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Why Braxton Miller Should Switch Positions

By Jackson Flickinger

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Braxton Miller ended all the speculation of whether or not he was going to stay at Ohio State late Thursday afternoon. He told the Columbus Dispatch, “I’m from Ohio, this is my home state. This is where I started and this is where I’m going to finish it.” And with that statement there, Miller killed the hopes of the numerous SEC teams that thought they had a chance at landing the Heisman hopeful. With the drama of where Miller is going to play this year behind us, it’s time to look at how Urban Meyer could use him this season.

We all know how log-jammed the quarterback position is for the Buckeyes right now. Ohio State is fortunate enough to have 3 potential Heisman Trophy winners able to start for them behind center. While it’s every college head coach’s dream to have this problem, at the end of the day there will be two great quarterbacks that will be standing on the sideline holding a clipboard.

We’ve seen NFL and college teams try to use two quarterbacks before, but more often then not it doesn’t work. The idea of having Cardale Jones, J.T. Barrett, and Braxton Miller all throwing meaningful passes in a game is nothing more than a fantasy.

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Urban Meyer is left with a difficult discussion to make and unfortunately I believe Braxton Miller is the odd man out despite what Barrett’s dad thinks. Both Barrett and Jones proved that they’re better and more efficient passers from the pocket than Miller. We also don’t know if Miller will have the same arm strength on his passes as he did before suffering a torn labrum in his throwing shoulder.

Even if Braxton Miller earns the starting quarterback spot for the upcoming season, he has some work to before he becomes an NFL ready quarterback. While scouts love Miller’s athletic ability, they are less than thrilled with his passing. Ben Axelrod of scout.com had this to say about Miller’s chances in the next level:

"“He’s not a project. He’s not a Tim Tebow-type player. But at the same time when you look at the throwing talent of other guys that are going to be in this class, he’s not in the top tier either. He’s got functional arm strength. He’s probably in the middle 50 percent of arm strength that you see in the NFL.“His accuracy has a lot of room for improvement, and that’s not even what’s his pure completion percentage—where is he putting the ball? Is it a place where a guy can get more yards?—all the little things that go in right there.”"

Right now many draft pundits are picking Braxton Miller to be selected in the late rounds of the draft. While he could come back and have a Johnny Manziel like season and catapult his way into the first round, that doesn’t seem likely. What’s more likely to happen is him joining the long list of great dual threat quarterbacks in college that couldn’t last in the NFL like Tim Tebow, Troy Smith, and Dennis Dixon.

It would be in Miller’s best interest to express a desire to try his hand at being a “slash” player that can lineup in the backfield or at receiver. There are numerous former quarterbacks that have made that transition and had long NFL careers because of it: Anquan Boldin , Denard Robinson, Hines Ward, Antwaan Randle El, Joshua Cribbs, and Gene Washington. Not all of these players made the position change during their college years, but it would be in both Ohio State’s and Miller’s best interest to make this change now rather than later.

Finding a way to have Miller, Elliott, and Barrett/Jones on the field at the same time would be an absolute nightmare for defenses. While you wouldn’t want to take many carries away from Zeke, you could certainly find a couple carries for a guy that has rushed for over 1,000 yards twice. There is also the option of making him a full time receiver. While you certainly don’t make the transition into a college receiver overnight, Braxton Miller has the skillset to make that transition.

Hines Ward is a player Braxton Miller could seek to emulate. Ward switched from quarterback to receiver after his sophomore year at the University of Georgia. Ward wasn’t nearly the athlete or quarterback Miller is, but he was coming off of his best career performance in the Peach Bowl where he threw for over 400 yards.

Ward recently told Sporting News just how difficult the transition away from quarterback is:

"“You know what, it’s very hard. You’re touching  the ball on every snap on the offensive side. It’s very hard to give that up. My whole dream growing up as a child, I wanted be a quarterback and play at the highest level possible.”"

I’m sure that’s exactly how Miller feels too. Anybody who plays quarterback at that high of a level dreams of playing it in the NFL as well, unfortunately not everyone is able to do it. Ward made the change because he realized guys like him didn’t make it as quarterbacks in the league:

"“The dream of mine was always to play in the NFL, and to do whatever it took. So I made the change, because I’m like, ‘Man, Eric Zeier doesn’t get a chance to go to the NFL, and Charlie Ward, a lot of them are saying he’s a fourth- or fifth-round pick. He has a Heisman Trophy. Geez.’’’"

While the transition to a new position would be a tough pill to swallow, it might give Miller the chance to play in the NFL for years to come. Just look at Hines Ward. If he wouldn’t have made the change he might not have even made it into the NFL, but now he stands as a Super Bowl MVP and the Pittsburgh Steelers’ all-time leading receiver. That wouldn’t have happened if he wouldn’t have been honest with himself and made the switch.

If Miller does stay at quarterback and starts this season I have no doubt in my mind he can lead this team to a championship and get drafted. I do however believe he will have a hard time sticking around in the pros as a quarterback. In my opinion it’s in Miller and the team’s best interest to move him to another position. Besides, who wouldn’t want to see a guy who can run like this get the ball in open space more often.

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