COLUMBUS: Classes have been under way for a little more than three weeks at Ohio State University. One freshman student already has learned far more than all the others.

Quarterback Terrelle Pryor is way ahead of the learning curve for a rookie playing the most demanding position in football. He already has shown evidence of being a fast learner. How else to explain his rapid rise from third-stringer to starter in less than a month? Or his leadership during the most dramatic moments of last week's victory at Wisconsin?

''The thing that we didn't know, and I don't think anybody could know, was how well and how quickly he would learn the offense,'' Ohio State quarterbacks coach Joe Daniels said this week as the No. 12 Buckeyes prepared to play Purdue on Saturday. ''That's probably the most interesting thing about him. We felt he could throw the ball well, but
he's thrown the ball even better than that. But the biggest thing is him learning the offense. It's amazing.''

Keep in mind that Daniels isn't some first-year coach himself. This is his 39th year of coaching. He counts among his pupils Pro Football Hall of Famer Dan Marino and Heisman Trophy winner Troy Smith.

So when he gushes about the advancement that the 6-foot-6, 235-pound Pryor has made, it carries some weight.

There is also a growing stock of evidence on the field that Pryor is near the head of the class.

''For a guy to come in in August and step up — he's passionate about learning,'' coach Jim Tressel said. ''He's got an innate need for information, and some guys don't have that. Some guys would just rather go out and play, but he wants information because he wants to play as well as he can play.''

Last week, Pryor led the Buckeyes on a textbook drive on their first possession in a wild, volatile environment at Camp Randall Stadium. It was really the first time he had directed an attack as a starter in such a place. Ohio State marched down the field with precision to score.

After faltering for much of the next three quarters on offense, the Buckeyes trailed 17-13 when they got the ball back with just over 6 minutes left.

As the offense assembled on the field, junior tailback Chris Wells turned to Pryor.

''I asked him if he was ready to step into manhood,'' Wells recalled. ''He told me, 'Yeah.' And he showed it.''

Pryor led the way on another end-to-end drive that twice could have been halted by fumbles Ohio State was fortunate to fall on. He completed passes for 19, 27 and 13 yards. With the stadium howling loud enough to drown out a taxiing 747, Pryor covered the final 11 yards on an option keeper with 1:03 left for a 20-17 victory.

Alex Boone, now a senior, blocked for Smith three years ago while he was winning the Heisman and leading the Buckeyes to a 12-0 regular-season record. He feels as if he has been down this road.

''I see a Troy Smith emerging in [Pryor],'' Boone said. ''I see the toughness and the 'I can make a play whenever I want to make a play' and 'I'll get in someone's face if I have to,' '' he said. ''I definitely see that coming.''

Coolness like Pryor showed at Wisconsin isn't taught. Confidence like that doesn't come from a playbook or from growing familiarity with your teammates or from being taught how to read defenses.

''He's a perfectionist, that's what he is,'' said Tressel, a former quarterbacks coach himself who tutored longtime NFL quarterback Mike Tomczak when he was at Ohio State. ''And he's not going to stop competing until the game's over, so going into that last drive, it wasn't like he was, 'Oh, my, what happens if this doesn't work?' He wanted to go and get better.''