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Football
From Terrelle to Braxton: The Miller Impact
By Brandon Castel

It came with far less fanfare, but Ohio State landed its first “franchise quarterback” Thursday since the ballyhooed commitment of Terrelle Pryor in March of 2008.

Braxton Miller
Photo by Jim Davidson

Unlike Pryor’s recruitment, which held the college football world captive well past National Signing Day, Huber Heights Wayne quarterback Braxton Miller made his college decision a good eight months before the unofficial February deadline.

“Two weeks ago I said I am going to cut this down and commit to (Ohio State) because they respected me by offering only one quarterback," Miller said during the noon press conference held in his high school auditorium Thursday.

“I (wanted) to respect and commit.”

The Buckeyes made it clear right from the start that Miller was their guy in the class of 2011, offering him a scholarship midway through his sophomore season. Even after getting burned by Tajh Boyd two years ago and missing out on both Nick Montana and Andrew Hendrix, their top quarterback targets a year ago, the OSU coaching staff stuck to its word. They held off on offering both Glenville’s Cardale Jones and Cole Stoudt out of Dublin Coffman, their secondary targets at the game’s most critical position.

“They weren't going to offer another quarterback unless they thought they were going to lose me,” said Miller, who chose an Ohio State hat over ones from Florida, Georgia, Alabama and Notre Dame. 

“I didn't want to let them do that because they only offered one quarterback and that was me.”

While he isn’t the first quarterback Ohio State has landed since Pryor, who enters his junior season in Columbus, he is the certainly the most highly-coveted. Unlike Pryor, who was the unanimous No. 1 overall prospect in his recruiting class, there is some discrepancy over exactly where Miller ranks in the class of 2011. Like Pryor, Scout.com has the 6-foot-3 Miller rated as the top player in the country. He opened at No. 56 in the latest Top 100 from Rivals.com, but he is still their second-highest rated quarterback.

Is Miller the Quarterback of the Future?

Braxton Miller
Photo by Jim Davidson

It sure looks that way. Whether or not he’s the best player in the country, the experts seem to agree that the Buckeyes are getting one of the finest quarterback prospects in the country. But does that automatically make him the quarterback of the future for the Buckeyes?

Miller revealed Thursday that he plans to graduate early and enroll at Ohio State in January. By the time he arrives there will already be four scholarship quarterbacks on the roster. Both Pryor and backup Joe Bauserman will be heading into their senior seasons, but Kenny Guiton will only be a redshirt sophomore at the time. Taylor Graham, Ohio State’s quarterback signee in the class of 2010 and the son of former OSU quarterback Kent Graham, will be entering his second year in the program.

Braxton Miller shows off his new tattoo.
Photo by Jim Davidson

Pryor entered a somewhat similar situation when he committed to the Buckeyes back in 2008, with fifth-year senior Todd Boeckman seemingly entrenched as the starter while backups Antonio Henton and Robby Schoenhoft competed for the No. 2 spot. However, by the time Pryor took part in his first practice at OSU, both Henton (Georgia Southern) and Schoenhoft (Delaware) had opted to take their careers elsewhere.

Unless he decides to make an early jump to the NFL after his junior season—which seems like a tremendous long-shot at the moment if he plans on playing quarterback at the next level—Pryor will be Ohio State’s starter in 2011. Even if Pryor hasn’t progressed at the rate his coaches are anticipating,  there is zero likelihood Miller would be able to compete for any kind of playing time under center as a true freshman. Unlike the Pryor-Boeckman situation, Miller cannot provide anything Pryor does not bring to the table, which means he will have to wait a year before he has any real chance of seeing the field.

Are Graham’s Days Numbered?

Not necessarily, but their chances of being the starting quarterback at Ohio State took a tremendous hit Thursday. Graham is a legacy and a completely different style quarterback than either Miller or Guiton. Jim Tressel is a guy who likes to have different options, which is why he went landed both Justin Zwick and Troy Smith in the class of 2002. He has shown very little hesitancy to overhaul his offense on the fly if it means getting the best guy on the field.

The Buckeyes have had an eye on Miller since he was starter as a freshman in high school. He has been a mainstay around the OSU practice facility for the last two years, so his commitment should not have come as a shock to Graham, who must have known an offer was already extended to Miller when he committed to the Buckeyes last June.

A 6-foot-4 pocket passer out of Illinois, Graham has the skills and pedigree to compete for the starting job at Ohio State, but only if he can stay healthy. One injury between now and the time Braxton Miller arrives might be enough to knock him out of the running.

What About Guiton?

This is an intriguing part of the equation. As a guy who will be entering his third year in the program by the time Miller arrives, Guiton should feel much more threatened by the recent commitment. Both are dual-threat quarterbacks, so comparing and contrasting their talent levels will be much easier for the coaching staff when they get a look at both of them on the same field.

Unlike Graham, it’s unlikely Guiton had much of an idea about Miller when he committed to the Buckeyes just before Signing Day in 2009. He was likely headed for Prairie View A&M or Rice before Ohio State scooped in and plucked him out of Houston with a late scholarship offer. Some might think that would make Guiton more grateful  just to be a part of a program like Ohio State, but players want to play. He showed enough in the 2010 Spring Game to make fans comfortable with the idea of Guiton under center someday, which means there should be other options for him if he decides the writing is on the wall with Miller.

Is Braxton Miller a Lock to Be the Next Terrelle Pryor?

In one word: no. First of all, we don’t even know who Terrelle Pryor is yet, but let’s not forget how he was being touted as a once-in-a-decade type player out of high school. Like Pryor, Miller is a supremely talented dual-threat quarterback with the kind of speed it takes to make an impact as a runner. He racked up 18 rushing touchdowns as a junior last season to go with 467 yards in only eight games. He also threw for nine touchdowns while completing 53 percent of his passes for 1,091 yards in his third season as a starter.

The Buckeyes have had their eye on him for such a long time that’s hard to think they don’t hold him in the same class as a Terrelle Pryor. Like Pryor, he has excellent arm strength but needs to work on his accuracy and consistency. Scout.com analyst Scott Kennedy had this to say about their No. 1 prospect.

“A true dual-threat quarterback, Miller could beat a team without rushing for a yard and is athletic enough to run a wishbone. Miller has the arm strength to put pressure on the back of a defense which opens up even more running lanes for him as the defensive backs are forced to be honest and not crowd the line of scrimmage. Miller has all the tools to be a star on the next level and simply needs to keep progressing.”

From the sound of it, Miller seems to be a lot more polished as a passer heading into his senior year of high school than Pryor was. It’s hard to imagine, however, that he is on quite the same level athletically as the 6-foot-6 Pennsylvanian.

Impact on the 2011 Class

While he won’t see the field as a Buckeye until a year from this August, Miller’s commitment could have an instant impact for his future school. Among those in attendance at his announcement Thursday was Springfield linebacker Trey DePriest. The probable five-star prospect has become fast friends with Miller and his commitment could go a long way for the Buckeyes in keeping 6-foot-2 linebacker from following 2010 Ohio linebacker Jordan Hicks path southbound (likely for Alabama).

“Most definitely. Until he starts sweating,” Miller said when asked if he was going to put the full-court press on DePriest now that he’s committed to Ohio State.

Miller’s commitment could also have an impact on possible five-star corner Doran Grant out of St. Vincent-St. Mary as well as the wide receiver recruiting for Ohio State, as the Buckeyes have yet to land a wideout for the class of 2011.

Their top prospects at the position are Evan Spencer, a 6-foot-1 wideout out of Vernon Hills, Ill. who is the son of former Buckeye tailback Tim Spencer, and Phillip Dorsett, a former high school teammate of Duron Carter’s at St. Thomas Aquinas in Fort Lauderdale. They are also looking at Shane Wynn, a 5-foot-6 wide receiver from Glenville as well as DeAnthony Arnett out of Michigan, and there’s no question that having the quarterback of the future in the fold should have a ripple effect on the rest of the class.

Related Story - Miller Ends the Suspense and Picks the Buckeyes.

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