Braxton Miller Earns Big Ten All-Decade Honors
The Ohio State Buckeyes have had arguably the four best quarterbacks in the Big Ten the last ten years in succession (and that excludes Joe Burrow, who of course won the Heisman Trophy for LSU in 2019). And while Justin Fields, Dwayne Haskins and JT Barrett have all been fantastic talents, perhaps none were as versatile and dynamic than Braxton Miller. Miller was recognized on Friday by the Big Ten Network as the Offensive All-Purpose selection on the All-Decade First Team.
Miller did it all for the Buckeyes. Through his first three seasons, Miller was a phenomenal talent at quarterback which garnered national attention. He threw for 52 touchdowns and 5,292 yards in 36 games. He also ran 557 times for 3,054 yards and 32 touchdowns over those first three seasons. Miller finished top-10 in Heisman voting, twice (2012 and 2013), and he was arguably the most dynamic player in college football.
Unfortunately, an injury before the 2014 season began prevented him from ever seeing the field. Remarkably, that opened the door for JT Barrett and Cardale Jones to run the offense and the Buckeyes went on to win the National Championship without their best offensive player taking a snap all season.
But Miller's story doesn't end there. He came back for a redshirt senior season in 2015 and was used primarily as a wide receiver and in the wildcat formation. Miller ran the football 43 times for 261 yards and one score, while receiving 25 passes for 340 yards and three more touchdowns.
There aren't many talents in the history of college football, let alone the Big Ten Conference, quite as dynamic as Braxton Miller. He was the first (and now one of only two players) to win the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year twice.
He went on the be drafted by the Houston Texans in the third round of the 2016 NFL Draft. Miller has played for Houston, Philadelphia, Cleveland and Carolina during his NFL career.
Miller joins a growing list of Buckeyes that have already been honored this week.
Ohio State Buckeyes Selected for the BTN All-Decade Teams
RB: Ezekiel Elliott (second team)
OL: Wyatt Davis (first team), Billy Price (first team), Taylor Decker (second team) and Pat Elflein (second team)
LB: Ryan Shazier (second team)
CB: Malik Hooker (first team), Jeff Okudah (second team), Vonn Bell (second team)
DL: Joey Bosa (first team), Chase Young (first team), Nick Bosa (second team)
All-Purpose: Braxton Miller (first team)
The Big Ten Football All-Decade Team is selected by college football experts chosen by the Big Ten Network. which will be announcing selections from 2010-19 across BTN social media platforms (Twitter, YouTube, Facebook) throughout the week.
The Big Ten All-Decade Team will conclude it's release this afternoon with the announcement of the Quarterback and Coach of the Decade.
Stay tuned to BuckeyesNow and all of our social media outlets (@BuckeyesNowSI) on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for continued coverage!
