Ohio State Football: Braxton Miller Will Thrive in Urban Meyer's Offense on Astini News

Here's a pretty simple equation: Urban Meyer's spread option offense plus quarterback Braxton Miller's athleticism will equal offensive success for Ohio State in 2012.

Seems simple enough. But is it true?

Well, Meyer's offense has been at its most effective when orchestrated by mobile and athletic quarterbacks like Alex Smith at Utah and Tim Tebow at Florida.

Yes, I said Alex Smith—he rushed for 631 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2004 for the Utes and the team went 12-0 that year and smoked Pittsburgh in the Fiesta Bowl, 35-7.

And Braxton Miller fits that bill, rushing for 715 yards and seven touchdowns his freshman year.

Now, the one thing both Tebow and Smith were was efficient, something Miller needs to improve upon. Sure, he only threw four interceptions last year, but his 54.1 completion percentage isn't going to cut it.

In 2004, Smith completed 67.5 percent of his passes (65 percent the year before). The lowest completion percentage Tebow ever managed was 64.4 percent during his junior season in 2008. And neither threw for double-digit interceptions.

Miller can expect to throw the ball more than the 157 passing attempts he was given in 2011 and he'll need to prove he can move the ball through the air.

But if he can hover around a 60 percent completion mark, his ability to run the spread option and create plays with his legs will make him very effective in Meyer's offense.

And make Ohio State a scary team to play.

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