Braxton Miller and Joe Bauserman are listed as co-starters on the Akron depth chart.

It has been reported that Joe Bauserman will be on the field for the first snap on offense (which I predicted in January), but clearly both players will have their chance to drive, drive on down the field with the men of the scarlet and gray (see what I did there?).

On the surface, it appears that neither quarterback separated themselves during practice, but when you look a bit deeper, the “or” listing is a clear indication of who the best quarterback was during camp.

Quarterbacks

When you consider that the 5^th year senior and the true freshman are too close to declare a starter heading into game one, it is not a stretch to conclude that the freshman has impressed the most during practice, and it probably wasn’t even close.

My guess is that Miller only lacks the experience to be declared the solid number one in the eyes of the coaches.

By starting Bauserman, Miller can get the game experience he needs with a little less pressure.

Over time, as he proves himself, Miller will receive more and more time on the field with Bauserman’s time decreasing proportionally.

Will it get to the point that Miller is on the field 100% of the time? That I do not know, but I would be shocked if he didn’t get close before the end of the season.

Either way, it looks like my demand after the Spring Game will be obliged.

Joe Bauserman

#14 RS Senior

6’1” 230 lbs.

Once again, I’d like to refer everyone to my thoughts from back in January, because they are basically the same today as they were nine months ago.

Bauserman brings a solid understanding of the offense to the field, which is the reason he will be starting under center on Saturday.

He has experience, he hopefully won’t turn the ball over and he should be able to gain some yards with his feet if necessary. Beyond that, there is not much to get excited about.

He has an unconventional side arm delivery that leaves a lot to be desired, particularly when it comes to accuracy on medium to long throws.

Bauserman’s bread and butter is short, quick passes. If faced with a heavy pass rush or blitz, I just hope his experience allows him to keep his cool and find the open guy.

If he can’t make plays in the face of a heavy rush, which will be coming, bring on Braxton Miller.

Braxton Miller

#5 Freshman

6’3” 210 lbs.

Braxton Miller is one of the most exciting playmakers on the offense.

He has great pocket presence and is extremely elusive, making him a threat to break the pocket and run for big yards on every play.

His straight line speed and ability to break tackles are not at Pryor’s level, but he makes up for it by being better at making defenders miss.

His passing is also more advanced then Pryor. Not freshman Pryor, now Pryor.

Miller has great arm strength and a nice throwing motion that gives him a quick release. I have been saying it for months, but Troy Smith is a much closer comparison to Miller’s skill set than Pryor.

As I said in the intro, the only thing holding Miller back at this point is experience and familiarity with the offense. As he works into games early in the year, he will start gaining the experience he needs to solidify himself as the starter.

Who knows how quickly Miller will mature in the system, but when it comes together for him, look out.

Ken Guiton

#13 RS Sophomore

6’2” 195 lbs.

Ken Guiton is a well rounded quarterback. He is a good runner, has good arm strength and accuracy, and is relatively experienced.

The problem is, he is a jack of all trades and master of none, particularly when compared to the two players ahead of him on the depth chart. He is not as experienced as Bauserman and not as electrifying as Miller, leaving him as the third string QB.

I think Guiton is more than capable of leading the offense, but if Miller explodes, it will be hard for him to work his way to #1.

Taylor Graham

#19 RS Freshman

6’4” 230 lbs.

Taylor Graham reminds me of Craig Krenzel. He is a large quarterback with enough mobility to gain yards scrambling, but his best attributes are arm strength and accuracy.

Graham is still young and needs time to master the offense (which is the main difference between him and Krenzel, obviously). It will be interesting to see how he continues to develop, but his peak won’t come for another year or two.