Twice he's been First-Team All Big Ten, and twice he's been the conference's Offensive Player of the Year, but as he enters his final season in Columbus, Braxton Miller will be switching from the Buckeyes' accolade acquiring signal caller to one of their H-Backs (a hybrid-receiver position). In addition to that, Miller also told Sports Illustrated via a phone interview that he'll potentially double as the team's punt returner, a position he hasn't lined up at since middle school.
After several rumors that he was to transfer before this upcoming season (to top-tier programs ranging from Florida State to Oregon) Miller opted to remain in Ohio and battle two men whose names the nation only knows because of his preseason injury last year. It seems a large factor in determining that he'd switch to a guy who catches passes instead of throwing them was the health of Miller's shoulder, which is still two to three months away from being fully healed. As Miller put it to SI:
“It’s a long process to get back totally to throwing and throwing every day. This is the smarter thing for right now, God blessed me with a lot of talent and different opportunities. I’m going to have fun with that and still score a lot of touchdowns and help the team out and be dominant at that.”
Just like that Ohio State's insanely stacked quarterback competition gets narrowed down to two players: Third-Team All-American (as a freshman) J.T. Barrett, and the junior who captained them throughout the Conference Championship and Playoff, Cardale Jones.
As for Miller, he has previously referred to himself as “the best athlete in college football." This upcoming season will be as good an opportunity as any to prove it for the preseason championship favorites.
[via Sports Illustrated]
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