It's hard to forget what Braxton Miller did at quarterback for the Ohio State Buckeyes, especially once Urban Meyer arrived on campus.
"The one thing Braxton can do, you snap him the ball and he's done that enough to just go," Meyer said Monday. "There is potential of that as well."
How Miller exactly will be used against Virginia Tech Week 1 in Blacksburg, Va., won't officially be seen until Labor Day Night, but recent signs point to him further grasping the tiniest of nuances at the wide receiver position.
“As of the last three days, he's I don't want to say exceeded my expectation, but he's darn near ready to go.”– Urban Meyer on Braxton Miller
"Early on, I don't want to say exceeded (expectations) because I knew there would be growing pains," Meyer said. "It's rather comical when I heard just play him at receiver or go put him at corner. It usually takes a year-and-a-half to play receiver to do it correctly.
"As of the last three days, he's I don't want to say exceeded my expectation, but he's darn near ready to go."
Miller's switch to the outside took on more importance once it was announced Ohio State wide receiver Corey Smith and H-back Jalin Marshall and Dontre Wilson would be shelved for the opener after breaking an athletic department policy. Add that to last week's news of Noah Brown's broken leg, and bodies on the outside are slowly whittling away.
Meyer said Miller missed some practice time because of sore hamstrings from having to run all practice — something he was by no means used to. That's since changed.
"All around complete athlete. Start to see a guy that went from not really knowing what to do and now just came a long ways," Michael Thomas said Monday of Miller. "I feel like he's ready to show them Monday also."
The Buckeyes need Miller. And from what it sounds like, he's risen to the challenge.
"The former Big Ten Player of the Year's doing well out there," offensive coordinator Ed Warinner said Monday, a wide smile spread across his face. "We like him."
Miller's one of the best players in the country with the ball in his hands in the open field, but how he matches up against a stout secondary like Virginia Tech's is still unknown. It could, however, go a long way to helping Ohio State leave Lane Stadium with a victory — wherever Meyer, Warinner and quarterbacks coach Tim Beck decide to utilize him.
"He's all over the place. He's just an athlete out there. Braxton has looked really good," Warinner said. "He's really grown into the position and had a great attitude about learning."
Miller's always wanted to be the best at what he does, and though he's been inching toward becoming a full blown wide receiver the entire summer, Meyer still showed concerns Monday about the depth at the unit against Virginia Tech.
"Depth at receiver is a concern for this game. Talent isn't," he said.
Miller, though, is doing everything he can to bring what he did all those years at quarterback to the receiver room in the hope of easing the mind of his head coach.
"The last three days have been really fluid, and I think a lot of it is just his body's feeling good again after going through the 'what the heck is this,' and that is the constant running that his body wasn't used to," Meyer said. "So he looks like an H-back now."
