COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Braxton Miller was at the Schottenstein Center on Thursday night, accepting an award he received for his accomplishments in 2012, but the Ohio State's quarterback's mind is already on 2013.



Briefly meeting with reporters moments before being presented the Chicago Tribune Silver Football for the Big Ten's Most Valuable Player, Miller touched on a number of topics, including his offseason regimen and the Buckeyes' second-ranked recruiting class. Since Ohio State's undefeated season came to an end in November, the Big Ten's Offensive Player of the Year has spent his time improving his fundamentals, in hopes of becoming a more complete player.



"I had bad mechanics last year," Miller said. "I want to focus on it this year."



In an effort to better his passing skills, the junior-to-be spent some time in San Diego with quarterbacks guru George Whitfield Jr., who has helped trained signal-callers such as Ben Roethlisberger, Cameron Newton, Andrew Luck, Johnny Manziel, and Tajh Boyd. There, Miller worked out on the beaches of California, hoping to gain an even greater edge on opponents while figuring out different ways to turn something into nothing with improved "chaos mechanics."



"You gotta keep your composure and just keep your mind on your mechanics and it gets you through it," Miller said. "I'm just getting comfortable right now."



It's not just Miller's physical talents that he's working on this offseason. With the coaches in a no-contact period with the players until the start of spring practice, Miller's growth as a leader is needed now more than ever, as the Buckeyes head into a season with expectations as high as imaginable following the team's undefeated run in 2012.



"Every year you've gotta be a leader and just push the team and we gotta start up from what we did last year," Miller said.



After amassing a school-record 3,310 yards of total offense last season, an improved Miller could be a scary thing for the rest of the Big Ten. Ohio State offensive coordinator and quarterback's coach Tom Herman knows what his best player can do when he touches on his potential, and is hoping to see more of it from him in his junior season.



"When he's good, he's really good, and when he's bad, he's bad. We need him to be really good more often," Herman said. "His good is really, really stinkin' good and he just needs to continue working on the consistency of it, because he's capable of that."



If Miller can do that, the Silver Football that he was presented with on Thursday likely won't be the last of his career.



"I'm just thankful for all the things I can do out there and receive awards like this," Miller said. "It's a blessing."

[rl]







...More... To continue reading this article you must be a member. Sign Up Now for a FREE Trial