ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Terrelle Pryor, regarded as the top football recruit in the country, received a warm welcome Saturday night at the Michigan-Iowa basketball game during his official visit.
"We want Pryor!" the student section chanted when he emerged from a tunnel and walked to his seat. "We want Pryor!"
Pryor arrived in Ann Arbor on Saturday after helping Jeannette (Pa.) High School win
basketball game, and seemed to enjoy his first day on campus.
"It’s cool," Pryor responded to The Associated Press via text message during the first half of the basketball game.
A reporter replied, asking what schools he was considering other than Michigan and Ohio State.
"
LSU and Oregon," Pryor typed in a text message to the AP.
Pryor’s host during the visit was his cousin, wide receiver Toney Clemons.
The presence of the highly touted quarterback created a buzz at Crisler Arena, where several photographers turned their backs to the game and took pictures of him.
"Come to Michigan!" fans chanted. "Come to Michigan!"
Pryor sat in a second-row seat behind Wolverines football coach Rich Rodriguez and Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Charlie Batch, whose brother is dating Pryor’s aunt. Batch, who played at nearby Eastern Michigan and for the Detroit Lions, has been asked by Pryor to assist him during the recruiting season.
The Wolverines desperately want Pryor to choose to play for them on signing day in 21/2 weeks because he’s perfectly suited for Rodriguez’s spread offense, which featured quarterback Pat White last season at West Virginia.
Michigan is without an experienced quarterback because Chad Henne graduated and Ryan Mallett transferred to Arkansas.
The 6-foot-6, 230-pound Pryor has become a YouTube sensation, dazzling visitors to the Web site with his running and throwing skills.
He has been billed as the next Vince Young, and looked a lot like the former Texas star and current Tennessee Titans quarterback two weeks ago at the U.S. Army All-American Bowl high school all-star game.
Pryor split playing time with two other quarterbacks in that game. He ended with 155 all-purpose yards, 79 rushing and 76 passing. He scored on a run and threw a 25-yard TD. He could’ve gained more yardage, but was taken out of the game so he could be announced as Most Valuable Player to a national television audience.
Last season, he had 3,778 yards in total offense — split almost equally between running (1,899 yards) and passing (1,889 yards) — and accounted for 58 TDs.
"He’s a once-in-a-lifetime kid," said Beaver Falls (Pa.) coach Ryan Matsook, whose team was defeated by Pryor and Jeannette 61-12 in the District 7 championship game. "We’ll be happy not to face him next year."
Pryor became a Wolverines recruit on the day Rodriguez told him last month he was leaving West Virginia.
Former West Virginia coach Don Nehlen, who coached Rodriguez when he played for the Mountaineers, said last month that Pryor reminded him of Young.
"If that kid comes, he’s probably more important that Rich," Nehlen joked.
This is coming after Florida coach Urban Meyer flagged Pryor’s friend and LSU commit Patrick Johnson’s test score. Hmmm… you might of screwed the pooch there Coach Meyer.
