One of the discussion topics that was an easy way to fill a few minutes during the lockout was the one about whether or not Team X would take a chance on taking Terrelle Pryor in the supplemental draft.
The former Ohio State quarterback left school after getting suspended as part of the merchandise for cash and tattoo scandal that wound up costing coach Jim Tressel his job. Pryor’s athleticism has drawn a lot more accolades than his acumen as a pro-ready passer, but it’s been widely assumed some team would step up and roll the dice.
We might have to wait a bit longer to find out which team that will be.
Alex Marvez of FOXSports.com reports that there might be a major obstacle in Pryor’s path to the NFL. He might not be eligible for the supplemental draft, which, as it happens, hasn’t been scheduled yet.
“If there are no players eligible for a supplemental draft, there is no supplemental draft,” NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said. “It is for players whose circumstances have changed in an unforeseen way after the regular [college] draft. It is not a mechanism for simply bypassing the regular [draft].”
The usual examples of such circumstances would be academic ineligibility, getting kicked off a team or graduating and deciding to leave school. Pryor does not qualify on any of those fronts as he was suspended, not ineligible, for part of the 2011 season.
Aiello told Marvez that decisions about eligibility are made on a case-by-case basis and Pryor’s eligibility will be decided by Joel Bussert, the league’s vice president of player personnel/football operations. The specifics of Pryor’s case could lead to him being ruled ineligible until the 2012 draft, where he might be at a disadvantage after a year without football.
The supplemental draft is usually held 10 days before camps open, but the lockout has made it impossible to schedule yet and it is likely going to be a lesser priority than getting other things, namely free agency, up and running once the CBA is signed, sealed and delivered.