By Jeremy Crabtree

updated 7:48 p.m. ET March 19, 2008

Ohio State's Jim Tressel is one of the most patient coaches in the nation.

That's reflected in Ohio State's style of play, and it's definitely reflected in the way the Buckeyes recruit. Ohio State doesn't rush to send out 100 offers like other schools. OSU is selective about who it offers. It truly means a lot to get a scholarship offer from the Buckeyes because they don't just offer everybody.

So it's no surprise to see that it was Tressel's patience that helped the Buckeyes pull in the biggest prize in the nation for the class of 2008.

Top-ranked quarterback and No. 1-overall recruit Terrelle Pryor announced Wednesday that he is heading to Ohio State.

While many other coaches and programs would have wilted under the pressure of waiting for the No. 1 player in the country to decide, Tressel and Co. didn't.

When things got difficult and Pryor decided to delay his announcement until after Signing Day, Tressel didn't get upset and overreact. His staff stayed the course and kept selling Pryor on everything that the program had to offer.

The national media covered Pryor like a recruit never has been covered before, and that definitely had to present some new challenges. However, Tressel's persistence and attention to detail won out in the end.

None of the names that came before him — even franchise players like Adrian Peterson and Vince Young — provided as much drama and suspense as Pryor.

"Jim Tressel has never had a heavy-handed recruiting style and often urges recruits to look around just to be 100 percent sure that they want to be a Buckeye," BuckeyeGrove.com editor Kevin Noon said. "Because of that, there have been very few cases of players backing out on an Ohio State commitment. That style of recruiting, while nerve-racking for Ohio State fans, has created a sense of ease among the players that Ohio State targets.

"While the Buckeyes never wavered about their desire to land Pryor, there never has been a sense of panic or desperation in trying to get the nation's No. 1 recruit to get things over with. Ultimately, that patience had to help the Buckeyes while Terrelle was trying to make his big decision."

Now that Pryor is officially a Buckeye, many want to know how he will be used.

Ohio State's offense showed flexibility in the past with Troy Smith, but it always has leaned more toward a pro-style quarterback. But then again, Ohio State never has had a quarterback with Pryor's dual-threat ability.

"Ohio State has said all along that it will revamp the offense for Pryor's talents once he gets on the field," Noon said. "That will hold true with specific packages and personnel sets that they will run with him in there while he is sharing time early in his career. Pryor will never be a drop-back passer in the mold of Todd Boeckman, and the Buckeyes are not going to try and turn him into something that he is not.

"I look for Pryor to take some snaps under center while with the Buckeyes, but also think the general look and feel of the offense will change — much like it did when Troy Smith was the quarterback."

Noon said he expects Pryor to get plenty of action early. He expects Tressel to emulate what Urban Meyer did with Tim Tebow in his freshman season at Florida.

"There is no doubting that Boeckman is going to be the starter at Ohio State," Noon said. "But both Pryor and Antonio Henton have the opportunity to see playing time as a change-of-pace type of quarterback. They can use their legs as much as they can use their arms. Boeckman is never going to convince anyone that he is a running quarterback, and the ability to wheel out a player like Pryor in certain situations will give Ohio State a different look for opponents."

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