With Troy Smith, then Terrelle Pryor and now Braxton Miller, Jim Tressel is establishing himself as a coach who can attract top-notch dual-threat quarterbacks.
View full sizeBraxton Miller is ranked as the No. 1 or No. 2 quarterback in the Class of 2011 by every major recruiting service in the country.HUBER HEIGHTS, Ohio -- The question was when Jim Tressel might think about retiring. Huber Heights Wayne football coach Jay Minton wanted to make sure that his quarterback, Braxton Miller, would get the total Tressel treatment if he chose to be a Buckeye.
View full sizeBraxton Miller shows off his latest tattoo Thursday after announcing his intent to attend Ohio State. The Braxton Miller file
High school: Huber Heights Wayne, just outside Dayton.
Position: Quarterback.
Ht. / Wt.: 6-3, 195 pounds.
Career stats: 225-of-408 passing (55 percent) for 2,628 yards; 938 rushing yards.
Recruiting rankings
Rivals: No. 56 player, No. 2 QB.
Scout: No. 4 player, No. 1 QB.
ESPN: No. 16 player, No. 2 QB.
MaxPreps: No. 8 player, No. 1 QB.
Scholarship offers: More than 40, including Ohio State, Alabama, Florida, USC, Notre Dame and Michigan.
Video: Braxton Miller shows off his tattoo
ESPN writer raves about Miller
"You don't get the coach Tressel full effect in a year," Minton said. "He does a great job of having his quarterbacks progress."
In March, Tressel answered that question for now, signing a contract extension to take him through the 2014 season, which would be Miller's senior season in Columbus.
On Wednesday, Miller proved he had no doubts, giving an oral commitment to the Buckeyes on the last day of his junior year of high school in the Dayton suburbs.
From Heisman Trophy winner Troy Smith, to Terrelle Pryor, the top overall recruit in the Class of 2008 and a rising Heisman candidate, to Miller, this officially qualifies as a trend of Tressel tying his reputation to talented, dual-threat quarterbacks.
"Once I get there and start to shine at Ohio State, we're going to win a national championship," Miller said, unable to stop smiling through most answers after announcing his choice in a ceremony on the stage of his high school auditorium.
Miller will either compete for the job as a freshman in 2011 if Pryor leaves for the NFL after his junior year, or watch and learn from Pryor, the senior. Minton believes Pryor has a good chance to leave if his junior year is a good one, but he's hoping he sticks around as a tutor.
"In my selfish world for Braxton, I hope that Terrelle stays because he can learn a lot from Terrelle," Minton said.
That's because Miller, about 3 inches shorter and 30 pounds lighter than Pryor, brings most of the same skills Smith and Pryor showed off in Ohio Stadium.
Growing up, Miller's favorite Buckeye was Eddie George, and he said he thinks he runs like him. But he wants to establish himself as a thrower, and he is more refined than Pryor was in high school.
As with Pryor, the ability to work in a varied pro-style offense was important to Miller's ultimate goal, which is to be the top pick in the NFL Draft.
"It's a good system for quarterbacks," said Braxton's father, Kevin, who caught a replay of Troy Smith's performance in the 2006 Michigan game recently and remembered how wide open the OSU offense was then under a senior. "You want to develop everything that you have, not just the spread."
Frankly, the Buckeyes' offense could consist of first-down punts and Miller might be headed to Columbus anyway. A lifelong OSU fan like his father, he caught the Buckeyes' eye in eighth grade and earned a scholarship offer as a sophomore. A late push from Florida made the Gators the runner-up, and Alabama, Notre Dame and Georgia had their caps on Miller's table Wednesday to add some faux suspense, but he was a Buckeye from the start.
Ohio State's Class of 2011
Braxton Miller is the 12th player to give an oral commitment to Ohio State's Class of 2011, and the first skill position player. He is the ninth pledge from Ohio:
Offense
QB -- Braxton Miller, 6-3, 195, Huber Heights Wayne High.
TE -- Jeff Heuerman, 6-5, 225, Barron Collier High, Naples, Fla.
T -- Tommy Brown, 6-5, 332, Firestone High, Akron.
C -- Brian Bobek, 6-2, 278, William Fremd High, Palatine, Ill. (No. 220 in Rivals rankings).
G -- Antonio Underwood, 6-3, 295, Shaker Heights High.
G -- Chris Carter, 6-4, 325, Cleveland John F. Kennedy High.
Defense
DT -- Michael Bennett, 6-3, 275, Centerville High, Centerville (No. 30 in Rivals rankings).
S -- Jeremy Cash, 6-2, 185, Plantation High, Plantation, Fla.
DT -- Chase Farris, 6-6, 285, Elyria High (No. 184 in Rivals rankings).
CB -- DerJaun Gambrell, 6-2, 180, Rogers High, Toledo.
DE -- Steve Miller, 6-4, 230, McKinley High, Canton (No. 242 in Rivals rankings).
DE -- Kenny Hayes, 6-5, 240, Whitmer High, Toledo (No. 46 in Rivals rankings).
"It would have been hard for anybody to beat out Ohio State," Kevin Miller said.
Still, the Millers were impressed by Ohio State's focus, since Tressel did not offer a scholarship to another quarterback in the Class of 2011. When the offer was made a year ago, Miller was told he was Pryor's heir apparent, and he made his pledge early to affirm he was just as focused on Ohio State.
"Lots of schools will just stack kids, and they don't care about who they get," Kevin Miller said. "It was kind of unique -- at Ohio State they had only focused on Braxton. It just showed a lot of love. They waited on Braxton and it paid off for them."
Now Miller should become a Buckeye more prepared than any recent quarterback. He plans to graduate from high school early and enroll at Ohio State in January and take part in spring football in April. That would give him a major head start compared to Pryor's arrival at Ohio State, since Pryor didn't even make his decision until March of his senior year.
"I just want to step in and be the next top player in the world," Miller said.
At the very least, the next in Jim Tressel's line of quarterbacks.
To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: dlesmerises@plaind.com, 216-999-4479
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