Buckeyes coaches believe Miller, who finished fifth in Heisman Trophy voting last season, has potential to get much better. Former Buckeye Simon was drafted by Baltimore in the fourth round. More Buckeyes story links.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Spring football ended earlier this month and the Ohio State Buckeyes' 2013 season won't begin until Aug. 31 against Buffalo's Bulls in Columbus.
The in-between time of year doesn't mean there's nothing going on.
Plain Dealer and cleveland.com Ohio State coverage includes Doug Lesmerises' story that the Buckeyes will play three prime-time games during the 2013 season; Lesmerises' story that the Big Ten has announced a new alignment for the East and West divisions. and that teams will play nine-game Big Ten schedules; Rich Exner's breakdown of Big Ten teams' records in various eras. On Saturday, Lesmerises wrote that Ohio State had three players selected in the NFL draft, and that the 22 players drafted from Big Ten teams is the fewest in 19 years.
Buckeyes quarterback Braxton Miller finished fifth in the Heisman Trophy voting last season as a sophomore.
Brandon Castel, referring to Ohio State offensive coordinator Tom Herman and coach Urban Meyer, writes for the-ozone.net about Miller's improvement and potential for further growth:
Herman believes Miller can actually be better than everyone thinks. Both Herman and Meyer have admitted Miller probably wasn’t ready to play as a freshman two years ago, but interim head coach Luke Fickell didn’t have many other options at the time.
He was trying to win football games in the wake of a scandal that cost legendary head coach Jim Tressel his job in Columbus, and Braxton Miller’s development as a quarterback was lost somewhere in the shuffle.
“If Braxton was a 1 on a scale of 1 to 10 when we got here, he finished (last) season around a four,” Herman said of the junior out of Huber Heights, Ohio.
“By the end of spring ball he was around a six, but the cool thing with him is he could be about a 12.”
Buckeyes story links
The comparison of former Buckeyes linebacker-defensive lineman John Simon -- picked by Baltimore in the fourth round of the NFL draft -- and former Ravens linebacker Jarret Johnson is a good one, says Baltimore coach John Harbaugh. (By Aaron Wilson, Baltimore Sun)
Yes, it's very early for this, but Ohio State is ranked first in a new college football top 25 for 2013. (By Mark Schlabach, ESPN.com)
Cornerback Tyvis Powell is among the Buckeyes' defensive players who made strong impressions during the spring practice season. (By Austin Ward, ESPN.com Buckeye Nation)
Running back Rod Smith improved his chances this spring to win the job as top backup to Carlos Hyde. (By Austin Ward, ESPN.com Buckeye Nation)
Some significant changes are being made in Big Ten football. (By Tim May, Columbus Dispatch)
Ohio State players didn't fare as well in the NFL draft as hoped, though three were selected and at least seven have been brought on by NFL teams as un-drafted free agents. (By Bill Rabinowitz, Columbus Dispatch)
Some Buckeyes not selected in the draft join NFL teams as un-drafted free agents. (By Brandon Castel, the-ozone.net)
Ohio State's big defensive tackle, Johnathan Hankins, a Giants draft pick, should help improve New York's run defense. (By Tom Rock, Newsday)
Reid Fragel's willingness to move from tight end to offensive tackle when Urban Meyer became the Buckeyes coach pays off for him as a Cincinnati Bengals draft pick. (By Kevin Goheen, FoxSportsOhio.com)