Braxton Miller is limited this spring as he works his way back from injury, but does Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer owe him anything moving forward?
Urban Meyer has a problem on his hands. The head coach of the Ohio State Buckeyes has too many good quarterbacks to choose from with Cardale Jones, J.T. Barrett and Braxton Miller all good enough to lead Ohio State back to the College Football Playoff.
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Miller was supposed to be the guy to lead the Buckeyes to the Big Ten championship and into the Playoff last year as a senior but an injured shoulder in August prevented him from building on his success from the previous two years under Meyer’s watch when he finished fifth and ninth in the Heisman voting.
Part of the appeal in Meyer taking the job in 2012 was the presence of Miller who started as a freshman in 2011 and accounted for 20 total touchdowns. He and former offensive coordinator Tom Herman molded him into a Heisman contender and two-time Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year, but does he owe Miller anything in his final college season?
The old adage was you couldn’t lose your job to injury, but that doesn’t hold much weight in today’s sports climate when you’re judged on what you can rather what you have done. Miller watched as Barrett led the Buckeyes to the Big Ten Championship Game and put himself in position to be a Heisman candidate.
Then he watched Jones lead the Buckeyes to the Big Ten title over Wisconsin and beat Alabama and Oregon in the Playoff to win the national championship.
Meyer is in a tough position because no matter who wins the job, there’s two highly qualified people who will be told they weren’t good enough this time. Miller could be one of those two which would seem unfair after all he’s done for Ohio State and Meyer, but then again you don’t win games and championships by playing favorites.
Miller isn’t owed anything by Meyer other than a fair shot at the competition. He shouldn’t be considered the favorite because of his seniority and past success and has to win the job based on what he does in fall camp when he’s fully healed.
It sounds cold that Meyer could conceivably make him the third-string quarterback, especially after Miller had opportunities to transfer and have an easy path to the starting job at perennial powers like Oregon and Florida State. Miller showed loyalty to Ohio State, but don’t expect Ohio State to show the same loyalty to Miller.
Expect Meyer and Ohio State to make the decisions that help the 2015 team win the Big Ten for the second year in a row and put the quarterback out there that gives them the best chance at repeating as national champions.
In a perfect world, Miller would be that guy and end his Buckeye career as one of the program’s all-time greats. Hollywood endings are rare in sports and even though he’s owed nothing, I wonder if part of Meyer is rooting for that storybook finish with Miller.
Next: Top 10 Big Ten QB's Entering Spring
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