If Braxton Miller Wants to Transfer to SEC, Alabama Is Not His Best Option
One of the hottest industries in college football has become the quarterback transfer market, and this offseason could include one of college football's most prominent players.
Ever since J.T. Barrett got Ohio State in position to win the Big Ten and Cardale Jones took over and capped off the Buckeyes magical national-title run, all eyes have been on senior Braxton Miller.
The former Heisman Trophy contender injured his shoulder last August, graduated in December and would be eligible immediately should he decide to transfer to another FBS school.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
| 2011 | 85-of-157 | 54.1 | 1,159 | 13 | 4 | 715 | 7 |
| 2012 | 148-of-254 | 58.3 | 2,039 | 15 | 6 | 1,271 | 13 |
| 2013 | 162-of-255 | 63.5 | 2,094 | 24 | 7 | 1,068 | 12 |
Where could he land?
Thanks to The Paul Finebaum Show on SEC Network and ESPN Radio, Alabama has emerged as an option this week so much so that head coach Nick Saban did his best to dance around the subject on Tuesday night.
"If there was somebody out there that I thought could help our team, we have a spot or two available that we could probably—but it would have to be the right person, in the right place that could make a contribution," he said, according to Bleacher Report Alabama lead writer Marc Torrence.
One source in close to Ohio State indicated to B/R that Miller isn't leaving Columbus, according to Torrence.
Could that change once it becomes even more apparent that either Jones or Barrett (or both) will play over Miller? Sure. If Miller does decide to change his address, Alabama isn't his best option in the SEC. Here are some more appropriate choices.
LSU Tigers
Not to get overly simplistic, but why would Miller decide to leave Ohio State? To start.
There's nothing to suggest that a starting job would be guaranteed at Alabama, even though a starter hasn't been named. Sure, Jake Coker hasn't worked out yet, but he's still leading redshirt freshman David Cornwell.
Cornwell is the biggest reason a job isn't guaranteed. He came to Alabama last January with a torn ACL, recovered last spring, and then underwent offseason foot surgery before working with the scout team last fall. He's only had one true practice session to run Alabama's offense and did so with four other players vying for snaps.
At LSU, the door is wide open.
This is Year Two of the Brandon Harris vs. Anthony Jennings battle, and the results from Year One—a year in which both players started games—didn't work out so well. Jennings, who started all but one of LSU's games, completed just 48.9 percent of his passes, struggled with short and intermediate routes and couldn't pose the threat that LSU needed to take pressure off of the running game.
In the spring game, they both looked better statistically but did most of their damage against the second-team defense (which didn't look good). The duo combined to throw for just 64 total yards, zero touchdowns, one pick and took five sacks for the "purple" team against the first-team defense, according to stats released by LSU.
That won't cut it.
Head coach Les Miles isn't on the hot seat, but it's not exactly cool either. He can't really afford another 8-5-type season, otherwise he might be coaching for his job in 2016. Because of that, he might be more willing to not only take a risk on Miller (or any quarterback transfer), but also hand him the job earlier in fall camp.
Does the system at LSU fit?
Not really, and offensive coordinator Cam Cameron would have his work cut out for him in order to get acquainted to Miller on the fly. Dual-threat quarterbacks are all that LSU has, though, and Miller would instantly be the most talented one the roster.
As Bama Sports Radio on VSporto pointed out on Twitter, LSU makes much more sense than Alabama.
Florida Gators
New Florida head coach Jim McElwain has established that redshirt freshman pro-style passer Will Grier is the leader to win the job in Gainesville and sophomore Treon Harris, who started seven games last year, is a close second.
Harris doesn't seem to fit what McElwain wants to do from a schematic standpoint, but Florida's offensive line issues may force the new staff to become more vanilla than anticipated in Year One, and having a mobile quarterback to elude what seems like it could be constant pressure wouldn't be a bad thing.
Miller is the perfect quarterback to find that happy medium.
While he's most known for his dual-threat abilities, Miller has thrown for 5,292 yards, 52 touchdowns and only 17 picks. He hasn't operated in a true pro-style offense at Ohio State, but he still has had a ton of success through the air.
What's more, Florida's issues up front might require McElwain to transform his system into more of a hybrid scheme in 2015 anyway, and Miller would be the perfect quarterback to bridge the gap.
If he took Miller, would McElwain be running the risk of losing one or both of his current quarterbacks? Probably not. Harris knew he was a square peg in a round hole all offseason and chose to stick around, and he would certainly benefit from a year working in the new system. For Grier, he'd still be a redshirt sophomore next season and have up to three years as the starter if he's able to win the job.
It'd be a concern, sure. But only a minor one.
South Carolina Gamecocks
South Carolina head coach Steve Spurrier turned 70 years old on Monday, and his window to win the SEC title at South Carolina is closing by the day.
Miller's presence could prop the window open for the time being in the wide-open SEC East.
South Carolina was at its best with dual-threat star Connor Shaw taking the snaps, and Miller would be the closest thing to Shaw that South Carolina has on its roster. Spurrier and quarterbacks coach G.A. Mangus could get really creative with how they use Miller alongside ultra-versatile wide receiver Pharoh Cooper and running backs Brandon Wilds and David Williams.
Current quarterbacks Connor Mitch, Perry Orth and Michael Scarnecchia looked decent in the spring game. But with a rebuilt offensive line and no established playmakers outside other than Cooper, South Carolina could use a kick start in its offense in the form of an established dual-threat quarterback transfer, and Miller would be the best on the market if he decides to leave.
As is the case with Florida, accepting a graduate transfer for one season likely wouldn't alienate Spurrier's current group of quarterbacks. Mitch, a redshirt sophomore, is the front-runner to win the job right now, and as I wrote earlier this month, true freshman dual-threat Lorenzo Nunez will likely see some time as a changeup quarterback in some capacity this fall.
Mitch would still have time in 2016 and 2017, and Nunez could benefit from a redshirt season in 2015.
Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. All stats are courtesy of CFBStats.com unless otherwise noted, and all recruiting information is courtesy of 247Sports' composite rankings.
Barrett Sallee is the lead SEC college football writer and college football video analyst for Bleacher Report as well as a host on Bleacher Report Radio on Sirius 93, XM 208.
Follow Barrett on Twitter @BarrettSallee.
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