Ohio State Buckeyes

Ohio State coaches still looking for more ways to get Miller involved

Published Sep. 10, 2015 11:53 a.m. ET

Marcus Hartman

One game into the 2015 season, college football fans have already seen Ohio State senior Braxton Miller score by run and by reception.

The former quarterback did not throw a pass, but he established long ago he could do that as he was winning the Chicago Tribune Silver Football as the Big Ten's Most Valuable Player in 2012 and '13.

While it's a fairly safe bet Miller will throw a pass at some point this season, his coach did not rule out other ways of getting him the ball to the player who has already broken Ohio State's career record for total touchdowns responsible for.

"That's our job as coaches is if you get a freak athlete or a guy that's excellent in space, get it there," Meyer said. "You can't just do that at wide receiver because what if the defense takes away that wide receiver?"

Overall, there might not be a better coach for Miller to be with considering Meyer's track record for involving players in multiple ways going back to his days at Florida with Percy Harvin.

"Interesting thing about our offense is that a guy like Braxton touched the ball four different ways," Meyer said. "He direct snapped, played quarterback, got handed to him as a running back, got pitched to him as a jet sweep guy, and then got thrown to him as a wide receiver.

"So that's something that we've been doing for years, and it's great to be able to do that with a guy like Braxton."

Miller's contributions might not be limited to offense, either, as Meyer mentioned he is in the mix to return punts for the Buckeyes.

"He's real close," Meyer said. "I just didn't think it would be fair to put him in that environment back there (at Virginia Tech)."