Braxton Miller blinked.
Or maybe it was always going to be this way in the best/worst quarterback situation of all time. SI.com’s Pete Thamel revealed Thursday after a conversation with Miller that Ohio State’s two-time Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year (at quarterback) will switch to H-back.
Call it what you will: Miller backed down, saw the light, embraced the inevitable. Something had to be done to reduce the stress on the tectonic plates surrounding the Buckeyes’ quarterback situation.
That brings Urban Meyer’s conundrum under center down to simple math. The job is either going to be redshirt sophomore J.T. Barrett or redshirt junior Cardale Jones. One guy was fifth in Heisman voting; the other led the Buckeyes to a national championship.
Either way, Ohio State’s chances of repeating just increased despite some hedging by Meyer.
My lasting image of Miller is from halftime of the 2015 spring game. He ran a match race from the 50 to the goal line against Ezekiel Elliott and a bunch of students. Elliott won, but not by much.
Yes, Miller can run, too. Now imagine that running coming from the H-back spot where he can take a handoff or pitch or go out and catch passes. Miller claims he'll still be playing some quarterback, too.
Goodness. Now imagine the two guys who finished 1-2 in the match race in the same backfield.
And that’s just for starters.
Maybe former offensive coordinator Tom Herman left too early for Houston. He’s missing a hell of a show/opportunity.
Perhaps it was inevitable that Miller would be the odd man out. His surgically repaired throwing arm -- we now know -- still is not fully healed. If he had stayed at quarterback, Miller faced the very real possibility of not playing much football during his last year of eligibility.
Having the two guys with the most eligibility left battle it out made the most sense. For all the things Miller has done for the Buckeyes, he might be the No. 3 quarterback talent at this point. He’s certainly the least accurate of the three.
An August three-headed camp battle would have been uncomfortable for everyone involved. Now, the biggest question of 2015 is on its way to being answered. It will be Barrett or Jones -- with a little bit of Miller.
A quick Twitter poll revealed Barrett is the people’s choice to win the job. (That is, if 8-2 is a mandate.) A quick evaluation makes Miller’s position change the smartest move of the 2015 offseason.
All he had to do was blink.
