Notes: Memphis' West defies conventional wisdom in Pryor pursuit

Early favorite for coach of the year: Memphis' Tommy West.

While the rest of the world waits for national No. 1 recruit Terrelle Pryor to pick is school, West is taking action. Pryor's high school coach told CBSSports.com this week that Memphis is among "one or two" additional schools that have tried to get in on Pryor since the Jeannette, Pa., quarterback narrowed his choices to Penn State, Ohio State, Oregon and Michigan.

Tommy West takes on big game for Memphis. (Getty Images)

In the ultimate case of which-of-these-things-is-not-like-other, West is actually taking his shot against superpowers. Why not? You never know until you try.

Jeannette coach Ray Reitz said he received a call recently from Justin Crouse, West's administrative aide, trying to persuade the quarterback to visit Memphis this weekend. Coincidentally, that just happens to be when the monster Memphis-Tennessee basketball game is going down. West wouldn’t be the first football coach to bring a recruit in on a big basketball weekend.

He'd be the toast of the profession, though, if he landed this recruiting season's biggest fish.

Through a spokesman, West confirmed to CBSSports.com that he is recruiting Pryor but, per NCAA rules, could not comment further.

Like a good salesman, West is making the prospect tell him no before moving on. The reality is Memphis has about as much chance as landing Pryor as Kutztown State does.

Just to be clear, this is Memphis of Conference USA which is 41-44 under West and is coming off a New Orleans Bowl loss to Florida Atlantic.

In this case the only thing West has in common with his Pryor competitors is -- like Joe Paterno, Mike Bellotti and Rich Rodriguez -- he can also sell immediate playing time.

Give West credit. The assumption was that multiple schools would be calling Pryor now that he has delayed his decision. Not so, Reitz said. It's still down to the Final Four.

"What happened is they (other schools) used up their scholarships," he said. "If they had any left I guarantee they'd be on him."

The general feeling remains in the recruiting world that Pryor is headed to Ohio State, but not early. Speculation about him enrolling at Ohio State after his current basketball season ends was squelched by Reitz.

"He needs an English class to graduate. He definitely has to stay until May."