Braxton Miller to Play WR For Ohio State: Latest Details, Comments and Reaction

Head coach Urban Meyer can erase one option in the Ohio State Buckeyes' quarterback race. According to Sports Illustrated's Pete Thamel, Braxton Miller will move to wide receiver for his senior season in Columbus, Ohio.

However, Bill Rabinowitz of the Columbus Dispatch reported, per Urban Meyer, that the position change has not been finalized.

According to Thamel, Miller's decision was a matter of being pragmatic:      

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But Miller said with more than two months until he'll be completely healthy at quarterback, he's approaching this season as primarily a wide receiver.

"For the most part, it's going to be H-Back and punt return," Miller said in a phone interview on Thursday night. "It's a long process to get back totally to throwing and throwing every day. This is the smarter thing for right now, God blessed me with a lot of talent and different opportunities. I'm going to have fun with that and still score a lot of touchdowns and help the team out and be dominant at that."

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Miller's father discussed the decision, according to Rabinowitz:

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“That’s what he wants to do,” the older Miller said of Braxton playing quarterback. “But being a competitor and a team player, if he doesn’t feel that he’s ready for quarterback because of the shoulder, he’s open to doing whatever it takes to get on the field and help the team.”

As for playing receiver, Kevin Miller said, “That’s not his plan, but if it comes down to that, he’s already been putting in work. You don’t want to wait until the last minute.” 

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It's hard to believe how much Miller's college career has changed in the space of a year. Entering the 2014 season, he was a potential Heisman Trophy candidate. He had thrown for 2,094 passing yards and 24 touchdowns while rushing for another 1,068 yards and 12 touchdowns the season before.

Then, he suffered a shoulder injury in practice last August that wiped out his entire 2014 campaign. In his absence, J.T. Barrett and Cardale Jones helped lead Ohio State to a national title.

With both Barrett and Jones returning, Miller has been crowded out at quarterback. His best shot at seeing the field on a regular basis could be moving to wideout.

Both ESPN.com's Joe Schad and CBSSports.com's Pete Prisco believe the position switch will benefit Miller in the long run as well:

Meanwhile, OSU wide receivers coach Zach Smith is happy to have another weapon at his disposal:

Bleacher Report's Adam Kramer wonders if this development will just create headaches at a different position:

With Barrett, Jones, Ezekiel Elliott, Jalin Marshall and Michael Thomas all coming back for 2015, the Buckeyes were set to have one of the most explosive offenses in the country. Shifting Miller to H-back strengthens the group.

Ohio State still has a long way to go to repeat as national champion, but sorting out Miller's position before the season helps eliminate what could've been a potential snag in achieving that goal.