The Front Row

Believe it or not, one season into his career at Ohio State, Braxton Miller is at a cross roads.

There is typically a big jump for players between their first and second years (either as starters or from frosh to soph). You could see this from AJ Hawk, who went from 26 tackles as a freshman to All-American status. James Lauranaitis was the same way as he went from fill-in for the injured Bobby Carpenter in the 2005 _ichigan game to an All-American the 2006. We all saw Beanie Wells become a 1,000-yard rusher as a sophomore in 2007.

Sometimes though, the progression doesn’t come. Chad Henne had this in his career. What he was as a freshman is essentially what he was as a senior. (The projected numbers are startlingly similar through the injuries in 2007.) Closer to home, Steve Bellisari was the same frustratingly erratic gunslinger for most of his career.

What to make of Miller? We all see the talent. We see the wheels. We see that he’s “getting it” out there as he matures. But still, this is a crossroads off-season. Next fall, we will see if Miller is the second coming of Bellisari or if his is moving toward a Heisman path like that of Troy Smith. Heck, even as Smith wasn’t the first choice to be the starter at the start of the 2004 season, Miller was in the same situation in 2011. Both moved into the starter’s position in mid-season. And their numbers as first-year, part-year starters are close enough to each other to look.

2011 Miller: 50% completion rate, 997 passing yards, 11 TD, 4 INT, 695 rushing yards, 4.8/carry.

2004 Smith: 55.7% completion rate, 896 passing yards, 8 TD, 3 INT, 339 rushing yards, 4.1/carry.

Miller has been favorably compared to Smith in the past. Smith came in as a legs-first QB and developed into the leader and passing QB that earned a Heisman and a spot in the national championship game.

So, let’s look at Miller and what he needs to do to be on the Smith path and not the Bellisari avenue.
Even the most biased of Buckeyes fans has to realize that Miller’s not where he needs to be when it comes to passing. Pre-snap reads, progressions, mechanics, in-play decisions – they are all playing a part of what is holding Miller down. Hold it! I know what you’re thinking: “Jim Bollman is what’s holding him down,” and you’d be right, in part, but not in its entirety. The offensive scheme was not utilizing Miller to the fullest. But, the truth is there are some things that are holding him down that sit outside of the realm of coaching.

Pre-snap reads: this is something that is fixable. It will take nothing more than hours (upon hours…upon hours) of film study and repetition for him to get better. If he’s studied his offense and the enemy’s defense, he should be able to find the weak and soft spots and pick them apart. The willingness to do this is a testament to commitment. It took Smith into the 2005 season to embrace film study. Reports are that Miller has a budding romance with the film room already.

Mechanics: this is another area that is fixable. It’s clear that coach Siciliano did Miller (and Terrelle Pryor for that matter) no real favors when it came to improving mechanics. To a degree, you are what you are when step on the field. Bernie Kosar was never, ever going to be anything but a sidearm thrower. That was okay because he could spot it exactly where he needed it to be. Miller’s mechanics are nowhere near as screwed up as Kosar’s were – or even Pryor’s – but there are nuances that plagued Miller throughout the season. The wobbly spirals, reminiscent of Craig Krenzel, could be as simple as loosening the grip or moving the hand on the ball. Footwork is essential. But you have to have a coach out there – not named Coach Sis – that has the ability to ID it and fix it.

In-play decisions: How many times did we see Miller take a sack on a 2nd and 3 or a 3rd down where the sack left us out of field goal range? Part of this was the offensive scheme where Bollman was convinced that calling 20-yard pass plays was a requirement of all aerial attacks. Waiting for the play to develop, Miller never stood a chance sometimes. Those back breaker sacks or the too-quickly-thrown interception ball is all stuff that “should” go away as Miller develops and recalls the game situation and the team’s needs on a strategic level versus tactical scale.

Here’s what will happen over the coming months (following the bowl game): We will see threads at Bucknuts and elsewhere about how hard the team and especially Miller is working this winter. We’ll hear something about a sign in the locker room or something else that points to the dedication of the quarterback to the team and the team’s dedication to “never let another season like 2011 happen” or something like that.

Then, in spring practice, we’ll hear about Miller’s “zip” on passes or his “improved mechanics” from folks. We’ll see him in the spring game and he’ll like be dominant out there – even with the black jersey on – and visions of Heismans, B1G trophies and national championships will dance in our heads.

But the truth is, you will have no true idea if Miller has progressed until the end of September or the beginning of October when Michigan State and Nebraska are on the docket. Then we’ll know if Miller is the next Bellisari or perhaps on the pathway to equaling Smith’s feats. And it’s this off-season that will be the key to that.