Braxton Miller At Wide Receiver Had LeBron James Going Wild

So, Ohio State’s Braxton Miller is a wide receiver now, and it seems to be going pretty well.

The two-time Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year made his long-awaited debut as a wide receiver-slash-H-back Monday against Virginia Tech. The senior was previously a quarterback, but made the switch in part to pave the way for quarterbacks Cardale Jones and J.T. Barrett.

It immediately resulted in a number of moments that had people going wild. Besides the previously shown diving catch above, there was this touchdown catch:

And then there was a spin move. Boy was there a spin move:

During another touchdown — yes, he had two — Miller actually pulled a LeBron, and The King of Ohio was pleased again.

Miller redshirted all of last year due to injury, and was understandably emotional on Monday.”Tears were running in my eyes, I couldn’t really talk. My eyes got super red,” he said. “I just love my teammates. They believed in me, and they raised me up since I was injured. I’m just happy to be out there.”

Overall, Miller finished with 140 total yards and two touchdowns. His two catches yielded him an average of 39 yards each. Ohio State won the game, 42-24. “I love Braxton Miller,” head coach Urban Meyer said after the game. “I’m honored to coach him again.”

Jones did take the majority of the snaps on offense before Barrett entered the game in what was essentially mop-up duty. There is no better example of this than Ohio State, which just won a national title with its freakin’ third-string QB.

With only two seconds left in the third quarter, Buckeyes safety Tyvus Powell located the football, sunk back into coverage, jumped the route and corralled the Hokies’ second turnover of the game. Team doctor Mike Goeforth later annnounced Brewer suffered a broken collarbone and will miss 4-8 weeks, depending on his recovery. That coach Meyer could convince an incredibly successful and established QB like Miller to forgo the National Football League and to return to college, only to switch positions, is an incredible achievement in itself. But Virginia Tech’s defense found some answers and Jones made a few key misfires.

And then Miller paid homage to The King.

At the Virginia Tech 42, with defensive tackle Corey Marshall bearing down on him, Miller planted with his left foot and spun to his right.

Ohio State’s 2015, however it ends, is something equally fascinating: all those heads, with each spitting its own brand of fire.

Last season, the Ohio State Buckeyes averaged 247.1 yards in passing and 264.5 yards in rushing.

•The two quarterbacks, arms around each other’s shoulder pads, swayed and sang. The young man is an athlete, and his transformation to receiver just shows his diverse skill set. It seems as though this position change is agreeing with Mr. Miller just fine. On the ensuing possession, Brewer took a shot while attempting a pass and had to be helped from the field. Rogers ran the wheel route and hauled in the pass before hustling down the field, making a move at the 14-yard line to get past an Ohio State defender and scampered his way to the end zone.

Things will get interesting if Jones struggles.

He took some big steps Monday night in a brutal environment, doing essentially what he did in the last three games of last season while replacing an injured Barrett.

This is where we are with the Ohio State Buckeyes – the same place we were when we last saw the team that last season eeked into the College Football Playoff and beat the ever-loving controversy out of it. Another one of the top storylines of the season was how Braxton Miller would transition from star quarterback to H-back and wide receiver.

Jones and the offense shrugged off the miscue and continued their march down the field.

Between now and that November. 21 home game against Big Ten heavyweight Michigan State – the only team on the schedule Ohio State has to remotely pay attention to – Jones has nine games to prove Meyer made the right decision to sit Barrett, a team captain and undisputed team leader. Elliott rushed for a game-high 122 yards and a touchdown.