Sources: Terrelle Pryor indulged in golf
By Tom Farrey and Justine Gubar
ESPN
Former Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor's relationship with memorabilia salesman Dennis Talbott dates to before Pryor ever took the field at Ohio Stadium, sources have told ESPN's "Outside the Lines."
Pryor and several other Buckeyes players were spotted at a private golf course near Columbus three to four times a week in summer 2008 with Talbott, who was a member. It was before Pryor's freshman season, but after he had already enrolled at the university, according to employees of the club, including the general manager.
It is unclear whether any of the players reimbursed Talbott for the $80- to $100-a-round guest fees. Even if they had, gaining access to the club through Talbott was an exclusive benefit and could be an NCAA violation.
At first, general manager Regan Koivisto thought having a few celebrities would generate a good buzz for the Sciota Reserve Country Club. But, he said, he started to worry when they became frequent guests -- and when he learned that Talbott was a sports memorabilia dealer.
"I said, 'This does not smell good,' " Koivisto said. "If anything bad was happening, I didn't want it to be happening on my property."
Koivisto called the Ohio State athletic department and said he spoke to coach Jim Tressel's secretary. He said he told the woman about how he was concerned about Talbott and Pryor playing together at the club.
"She asked, 'Can I have Coach Tressel call you?' I said, 'He can,' " Koivisto said. "Coach never did call me back. But I never saw Pryor at the club again."
No one else from Ohio State contacted Koivisto, either.
Pryor's attorney, Larry James, would not address the golf outings directly.
"These are really recycled stories. I'm just tired. I don't think it serves any purpose going back and forth because every day there is going to be new allegations," James said. "I haven't discussed them, and quite honestly won't be discussing them because they don't add anything to where he is today."
Talbott showed up at the golf club with two or three players at a time during the summer months, and Pryor was out there about nine or 10 times, said an employee at the club who wished to remain anonymous. The only other player he remembered by name was wide receiver DeVier Posey.
Officials with Ohio State said they could not comment on Posey due to federal student privacy rules.
The employee said Talbott was "kind of boastful" about being around Pryor and other star athletes.
"They seemed to be pretty close," he said.
Talbott was a member of the club from May to September 2008, when he was kicked out due to unpaid bills in the "thousands of dollars," Koivisto said.
Earlier this week, OTL spoke to a former friend who said that Pryor netted anywhere from $20,000 to $40,000 in 2009-10 for signing mini football helmets and other gear for Talbott. That source spoke to ESPN under the condition that his face not be aired on TV and that his name not be published.
Talbott twice denied to ESPN that he ever paid Pryor or any other active Buckeyes athlete to sign memorabilia. He said last week he has only worked with former players to set up signings.
James, Pryor's attorney, said Wednesday the report connecting Pryor to Talbott is "fiction."
Talbott has a trail of debts to various companies stretching across several Ohio counties. Public records also show that tax liens were filed against Talbott by the federal government in 2009 for $278,000, and by the state of Ohio in 2010 for $74,000.
