COLUMBUS, Ohio

Star recruit Terrelle Pryor is happy to report that Ohio State coach Jim Tressel worried needlessly yesterday.

No, Tressel wasn't concerned about Youngstown State in the Buckeyes' season opener. Are you kidding? Tressel fretting about his former team? When he was sending out a bunch of ornery future pros against the poor little Penguins?

"Coach Tress told me not to pee down my leg," Pryor said after Ohio State's 43-0 win.

Honest.

Such motivational messages are just one reason The Ohio State University tore up Tressel's contract Friday and gave him a $900,000-a-year raise to $3.5 million annually. The man doesn't just know X's and O's. He knew the perfect thing to say to the outrageously hyped Pryor before sending him out midway through the first quarter to make his college debut in front of a sea-of-red crowd of 105,011, which gave the kid an enormous ovation and -- let's face it -- likely is expecting him to be some sort of combination of Vince Young, Dan Marino and Terry Bradshaw before he leaves after three years as an NFL No. 1 draft choice.

"He was nervous," Tressel said.

Wouldn't you be?

Tressel, Pryor, the rest of the Buckeyes and the Columbus-based Ohio State zealots woke up yesterday to see Pryor staring back at them from the cover of the Columbus Dispatch's game-day special section. The Ohio State team made it to the national championship game the past two years and is loaded again with stars -- quarterback Todd Boeckman, running back Chris Wells, linebacker James Laurinaitis and cornerback Malcolm Jenkins to name just four -- yet the newspaper shined its spotlight on the new fella in town.

Turned out the editors made a wise call.

Pryor's highly anticipated first game wasn't the big story of the day -- that would be a potentially serious right foot injury to Wells -- but he showed he's going to be a big part of the Ohio State offense as a change-of-pace quarterback. He led the Buckeyes on a long field-goal drive in his first series and scored a touchdown on an 18-yard run on his second. His final stats: 4 of 6 for 35 yards as a passer, nine carries for 52 yards, including an 8-yard sack, as a runner, and -- don't forget -- no personal accidents.

"It's just football," Pryor said.

The kid wasn't shy after the game, either, hopping into Tressel's seat between team captains Laurinaitis and wide receiver Brian Robiskie at the head podium after Tressel left the Ohio State news conference. It seemed like a presumptuous move for a freshman, but the senior Buckeyes clearly didn't mind. They won't mind any attention Pryor receives as long as he keeps making big plays.

"It's amazing what he can do when he has the ball in his hands," Wells said before the game.

Replacing Boeckman for the Buckeyes' third possession with Ohio State ahead, 10-0, Pryor had the nerve to change the play call from a run to a pass before his first snap, looking a lot like Peyton Manning, bouncing back and forth behind his linemen.

"I'm supposed to do that," Pryor said when asked if Tressel at all minded his audacity.

The pass to wide receiver Lamaar Thomas went for a 7-yard gain. Pryor was 3 for 3 for 25 yards on the drive, including a 14-yard pass to tight end Rory Nicol, a Beaver High School graduate. He also ran for 14 yards on a quarterback draw before the drive stalled at the Youngstown State 4 when he was stopped for a 2-yard loss on second down and sacked for the 8-yard loss on third.

Pryor also played the third series of the second half -- with even better results. He stepped up in the pocket and -- instead of running, as he often would do in high school -- he dumped off a pass to running back Mo Wells for a 10-yard gain. He then had runs of 21, 4 and 18 yards, barreling over cornerback De'Angelo Williams on the last one to score.

Poor Williams.

He had about as much chance of tackling Pryor as the kids at Greensburg Central Catholic, East Allegheny and Aliquippa did during Pryor's fabulous career at Jeannette High, when he became the first player in Pennsylvania history to pass for more than 4,000 yards and run for more than 4,000.

"That was my first college touchdown," Pryor said. "Nothing was going to stop me."

Pryor loved every part of this sunny afternoon -- "I dreamed of running on the field behind Coach Tress in his vest" -- but gave himself only a 4 out of 10 on the grading scale. "I don't think I threw the ball well today ... I have a lot to work on."

A little humility goes a long way, doesn't it?

Opponents aren't going to like it when Pryor elevates his game to a 6 or an 8 or a 9.9. He gets another swimming lesson Saturday in a home game against Ohio before having to jump into the deep end when the Buckeyes play Southern California in Los Angeles Sept. 13.

"He's worked hard," Tressel said of Pryor. "He's studied hard to learn what we do. He, obviously, is a guy who can do some great things."

Tressel's plan appears to be to use Pryor with Boeckman the way Florida used freshman quarterback Tim Tebow with senior Chris Leak in 2006. Everybody at Ohio State knows how well that strategy worked for the Gators; they beat the Buckeyes in the national title game that season. Then, Tebow became the first sophomore to win the Heisman Trophy last season.

Is it so crazy to think it could happen the same way for Pryor?

Hardly.

With this kid, anything is possible.