By: Jeff Seemann (Fox Sports Ohio) — March 18, 2008 was a big day at The Ohio State University. It was the day Terrelle Pryor officially signed his letter of intent to play football for the Buckeyes. It was also the day OSU fans began their dreams of not only returning to the National Championship Game, but actually winning it.

Pryor was the prized jewel of the 2008 class. He skipped the National Letter Of Intent Day in February to take extra time to make his decision. Most college football experts believed he would still select Ohio State, but the tension that those extra 6 weeks brought would be a small amount of foreshadowing into Pryor’s career at Ohio State.

Pryor was the big fish, and the Bucks eventually caught him. Michigan, Penn State, and Oregon were the other contenders for his services, and Ohio State fans took extra pride in one-upping some of their biggest rivals.

But did the fans expect too much? Or did they expect it too fast?

Pryor has spent two full seasons in a Buckeye uniform, and the fans have developed a love/hate relationship with him not seen since the migraine-inducing days of Maurice Clarett.

The same fans who clamored for him to get the starting job at 18-years-old would soon find themselves screaming for his benching and/or shift to wide receiver. Panic would quickly emerge at any sign of failure. But the No. 2 jerseys still flew off the rack at every store in town.

As the 2010 season approaches, no player has gone through a bigger rollercoaster ride than Terrelle Pryor, and the turmoil may not be over yet. He’s expected to be the leader of a loaded team, and he’s got the experience under his belt to deal with the lumps that a top team will face. Fortunately for Buckeye fans, this is the first year he’s had the talent, dedication and experience to start a season. The fans were not always willing to wait for him to get that experience before they demanded the wins.

Mobile quarterbacks were not common at Ohio State until Troy Smith took over the team in 2004 and won the Heisman Trophy two seasons later. Smith was the hero of the entire state and when he graduated, the state wanted more. Todd Boeckman earned the starting quarterback position after Smith left for the NFL, but had a tendency to get “happy feet.” When pressured, Boeckman would force his throws, whereas Smith would tuck the ball and run.

Fans began to miss that fleet-footed leadership, and when Pryor chose Ohio State, they envisioned the second coming of Smith.
But they forgot that Troy Smith wasn’t a superstar from Day One, but rather needed time to grow into the Heisman winner they loved so dearly. They expected immediate results and didn’t allow Pryor to grow and learn from his own mistakes.

In the early stages of the 2008 season, Boeckman struggled against Ohio University and at USC, and fans began howling for Pryor to take over at quarterback. Their wishes were met quickly. Boeckman threw an interception early in the 4th quarter of the embarrassing 35-3 loss and the Pryor era officially began. The celebration was on in Columbus.

In only Pryor’s third start at Ohio State, the Buckeyes found themselves trailing to Big Ten contender Wisconsin 17-13 late in the game. As the Bucks took the field with 6 minutes left and 80 yards from the end zone, running back Beanie Wells grabbed Pryor and told him “You’re stepping into manhood right here.” Pryor went 3-for-4 on the drive for 59 yards, and ran for the winning score from 11 yards out as Ohio State silenced the hostile Badger crowd in front of a national TV audience.
The win at Wisconsin was a big step for such a young quarterback, but the effect may have been a negative for Pryor. It cemented a status in the minds of his fans that he would be infallible. Titles were expected from that moment on.

Three weeks later, Ohio State failed to reach the end zone in a 13-6 loss against third-ranked Penn State. The fans blamed Pryor. They expected a repeat of the Wisconsin win, and Pryor instead fumbled in the fourth quarter of a tight game, leading to the Nittany Lions’ go-ahead TD. Pryor had thrown for 226 yards against a stingy Penn State defense, but that one fumble stuck out in the memories of fans for both teams.

The “hate” side of the love/hate relationship had begun.

By the time Pryor’s freshman season ended, Ohio State was 10-3 and all three losses were to teams ranked in the nation’s Top 3. In the eyes of some fans, Pryor had shaken the “hero” tag and replaced it with the “can’t win the big game” status (otherwise known as the modern-day Scarlet Letter). Never mind the fact that a 42-7 win over Michigan closed out the regular season. The ultimate big game in college football was overlooked because the Wolverines went 3-9 that season.

His sophomore season mirrored his freshman year in many ways. An early 18-15 loss to USC roughed up hopes for a National Championship, but blowout wins over weak opponents kept the detractors at bay.

Then came the infamous trip to Purdue. The Buckeyes were 5-1 and had been blowing out teams for four straight weeks. Purdue was 1-5 and fit that same mold. Nobody told Purdue that. They forced Pryor into five turnovers and shocked the Big Ten with a 26-18 win over Ohio State.

By the time the fourth quarter began, Ohio State fans were in full panic mode and calling for Pryor to be sent to the bench (along with some misguided screams to have Head Coach Jim Tressel fired). The Pryor/Tressel haters had taken center stage.

Before the Purdue loss, Terrelle Pryor was 13-2 as a starter and had a Big Ten title under his belt. But he was being forced to defend his role as starting quarterback. For six long days, the headlines questioning Pryor were thrust onto the national stage. The only legitimate response would have to take place on the field.

Outscoring the next two opponents (Minnesota and New Mexico State) by a combined 83-7 score wasn’t enough to remove the doubt, but taking down 10th-ranked Penn State on the road might do the trick. Pryor went into

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