Ohio State Football: Troy Smith's Thoughts on Braxton Miller Are Spot on

Over the weekend Troy Smith, Ohio State's last Heisman Trophy winner, spoke to John Kampf of The News Herald and said a lot of good things about Braxton Miller:

"

I see a lot of myself in him, all of myself. I solely believe he has a chance to be 10 times better than I was. He’s a lot faster. He’s a much better athlete.

I’m extremely excited about his future. I want to see him take off.

"

For the haters and the skeptics this just comes across as more gushing over the rising sophomore quarterback. For those of us who watched Miller grow in 2011 and who understand what Urban Meyer's scheme is working towards, this is just another reason to look forward to 2012.

The fact is, whether you are an Ohio State fan or not, it should be clear the Buckeyes are finally about to unlock their quarterback's potential in a system that gives him all the opportunity to succeed. Troy Smith won the Heisman Trophy by going undefeated through the Big Ten, throwing for 30 touchdowns and 2,542 yards. While it was a great year for the Buckeyes, when you look at the landscape—Sam Bradford, Cam Newton, Robert Griffin III and Tim Tebow—Smith's production that season wouldn't have been enough to get a Heisman in the next few years.

Terrelle Pryor, the Buckeyes' next big-time athlete at the quarterback position, never topped the 2,800-yard mark in the passing game. While he had a contentious relationship with Ohio State fans, the truly disappointing part of his career at Ohio State on the field was the team's inability to maximize the talents of the great athlete. As Pryor famously voiced in 2010, if he were playing in the stat-friendly system of Bradford, RGIII, Tebow or Newton, he could have dominated. While many folks did not like the message because of the messenger, it is tough to deny a system tailored to his skills would have pushed Pryor higher up the productivity ladder.

Enter Urban Meyer and Braxton Miller. Last year we watched Miller struggle with his inexperience combined with the same disjointed offensive approach we saw with Pryor. That all changes with Meyer and offensive coordinator Tom Herman. The Buckeyes have a game plan and that game plan is structured around maximizing what they will get out of Miller.

A system that both Smith and Pryor could have benefited from will now have Miller reaping the rewards of their restrictions. The sky is the limit for Miller, and this evolution at Ohio State is going to push the ceiling for the Buckeyes' quarterback.

Smith won a Heisman despite the system. Pryor never showed how truly talented he could be because of the system. Now, Miller is going to have the opportunity to be better than both of those players because of the system.