They say that ignorance is bliss, and for Ohio State Buckeye fans, that has been the case for the past decade.
When Jim Tressel resigned as coach of the Buckeyes on Monday, the program lost its most winning coach since the legendary Woody Hayes. Coming off of back-to-back wins in BCS bowl games (2010 Rose Bowl, 2011 Sugar Bowl), the program will undoubtedly face stiff punishment handed out down the NCAA.
For Tressel, it is unlikely that he will ever get the opportunity to coach at another big-time football program again.
In a recent Sports Illustrated article written by George Dohrmann with David Epstein, Dohrmann reports that preferential treatment for players and recruits has been an ongoing theme throughout Tressel’s tenure at both Youngstown State and Ohio State.
Maybe not as blatant as reaching into his wallet and pulling out a Benjamin for a kid, but small things like getting parking tickets removed and setting players up with bogus jobs are among the handouts provided to players.
What many, including myself, are wondering now is how this will affect Ohio State’s star quarterback, Terrelle Pryor.
Pryor, who is said to have driven up to six different vehicles while at Ohio State and sold up to twenty items of his memorabilia, is now under investigation for receiving improper benefits. No, really?
Even as far back as Eric Dickerson and his gold Trans-Am in the 1980’s, cars have always been a tell-tale sign into some wrong doing by one individual or another. For players today, new ink falls under that category of improper benefits.
Many speculate that Pryor’s playing days at The Horseshoe are over. A portion of the Ohio State fan base will inevitably blame Pryor and his cohorts for the downfall of Tressel, but both need to bare the blame.
Pryor and the other players who exchanged memorabilia for tattoos were out of line. Even worse, Tressel, knowingly deceived and mislead his university and the NCAA. He was not looking out for the best interest of Ohio State, he was looking out for his winning percentage.
Pryor though, still has some options. He could serve out his five game suspension and finish out his senior season with the Buckeyes or he could apply for the NFL supplemental draft. The NFL has not scheduled one yet, as no players have applied for it, but strangely enough, you could see Terrelle Pryor in an NFL uniform when the labor disputes are settled.
Either way, it will be an interesting process to watch unfold.
You can read the entire Dohrmann article here (http://t.co/jYpnVZK). Follow me on twitter @mcfarlands412.
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