40 best Ohio State football players this century, ranked

Running back Ezekiel Elliott #15 of the Ohio State Buckeyes celebrates after defeating the Oregon Ducks 42 to 20 in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game at AT&T Stadium on January 12, 2015 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /

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Braxton Miller #1 of the Ohio State Buckeyes. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

Best Ohio State football players this century 11. Braxton Miller – Quarterback, Wide Receiver 2011-15

From one number one who played quarterback to another number one who played quarterback at least to start. Braxton Miller has one of the most fascinating careers at Ohio State. Miller took over the quarterback job in his first season, and there were some bumps. He had a rough second start against Michigan State, and then they lost their last four games of the season. It was the only rough season for OSU in this stretch.

He won the starting job back in the next season with Urban Meyer as head coach. His ability to rush for 100 yards in any game forced teams to change how they played against Ohio State. He was also getting better as a passer under Meyer. The experience was showing in his sophomore season, and the losses didn’t pile up like they did the year prior. He led the Ohio State Buckeyes to an undefeated season, but because of a bowl ban, they didn’t get to play for a national championship. That’s one of the biggest “what ifs” as Ohio State watched as Notre Dame and Alabama played for the national championship. OSU likely makes it ahead of Alabama, who went in with one loss and destroyed Notre Dame.

Then, the injuries started to pile up. Shoulder, knee, and others forced him to change positions as J.T. Barrett showed himself off as a true quarterback prospect. Miller came back after two torn labrums to play H-back, wide receiver, and slot receiver. He ended up contributing on many levels, and he allowed Urban Meyer to find the right fit at quarterback without taking snaps away from Barrett.

Miller ended up with more than 600 yards combined between receiving and rushing. This was a star quarterback who put the team first and switched to a completely different position to fit the team’s needs while also working his way back from injury. Miller was a great player who might have won a national championship if he didn’t have to pay the price for the previous regime’s transgressions.

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