Ohio State Football: How Important Braxton Miller's Weapons Are to Passing Game

The Ohio State passing game this year is set to look night and day from the anemic product it was on the field last year.

Last year, Ohio State came in at No. 116 in the country in passing offense, at 124.1 yards a game, and rushed for just under 64 more yards per game than they threw. Clearly, the days of Tresselball and Jim Bollman had come to a screeching halt.

There really is nowhere else to go but up in the rankings, and that's where the receivers and tight ends around starting QB Braxton Miller will have to prove themselves capable of being threats.

Ohio State's top receivers in terms of catches—Devin Smith, Jake Stoneburner and Corey Brown—each had 14 in 2011. In comparison, redshirt freshman WR Michael Thomas had 12 by himself in the spring game a few weeks ago.

Any more questions as to why the passing game struggled last year?

The route tree that Ohio State receivers use doesn't help either, as there were very few short crossing or slant patterns. Instead, most of the passing game was based on deep outs or fly routes.

With a terrible offensive line and an inexperienced QB, it's pretty easy to see why it didn't work.

Enter Urban Meyer, Tom Herman and an offense that is much, much more receiver-friendly than Jim Tressel's offense.

The Scarlet-Gray spring game gave fans a better idea of what to expect out of the new offense, as it relies upon receivers making plays after they catch the ball on the move.

It should allow Brown and Smith, two receivers known for pure speed and elusiveness in the open field, to be used more efficiently.

But the real players who should have an impact will be the tight ends.

Meyer and Herman's backgrounds have allowed players like Aaron Hernandez at Florida and James Casey at Rice to not only be great college TEs, but to also make it to the NFL.

That's where Stoneburner and sophomore Jeff Heuerman come in.

Both of them are tight ends that are better as receivers than as pure blockers, which make them very, very dangerous in the open field.

Stoneburner is a matchup nightmare for almost any defensive set because of his blend of speed and size. His problem was not being properly utilized thle last three seasons.

Heuerman is similar in terms of skills but doesn't have the elite physical tools that Stoneburner has. But he will still have an edge if Meyer can get him out on the edge and have him lined up against a cornerback.

The New England Patriots proved how dangerous a passing game can be if you have two very good tight ends, which they had in Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski.

Stoneburner and Heuerman might not be as good as those two, but that's the idea that this passing attack should aim for.

The tight ends have typically been a safety valve for young quarterbacks, and it helps when your tight ends are extremely dangerous in the open field as well.

Miller is expected to make a quantum leap forward in terms of production and efficiency in running a much more explosive offense than his freshman year.

But he's going to need some help this coming season to get the offense to the level that Meyer and Herman expect it to be.

Follow me on Twitter @bielik_tim for the latest college football news and updates.