BLACKSBURG, Va. — Braxton Miller has clearly found a new home at wide receiver, and No. 1 Ohio State has found another dangerous weapon.
BLACKSBURG, Va. — Braxton Miller has clearly found a new home at wide receiver, and No. 1 Ohio State has found another dangerous weapon.
Not what the rest of the college football world wanted to hear.
Miller scored two touchdowns — one on a 54-yard catch-and-run where he had to tip-toe down the sideline, the other on an electrifying 53-yard run — and the star-studded Buckeyes began their title defense with a 42-24 victory over Virginia Tech on Monday night.
“I really would have preferred that third quarterback be over competing for a quarterback job rather than out there as an athlete,” Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer said as the Hokies fell to 0-9 against teams ranked No. 1. “I thought he was pretty special.”
Miller made a diving 24-yard reception for his first catch since moving to wide receiver, and he only got better as the night wore on. His touchdowns came after the Hokies had taken a 17-14 lead into halftime, the long run including a spin move that left defenders falling down.
Wide receiver Michael Thomas watched it happen, and said he thought: “There he goes. That’s Braxton.”
Miller said he set the defenders up for the spin move, which allowed him to run free to the end zone.
“I definitely did. I set them up,” he said. “I acted like I was looking straight but I seen them out of the corner of my eye.”
And Miller wasn’t alone in turning heads. Cardale Jones picked up where he left off last season by throwing for two touchdowns and running for a third, and tailback Ezekiel Elliott was virtually untouched in breaking off an 80-yard run and gained 122 yards on just 11 carries.
But it was Miller who stood out most. The Big Ten offensive player of the year as a quarterback in 2012 and 2013, Miller missed last season with an injury to his right throwing shoulder. When he was slow to heal, he removed himself from the three-way quarterback battle.
“This kid’s all about the right stuff and I’m honored to coach him again for a fourth year. I love this guy,” coach Urban Meyer said.