CHICAGO -- Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said he expects prized quarterback Terrelle Pryor to get his share of snaps this season.

"I think he's got great ability," Tressel said yesterday during the annual Big Ten Conference media days.

Pryor, considered the nation's top recruit as a senior at Jeannette High School, enrolled at Ohio State last month. The Buckeyes open practice Aug. 4.

"He's going to be incorporated into our offense that day," Tressel said. "He's got a lot of things that he's got to build as a foundation -- the communication system, the way we do things, the way our things work together.

"But he's the kind of guy, since I've gotten to know him more and more, knowing exactly what is going on is very important to him. He loves to train. He loves to compete. He's got great ability, so I would think that from day one he'll be a guy that you're going to take notice of."

Tressel, whose team has lost in each of the past two national championship games, was asked if he would consider using a two-quarterback system like the one Florida employed with Chris Leak and freshman Tim Tebow during its title run in 2006.

"Certainly," he said, "but it has to be demonstrated in practice that that is the best thing for the team. But absolutely, especially in the early season, we've always tried to use mobile quarterbacks."

Ohio State, which returns 20 starters, was selected as the media preseason favorite to win the Big Ten championship yesterday, followed by Wisconsin and Illinois. Buckeyes running back Chris "Beanie" Wells was tabbed as the offensive player of the year and middle linebacker James Laurinaitis as the top defender.

Pryor is expected to see his first action with the Buckeyes Aug. 30 against Youngstown State. He will spell starter Todd Boeckman on occasion in the early going.

"I'm not worried about it at all," said Boeckman, who passed for 2,372 yards and 25 touchdowns in his first season as the starter a year ago. "I'm actually excited to see what he can do because I know he's a special talent.

"If we can get him on the field to help our team out, then I'm all for it."

Boeckman has been saying all the right things publicly regarding his tutoring of Pryor. But ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit, a former Buckeyes quarterback, said he wouldn't be surprised if Boeckman already is looking over his shoulder.

"You always want to say to those of us in the media, 'Hey whatever's best for the team,' " Herbstreit said. "But I personally would struggle with that. ... I remember talking to Chris Leak about it. ... He had been through a lot to get to that fourth year and it's finally his team and they're undefeated and nobody cared about Chris Leak. ... It was all about Tim Tebow.

"It takes a very unique guy as a quarterback to walk out of the huddle and let someone else come into the huddle, especially in the red zone, and finish a drive."

Pryor, 6 feet 6 and 235 pounds, is one of the greatest two-sport athletes in the history of Pennsylvania.

He was the first player in state history to rush and pass for more than 4,000 career yards. He won two WPIAL football titles and one PIAA crown. In basketball, he captured one WPIAL and one PIAA championship.

Tressel believes Pryor has the talent to become one of the best quarterbacks from Western Pennsylvania, which is quite a mouthful, considering the list includes names such as Dan Marino, Johnny Unitas, Joe Montana, George Blanda, Jim Kelly and Joe Namath.

"Is he capable? Absolutely," Tressel said.

"I think Terrelle, because he loves to work and he's been blessed with great abilities, he can certainly become anything that he wants to become.

"He's going to need some good fortune. He's going to need to stay healthy. He's going to need to stay on the task at hand."