Buckeyes Face Familiar Decision
A year ago Bo Pelini faced a decision. Should he start the season with the veteran Zac Lee or bet on the athleticism of the younger Taylor Martinez? Early on, it seemed that Nebraska had pretty clearly made the right decision. Then, injuries to Lee made the choice irrelevant. Now, Ohio State is faced with a similar choice.
Joe Bauserman, is a senior and like Lee represents what might be considered the safest choice. Miller is the stud blue-chip recruit (like Terrelle Pryor before him) that fans are clamoring for. Also, any experience Miller gains now could pay dividends in the future since he's got time on his side. Unlike Martinez though, Miller hasn't had the benefit of a redshirt year, though he did arrive in time for Spring practice. So you'd imagine that the mistakes will come frequently to a player just out of high school.
Other names like Taylor Graham or Kenny Guiton might represent the Cody Green or Kody Spano in this equation. They could have something to offer but they also might be less attractive options than the senior or the phenom. It may not be quite the two-horse race that we saw for Nebraska a year ago, but neither can it truly be a four-man competition for very long.
With Bauserman having the clear age/experience edge, he would seem likely to be one of the top two options. Miller is no slam dunk given his youth. Guiton has some experience but hadn't displaced Bauserman in 2010. That might make Graham the one to watch given that he was coming off of a redshirt (like Martinez) and he also was the leading passer in the Spring game. Then again, Graham took five sacks in that game.
Husker fans should probably root for Bauserman or Graham. Pocket passers usually suffer against Bo Pelini defenses whereas dual-threat guys like Miller or Guiton tend to do more damage. In any case, Ohio State's not in the same position they would be if a scandal-free Terrelle Pryor was available.
6/14/2011
It’ll be interesting to see what changes are made to the schmatic approach of Ohio State’s offensive unit. Nothing ever remains the exact same between coaching changes and one has to imagine that there will be some tactical adjustments. Will they become more open? Will they utilize more play-action on first down? Or Perhaps they could spend some more time using some spread principles? Hard to say what changes will implemented this season. . .
One would think that considering the offseason that they have had in Columbus that perhaps consistency might be the name of the day. You have suspended starters, media scrutiny, coaches being fired, an ongoing NCAA investigation, and the whole country more or less looking at the situation at Ohio State to see what damaging allegation drops next. It would be hard to turn the QB job over to a true freshman under those circumstances, no matter what gifts that particular player brings to the table. It’s just hard to not see Bauserman getting the starting nod in the beginning. If the wheels fall off and Ohio State were to start to implode then at that point I would look for Miller to get the job. . .