Pryor passes early exam in OSU spring game

COLUMBUS - Terrelle Pryor took the high road, the safe road, the ‘it's all about the team' road after he was the undisputed standout of Ohio State's spring football game on Saturday.

The sophomore quarterback showed a much-improved passing touch when he completed 13 of 18 passes for 191 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Gray to a 23-3 win over the Scarlet.

The touchdown passes came on a 44-yard throw to Taurian Washington and a 42-yarder to Ray Small in a span of 30 seconds in the second quarter.

But the first words out of Pryor's mouth when asked about his afternoon at Ohio Stadium were, "I thought the team played well."

Defensive lineman Doug Worthington, sitting a few feet away from Pryor, was quick to say what his quarterback was reluctant to put into words.

"He played awesome," Worthington said.

Pryor critiqued his performance this way: "I didn't think I played exceptionally well. I'm getting better at some little things like footwork and learning the offense."

But there is no doubt Pryor is motivated to prove he can throw the ball well consistently. And he's motivated to prove his doubters wrong.

"The media and all say I can't throw the ball good, but you saw today I can throw the ball and I'm not just a quarterback who can run," he said.

Some of the other offensive performers of note were tailback Brandon Saine (55 yards on 6 carries), receivers Washington (4 catches, 92 yards), Small (4 catches, 74 yards) and DeVier Posey (5 catches, 46 yards), and tailback Marcus Williams, who broke a 75-yard run.

Defensively, linebacker Brian Rolle had 11 tackles and a sack and end Thaddeus Gibson had two sacks.

The Gray took the lead early after Scarlet quarterback Joe Bauserman fumbled the first snap of the game and Ross Homan recovered at the Scarlet's 22-yard line.

The Gray offense couldn't get a first down, but Aaron Pettrey delivered a 31-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead.

That lead grew to 10-0 when Pryor heated up in the second quarter once he took off the no-contact black jersey.

He led a nine-play, 80-yard drive, much of that yardage on passes to Taurian Washington.

He hit Washington for 15 yards and 18 yards, but that was just a prelude to a bigger connection between the sophomore quarterback and the junior wide receiver.  Faced with a third-and-18 situation, Pryor dropped a 44-yard throw right into Washington's hands for a touchdown.

After an onside kick, Pryor moved the Gray offense 59 yards for another score in the final 31 seconds of the first half. This touchdown also came on a long pass, a 42-yard connection with Ray Small, who dodged a couple of tacklers to get into the end zone with one second left on the clock.

The Gray's lead grew to 20-0 on a 41-yard Pettrey field goal in the third quarter before Devin Barclay got the Scarlet's only score with a 43-yard field goal.