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Ohio State Buckeyes: Braxton Miller flashes NFL potential

By Sayre Bedinger

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It’s hard to watch the Ohio State Buckeyes and not get giddy over the potential of their star-studded cast of players, including former Big Ten offensive player of the year Braxton Miller.

Miller, a former Heisman candidate as a quarterback, was supplanted last year by JT Barrett and then Cardale Jones (after Barrett went down with injury) and is now playing a completely different role in the Ohio State offense despite a chance to pretty much go wherever he wanted this offseason to try and play quarterback again.

Understanding that his NFL future probably wasn’t at that position anyway, Miller accepted a different role with the Ohio State offense and looks like he is Urban Meyer’s new Percy Harvin.

He’s even wearing the same number Harvin did in college.

The overall game for Miller on Monday night was stunning. He racked up 62 rushing yards on 6 carries and added another 78 yards on 2 receptions. He finished the game with two touchdowns, one each as a runner and receiver. None more impressive than this:

That play is the reason we all love football. Incredible athletes doing incredible things with their gifts, and that was simply amazing to watch.

That play alone guaranteed Miller the number one spot on ESPN’s top plays, but he was excellent all night, averaging around 25 yards per play on the night. The nation — including LeBron James — took notice. Miller’s position switch would have already generated a ton of interest if he had played quarterback all throughout college, but due to the insane depth at that position for Ohio State, we’re getting to see the position switch a year earlier than a lot of guys in Miller’s position.

As football fans, we’re spoiled in this instance. Miller is a supremely gifted athlete who happened to be the quarterback at Ohio State after Terrelle Pryor’s time was up. It didn’t seem like Ohio State could get much more dynamic than Pryor at the QB spot, but Miller proved everyone wrong. A couple of injuries later, and we’re now talking about Miller as the next Percy Harvin on what is, in my opinion, the best team in college football by a mile and perhaps the best team I’ve ever seen at the collegiate level, at least in terms of their offensive depth and talent.

A couple of Urban Meyer-coached Florida teams might disagree, but this Ohio State team is one that should go down in history as one of the best to ever hit the field. The expectations are high, but there were really not any for Braxton Miller in particular. People knew a dynamic athlete with the ball in his hands would have a good chance of making things happen. Little did we know, Miller had this up his sleeve.

It was a phenomenal debut for Miller and the Buckeyes, but it was also a great night for Miller’s NFL prospects. He showed versatility that scouts want to see, and he’s got a chance to once again be one of the best offensive players in the Big Ten.

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