As part of our predictions project for the 2011 season earlier this month, I made an impassioned case for Luke Fickell to hand the reins of his offense over to Braxton Miller from the get-go. Oddly enough, that suggestion fell on deaf ears.
As somewhat expected, Fickell announced Tuesday that Joe Bauserman will likely start at quarterback for the Buckeyes in the opener against Akron. Miller, officially listed as the co-No. 1 on the depth chart as a true freshman, will also play, and apparently play extensively.
“If we were taking the first snap now, Joe would probably take the first snap,” Fickell said according to the Columbus Dispatch. “We know we’re going to need them both. We want to make sure we can put them out there in front of 106,000 and see how they respond.”
Fickell intimated that Bauserman’s experience and leadership abilities gave the senior the slight edge, but also made it clear that the battle for the starting job will continue.
“He’s done a really good job through camp,” Fickell said. “I’ve been impressed with what he’s done.
“It doesn’t mean I’m not impressed with Braxton as well. We’ve been impressed enough with him to list him in the ‘Or’ category. The whole idea is we want to continue to create competition and make sure those guys understand that by saying ‘Or’ we need both.”
Basically, this season is turning into 2008 all over again, with Bauserman playing the role of Todd Boeckman while Miller is the 2011 version of Terrelle Pryor. That episode of “As the OSU QB Turns” ended with Pryor starting nine of the final 10 games of the season; based on Miller’s talent level, we see a repeat coming this fall.