Braxton Miller, Not Either of the QBs, Will Be Ohio State's X-Factor in Week 1

COLUMBUS, Ohio — When Ohio State takes the field for its season opener against Virginia Tech on Monday night, one of college football's biggest questions of the offseason will finally be answered—and it won't have anything to do with who's playing quarterback for the Buckeyes.

Yes, the outcome of the unprecedented battle between J.T. Barrett and Cardale Jones to be Ohio State's starting signal-caller will finally be revealed when one of the two takes the field for the Buckeyes' first offensive series of the season. But once it's clear who will be QB1 in Columbus moving forward, all eyes will turn to a former Ohio State quarterback looking to make an impact at a new position.

And Braxton Miller may just need to make that impact sooner rather than later.

Miller's move to wide receiver was arguably college football's most talked-about position change this summer, after the two-time Big Ten MVP decided the injured shoulder that had already cost him his 2014 season wouldn't allow him to make the Buckeyes' quarterback competition a three-man race. The move was also viewed as a luxury of sorts due to an Ohio State roster already stacked with no shortage of talent at its skill positions.

But as the Buckeyes' season opener has approached, what was supposed to be a deep wide receiving corps now finds itself depleted, especially as far as Ohio State's matchup with the Hokies is concerned.

Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports

It started in late July when Urban Meyer announced wide receiver Corey Smith and H-backs Jalin Marshall and Dontre Wilson would be suspended for the first game of the season due to violations of team rules. It continued when wide receiver Noah Brown—whom the Buckeyes staff raved about throughout fall camp and appeared to have established himself as a starter—broke his leg two weeks before the start of the season.

With that, Ohio State will enter Lane Stadium with just one of its top five leading receivers from a season ago active for the game. That's only increased the importance for Miller to pick up his new position quickly, as the 6'2", 215-pounder finds himself listed as a co-starter at H-back alongside sophomore Curtis Samuel.

"Depth at receiver is a concern for this game," Meyer conceded last Monday. "Talent isn't, [but] depth is a concern."

The good news for the Buckeyes is that as fall camp neared its end, the former quarterback appeared to be making strides in his transition from throwing passes to catching them. Hamstring issues had hampered Miller early as he adjusted to his new running regime—which at times required him to run four times as much as he did during his practice days as a quarterback—but no longer appear to be a problem.

Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

To Meyer, the slow start was an expected speed bump that has now been overcome just in time for the start of Ohio State's season.

"I knew there would be growing pains. It's rather comical when I heard, 'Just play him at receiver or go put him at corner.' It usually takes a year-and-a-half to play receiver to do it correctly," Meyer said. "Braxton has, really the last two days, has been outstanding. The whole idea of his body getting used to basically a track practice every day is taking root, so he had a really good two days."

Whether or not that is merely coachspeak from Meyer or the sign of a big season opener for Miller remains to be seen. But the reality is the Buckeyes will be counting on him to make plays against Virginia Tech, whether he's ready for his new role or not.

Miller's importance to the Buckeyes' game plan is especially apparent when considering Michael Thomas will be Ohio State's proven wide receiver heading into Monday night's matchup and will likely be covered by Hokies All-American cornerback Kendall Fuller. Wideouts Parris Campbell, Johnnie Dixon, Terry McLaurin and James Clark all have promise but have yet to play significant snaps in their college careers.

Given the way Virginia Tech bottled up the Buckeyes' wideouts a season ago in OSU's lone loss of its national championship season, it's likely one of the Buckeyes' unproven receivers is going to need to enjoy a breakout game.

And while he may be inexperienced at his new position, Miller has at least been on the field for prime-time battles before, although it's been more than 20 months since he played in an actual game. Meyer also hasn't ruled out returning the two-time Big Ten Quarterback of the Year to his old position for some familiar snaps from shotgun to add a new dynamic to the OSU offense while spelling either Barrett or Jones and taking pressure off star running back Ezekiel Elliott.

"Now the one thing Braxton can do, you snap him the ball," Meyer said. "He's done that enough to go and there is potential of that as well."

Meyer's message is clear: One way or another, the Buckeyes will find a way to get the ball into Miller's hands Monday.

At this point, doing so is no longer a luxury—it's a necessity.

Ben Axelrod is Bleacher Report's Big Ten lead writer. You can follow him on Twitter @BenAxelrod. Unless noted otherwise, all quotes were obtained firsthand. All statistics courtesy of cfbstats.com. Recruiting rankings courtesy of 247Sports.