For the past three seasons, Terrelle Pryor took the majority of the snaps at quarterback for the Jeannette High School football team.
He was the driving force that led Jeannette to two consecutive WPIAL Class AA titles and the school's first PIAA title in December.
Pryor, who is in Columbus, Ohio, playing for Ohio State, left an indelible mark at Jeannette, Western Pennsylvania and the state, with feats that never may be duplicated.
When Pryor scored the final touchdown of his high school career against Dunmore in the PIAA Class AA championship game, he ran off the Hersheypark Stadium turf and told Cameron Baradziej he was turning over the reins to him.
Baradziej, a senior, seems ready to follow in Pryor's footsteps. In fact, Baradziej said he doesn't feel any pressure.
"All the pressure is off me," Baradziej said Monday during the first day of high school football practice in the state. "Terrelle is gone, and this is a new team. We're starting over, and we're going to see how far we can go."
Baradziej, senior Jordan Hall and three underclassmen were working on various plays at practice.
Jeannette quarterback coach Roy Hall said Baradziej probably has a better arm than Hall, who is Roy's nephew, because he's played the position more.
"They all learned from Terrelle," coach Hall said. "We're going to run the same thing as last year. We just want them to be the leaders of the offense."
Pryor rushed for 1,901 yards and scored 33 touchdowns and passed for 1,710 yards and 21 scores, but Jeannette coach Ray Reitz said he wants his quarterbacks just to play within themselves.
"Right now, it's Cameron's job," Reitz said. "Jordan is going to see some reps, but Cameron is the man. We have enough talent around them that we just want them to manage the game.
"Cameron is athletic enough to handle the job. He's going to get better when he plays more."
Baradziej did play last year in a mop-up role. He said he learned a lot by watching how Terrelle prepared for games.
"Coach Reitz pulled me aside and told me not to worry about playing like Terrelle, just to play my game," Baradziej said.
Hall, who lined up at quarterback in the PIAA championship game and scored on a 58-yard run on the first play of the game, said he'll do whatever he can to help the team. Hall also tossed a 28-yard touchdown pass to Pryor and returned a punt for a score during the game.
"The coaches just want me to run the offense, similar to what Terrelle did," Hall said.
Jeannette also will have a new face on the coaching staff. Former North Allegheny coach and Jeannette standout Jim Rankin is a volunteer assistant.
