This is a guest post by Joe Dexter, lead man at new Buckeye blog Scarlet & Game. Welcome to the party, Joe!
When Terrelle Pryor takes the field for the first time with the team this spring, he won’t be the only signal caller rocking the ink. He might not even have the best block O ink on the team.
In fact, for the first time since he enrolled at Ohio State University, he might not be in the topic of the backfield to start the season. The fact is another top recruit is taking the campus by storm.
Insert freshman quarterback Braxton Miller. Like Pryor, Miller was the top rated quarterback of his class. He’s considered by most as the best dual-threat quarterback since the Pennsylvania bound Buckeye.
With a suspension of five games over the head of our fearless signal caller with no golden pants, Miller is getting all of the attention of someone that could have a major impact in the freshman class. Many believe that he could be the next up and coming Pryor.
The only question is can he hold his own? Or is this another case of we-miss-football post-signing-day hype?
It seems like only yesterday that Jeannette Pennsylvania’s Terrelle Pryor was making splashes as possibly the best specimen to ever hit the collegiate level of athletics.
Whether it was on the hardwood or gridiron, the freakish athlete had the opportunity to make many decisions on his athletic future. When it became clear that his true love was the game of football, coaches across the country began to hope.
Joe Paterno, Rich Rodriguez and Jim Tressel lived the dream of being the coaches on the can’t miss prospect’s radar.
When Terrelle Pryor hit the recruiting stage as the image of the football class of 2008, many scouts compared him to Vince Young, one of the most superior athletes to ever play the quarterback position in the game of college football.
Now Miller, who was also considered the best dual-quarterback of his class is getting compared to his counterpart.
As indicated above, Miller is a far more aggressive passer. Despite running the 40 yard dash in under 4.5 seconds, the former Wayne High School product never accumulated 1,000 yards on the ground in one season. His team never won a state championship.
His senior year was the only one in which he started the whole year.
That doesn’t mean that his ability isn’t warranted. Former Cincinnatti coach Brian Kelly offered Miller a scholarship as a freshman because he saw talent. Over 40 different schools offered him scholarships, with many guaranteeing he would play right away. During his senior season, Allen Wallace, the national recruiting director for Scout.com even thought that Braxton was a better runner than Pryor.
“He’s the total package and more right now,” said Wallace. “He’s right there (with Pryor). Personally, I think he even looks like a better runner than Terrelle in the sense he’s very, very quick.”
So the question remains, “Can he step in as a freshman?” His history of character would make you believe he has that ability.
As a freshman in high school, Miller stepped in the first game of the year in the second half against Cincinnati Colerain and threw for 150 yards on 10-15 passing. From that point, his high school career was full of nights where he made something out of nothing. In the state championship game his senior year, he accounted for all four touchdowns.
There will definitely be competition for the staring quarterback job in spring and without a doubt Braxton Miller has a chance to win a majority of the reps. Senior Joe Bauserman will get his crack at the job in spring, but the name to watch will be Braxton Miller.
The only thing that is in ink is the new tattoo on his shoulder, but Ohio State’s new future quarterback is quickly making an impression on the Buckeye fanbase.
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