Despite pain, Terrelle Pryor to keep engagement

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Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor said Wednesday that his sore left knee continues to bother him but that it wouldn’t keep him out of Friday’s Rose Bowl showdown against No. 7 Oregon.

‘It feels a little weak,’ said Pryor, who confirmed reports that he tore a ligament in his left knee in the Buckeyes’ Oct. 31 win over New Mexico State. ‘But I can’t really worry about that stuff. I’ve got to play through it.’

Pryor, who led the team with 707 rushing yards and 1,828 passing yards this season, said he would not wear a protective brace on the knee against Oregon. And he sidestepped questions about whether Coach Jim Tressel was unhappy that Pryor told reporters of the slight ligament tear this week after the school had kept news of the injury quiet for nearly two months.

‘It’s not a secret,’ he said.

Despite the injury, Pryor threw far less in the Buckeyes’ last five games than he did earlier in the season, which helped cut down on turnovers and helped Ohio State to five consecutive wins and the Big Ten Conference title. Pryor says he still wants to throw and considers himself a good passer, but Tressel has convinced him he can help the team more by running.

‘I wasn’t emphasizing it as much,’ Pryor said. ‘I was trying to be a quarterback and stay in the pocket and try to make the tough throws. But God gave me speed and I’m going to use it. I can throw the ball [but] if I don’t have it on the second or third read, take off with the speed that God blessed me with.

‘Coach Tressel, he just put in my head that this is what God gave me, you’ve got to use it. Right now I don’t want to prove anything. The biggest thing is getting wins. And I’ll work on whatever I’ve got to work on later on.’

-- Kevin Baxter