When it was his turn to take center stage, Braxton Miller stepped into the spotlight like a man who’d been there so many times before. He rose from his seat, bounced to his feet, uncloaked himself from underneath his hoodie and raised his right hand in the air to salute the roaring mass of 45,000 people gathered to celebrate Ohio State’s national championship Saturday afternoon.
J.T. Barrett, once his backup, cheered by furiously waving a towel in the air. Cardale Jones, also once his backup, kicked and punched with excitement with such ferocity that he nearly fell out of his chair.
And as if Miller sensed their responses and the crowd’s growing momentum, he pumped his arms to further ignite the masses into a deeper frenzy. “ONE MORE YEAR! ONE MORE YEAR,” they cheered.
Miller leaned into the lectern, bowed his head and flashed a bashful smile.
“It was a privilege and an honor to be a part of the national championship team in 2014,” he said.
“But guess what: We’ve got another year to do it.”
And just like that, Miller’s his first public comments since suffering a season-ending shoulder injury in August might’ve put to rest speculation that he might transfer to another school amid Ohio State’s quarterback quandary which has somehow made the three-year starter, two-time Big Ten Player of the Year and preseason-Heisman Trophy candidate an afterthought.
In that time of course, the Buckeyes found Barrett and Jones to be highly-effective replacements. Barrett, who combined for a school-record 45 touchdowns, was 11-1 as a starter before breaking his ankle. Jones won the Big Ten title, the Sugar Bowl and national championship in his first three starts.
Meyer has offered little indication as to which quarterback will start when Ohio State opens at Virginia Tech in September.
“I'm not ready,” he said earlier this month. “At some point, I think I'll be ready to comment on it and have that conversation. Right now it's not (it).”
With Jones, Barrett and Miller as proven winners and capable gunslingers, the Buckeyes, of course, can only start one of them next season.
Meyer added: “At some point there will be some conversations and I think you guys know by now we're pretty transparent about everything we do, and at the appropriate time we'll have those conversations.”
It appears Meyer has at least started such talks with Miller, who is expected to return for his fifth and final year of eligibility.
"We’ve been talking all along," he said after the tribute concluded. "It’s a unique situation which we’ll cover that later."
But if Saturday’s coronation is any indication, perhaps Miller knows something we don’t.
