News & Views: Braxton Miller, Mock Drafts, SEC Expansion

Drew Thurman (3:02 pm)

The news has been pretty slow this week, after what has proven to be an exciting spring. There are a few things that have caught my eye or ticked me off though...

1) O hio State recruit, Braxton Miller, is going to get a chance to show what he is made of on ESPN . Right of the gate Miller and the guys from Wayne High School play Moeller and McKinley in weeks one and two. The game against Moeller is part of the annual Skyline Chili Crosstown Showdown, while the McKinley game is part of Herbstreit Varsity Football Series at Ohio Stadium. If Braxton wasn't in the limelight enough already, he will have lots of talk surrounding his play in both games.

2) Everyone is looking to break the pipeline between Ohio State and Cleveland Glenville High School. Outside of a few prospects giving the Buckeyes the cold shoulder, the staff has pretty much gotten who they have wanted there. The latest attempt has Michigan and Michigan State chasing QB Cardale Jones . Jones has yet to get an OSU offer, thanks to the aforementioned Braxton Miller, but this is story is still noteworthy. Both the Wolverines and Spartans are hoping this is a way to break in with the Tarblooders, and hopefully steal some of the talent from the Buckeyes. Obviously, there is nothing to worry about with Rodriguez, but Dantonio has proven his recruiting pull the last few years. In fact, the Buckeyes are battling the Spartans for several other prospects in Ohio currently.

3) Cameron Heyward is getting lots of love in the mock drafts for 2011. SI's latest mock draft has Heyward going fourth to the Detriot Lions, while McShay at has him fifth to the Browns . I thought Heyward really didn't get the respect he should of last season, and it is nice to see some experts noticing his dominance. 

4) I have made it clear that I already sick of expansion talk, but this topic is only going to gain more momentum over the next few months. The latest chapter in this story is that the SEC is looking at expanding if others do . As many have predicted, this will be a battle that will have all the major conferences trying to outdo each other. SEC commissioner Mike Silve said this:

"We've always been known to be a creative league, be on the cutting edge," Slive said. "We're not going to allow ourselves in any way, shape or form, to be anything less than what we are now."

In other words, get ready for a war when the Big Ten expands. When the dust settles, college football will have a much different look and feel.