in sacks allowed.
Tressel has taken an increasing interest in the line in recent weeks, even dubbing himself the “assistant offensive line coach.” Usually reserved on and off the field, Tressel has strained his voice yelling at the linemen to be quicker and hold their blocks longer.
Pryor is a racehorse of a quarterback — able to dodge or outrun onrushing defenders. Yet he sometimes doesn’t know when to just throw a ball away to avoid trouble. He was sacked three times Saturday in a 16-3 victory over Purdue, a game in which the Buckeyes’ didn’t score an offensive touchdown.
“He can make big plays with his feet but he has to realize it’s not high school, he can’t make big plays every single time for 20 yards or more,” Ballard said. “He’s not always going to get big plays.”
Ohio State will be facing one of its biggest tests of the season Saturday when it plays at No. 20 Michigan State.
Ballard said the Buckeyes cannot continue playing the way they have been.
“It’s frustrating. Everybody thinks it’s frustrating,” he said. “But we’re not worried about it as much as maybe others are because we know it’s things that we can change, to turn around the way the season is going right now.” 

In order to comment, you must agree to our user agreement and discussion guidelines.

Need help? Email Us.