In what could be a crushing blow to the national title hopes of the Ohio State Buckeyes, senior quarterback Braxton Miller reportedly reinjured his throwing shoulder in practice on Monday afternoon. According to the Columbus Dispatch, the injury could be serious enough to end his 2014 season before it begins.
Braxton Miller initially hurt the shoulder in the first quarter of the Buckeyes 40-35 loss to Clemson in the Orange Bowl, even though he ended up playing the rest of the game. When asked about the injury afterwards, he explained that the pain was “nine-and-a-half” out of ten. He had surgery in February to correct the issue, and as a result was held out of spring practice, along with being limited in fall camp until this week. The plan was to gradually introduce him to increased contact and throwing activity over the course of this week in preparation for the season opener with Navy next Saturday.
If Ohio State fans’ worst fears are realized and Braxton Miller must sit out the entire season, where does this leave the quarterback situation? Redshirt sophomore Cardale Jones is the only player on the roster with meaningful game reps, but that playing time came in virtual mop-up duty in blowout wins against Florida A&M, Penn State and Purdue. Freshman J.T. Barrett, who redshirted in 2013, was impressive during spring camp and the consensus is that he has surpassed Jones on the depth chart as preseason practice transitions into its home stretch.
The season will most certainly take a completely different complexion if the Buckeyes are forced to rely on a signal caller with little experience. This is especially true in a season with a challenging non-conference schedule that includes perennial ACC contender Virginia Tech and a Cincinnati team with hopes of making a major bowl as the best ‘Group of Five’ team in the country. Ohio State has a massive target on its back in 2014 irrespective of who starts at quarterback, but if either Jones or Barrett is thrown to the wolves out of necessity, it appears that the Buckeyes’ 24-game regular season winning streak, the nation’s longest, will come to an end at some point this season.
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