Wild card

This story appears in the July 25 issue of ESPN The Magazine.

The AFC scout sat in the press box at Ohio Stadium last November, waiting to see how Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor handled a sizable second-quarter lead against archrival Michigan. What the scout witnessed made him cringe.

As the clock wound down to halftime, the Buckeyes had the ball at the UM 19-yard line with a chance to make a 24-7 lead insurmountable heading to the locker room. But Pryor dropped back, locked in on a receiver running down the left sideline and threw a soft pass that Wolverines safety Jordan Kovacs intercepted in the end zone. Ohio State still went on to win 37-7 to clinch its sixth straight Big Ten title, and Pryor put up solid numbers (18-for-27, 220 yards passing, two TDs). But the scout's opinion was cemented that Pryor isn't a legit NFL quarterback prospect. "It may have been one of the worst interceptions I've ever seen because he just lobbed the ball," the scout says. "Now, if he does that against Michigan, what's he going to do against the Patriots or the Steelers?"

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Jeffri Chadiha

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Jeffri Chadiha, formerly of Sports Illustrated, is a senior writer for ESPN.com. Chadiha first attended Wyoming on a full football scholarship before injuries led him to transfer to Michigan after two years. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in communication from Michigan in 1993 before pursuing a career in journalism. Chadiha is also a frequent contributor to ESPN TV.