Wednesday, February 06, 2008
By Mike White, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Terrelle Pryor will conduct a news conference today to say there is no news.
Pryor, the all-everything quarterback at Jeannette High School, has decided not to announce his college choice today. It is just another twist in this recruiting saga. But a noon news conference will go on as scheduled in the Jeannette gymnasium.
"I won't change again. I'm not announcing," Pryor said this morning inside the gym, where a CSTV production crew was already setting up for the news conference.
The reason Pryor won't announce his college choice is Penn State.
"They're starting to creep up on me," Pryor said.
Pryor had said earlier in the week that Ohio State, Michigan and Penn State were his three finalists, but it was always believed Ohio State and Michigan were his top two choices. But he apparently is liking Penn State more and more.
"My dad likes them a lot," Pryor said. "He wants me to look into them."
Pryor also said his father doesn't see "the trust" in some of the coaches recruiting him that he sees in Penn State.
Pryor said he has no timetable on when he will make a decision. He said he will make an official visit to Penn State at some point, but not this weekend.
"I want to visit Penn State," Pryor said. "Whenever I get the feeling [on his favorite college], I'll do it. I haven't got that feeling yet."
Pryor said Penn State assistant coaches Tom Bradley and Jay Paterno have dealt more with his parents than any other school.
"Penn State has done a lot," Pryor said. "They showed up a lot more. They recruited me a lot more. They've sent pages upon pages of handwritten letters."
In the fall, Pryor had questioned Penn State's offensive style. Last week, Penn State coach Joe Paterno, Bradley and Jay Paterno all visited with Pryor at Jeannette. They also visited with his parents.
"I just didn't know about their offense because I never had a meeting with their coach," Pryor said. "I didn't know what they were about. I thought it was just a power offense. It's not."
ESPNU and CSTV planned to air Pryor's college announcement live. Jeannette school officials said this morning five tractor trailers for televison stations were expected at the school. Newspaper reporters from Washington, D.C., Pennsylvania, Ohio and Michigan all were expected to attend the news conference.
When asked why he was still having the news conference, Pryor said, "My principal still wants me to do it because everyone drove here. I know there are going to be a lot of questions why.
"People don't realize how many games I played with football and basketball. I've never had time to think. When I do have time to think, it's going to be a no-brainer."
When asked whether media officials will be upset that there will be no college decision, Pryor said, "I didn't tell them I was [definitely] signing. They decided to come. So it's on them. This isn't their decision. It's mine."
