Posted by ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg

I've been bogged down with second-half outlooks most of the day, so excuse the tardiness of this post.

	Matthew Emmons/US Presswire
	Is Terrelle Pryor a poor fit for Ohio State's offense?

Terrelle Pryor's high school coach tells ESPN's Joe Schad that the sophomore quarterback "looks like a robot" and could be used more effectively by Ohio State's coaches.

Ray Reitz would like to see Pryor run more zone-read plays instead of outside runs to maximize his natural gifts. Reitz adds that the Buckeyes coaches told Pryor they would teach him a pro-style offense, which seems to contradict the other plan.

"Jim Tressel is a great coach and he's been running his offense successfully for 30 years," Reitz tells Schad. "But I'd like to see some zone-read plays where with one mistake [by the defense], he can be gone. With some zone-read plays, they wouldn't be able to take away all the outside runs because he'd be a threat to go between the tackles. ... Give him time to grow. Put the ball in his hands and if there is a breakdown let him run. It doesn't look to me like he's relaxed. It doesn't look like he has rhythm. It doesn't look like he's comfortable."

Reitz dismissed the suggestions that Pryor would be better off at another position like wide receiver. But the quarterback might be better off in another system, including the one being used by Ohio State's archrival.

"There is no question that Rich Rodriguez's offense, for example, would be more apt to suit Terrelle's skills," Reitz said. "But Ohio State sold him on the idea that they would prepare him for the NFL and that they don't run 'zone-read' in the NFL. Jim Tressel is a great coach. But I can tell you there is more to Terrelle Pryor than what we've been seeing."

Reitz's comments hardly constitute a full-fledged attack on Ohio State, and you would expect him to defend his former player. Also, Pryor's preparation before college has been questioned in recent weeks, which traces back to Reitz and the program he ran at Jeannette High School in Pennsylvania.

I thought one of Reitz's more revealing comments was that the criticism is affecting Pryor. A quarterback without confidence is one destined to fail.

The thing is, Pryor actually has run the ball more in recent games, including a season-high 21 carries at Purdue. Perhaps Ohio State should go to a traditional option with Pryor. Who knows? But something has to change during the final five games.