BTN.com staff, June 17, 2013
Braxton Miller is kind of good. We all saw what he did a season ago in his first year under Urban Meyer, and it all resulted in the 2012 Graham-George Offensive Player of the Year. Back under center as a junior, Miller is the favorite to repeat in 2013. Will he do it? Who are his biggest competitors? Tom Dienhart and Brent Yarina discuss it in this post.
Previous Graham-George Winners
2011: Montee Ball, RB, Wisconsin
2012: Braxton Miller, QB, Ohio State
Tom: This is a no-brainer. Miller is the clear favorite. In fact, it isn?t even close. He won the Silver Football last year as the Big Ten MVP and finished fifth in Heisman voting. The junior Buckeye signal-caller continues to develop in Tom Herman?s spread offense. And that attack is being tweaked, with one of the new looks being an ?overloaded? Pistol formation. In addition to being more familiar and comfortable with an offense that continues to evolve, Miller also is surrounded by an array of weapons in the backfield and at receiver. He?ll also be protected by one of the Big Ten?s best lines. Add it all up-along with a sponge cake schedule-and you can see why Miller is a heavy fav to win this honor.
Tom's top 5 candidates:
1. Braxton Miller, QB, Ohio State
2. Taylor Martinez, QB, Nebraska
3. Devin Gardner, QB, Michigan
4. Venric Mark, RB, Northwestern
5. James White, RB, Wisconsin
Dark horse: Tre Roberson, QB, Indiana
Brent: Take Miller's skill set and consider Ohio State's talent and favorable schedule, and it's hard not to predict the jaw-dropping junior to repeat here. Really, injury might be the only thing keeping Miller from becoming the young award's first two-time winner. There are other highly skilled Big Ten offensive players, such as Taylor Martinez, but when one considers what Miller did in his first year under Urban Meyer and company, it's hard to imagine he won't be even better in Year 2. That's scary, and that's why he's my winner.
Brent's top 5 candidates:
1. Braxton Miller, QB, Ohio State
2. Taylor Martinez, QB, Nebraska
3. Venric Mark, RB, Northwestern
4. Devin Gardner, QB, Michigan
5. Melvin Gordon, RB, Wisconsin
Dark horse: Stephen Houston, RB, Indiana