Ohio State to honor pair of Buckeye greats from Miami Valley

COLUMBUS — Two of the best Miami Valley natives to suit up for Ohio State football will be honored this weekend when the Buckeyes take on Iowa.

Braxton Miller, a Springfield native who starred at Wayne High School before becoming a Buckeye, is one of 14 members of the newest class to be inducted into the Ohio State Varsity ‘O’ Athletics Hall of Fame this weekend.

He was the Big Ten Freshman of the Year in 2011 before being named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year and Quarterback of the Year in 2012 and ‘13.

Miller also won the prestigious Chicago Tribune Silver Football as the conference’ MVP the latter two years as the Buckeyes posted back-to-back undefeated regular seasons.

A shoulder injury suffered in an Orange Bowl loss to Clemson and aggravated in preseason practice sidelined Miller for the 2014 season, but he returned as a receiver in 2015 and caught 26 passes for 341 yards.

A third-round pick of the Houston Texans in the 2016 NFL Draft, Miller finished his Ohio State career with 5,295 yards passing, 3,314 yards rushing and 8,609 yards of total offense. He ran for 33 touchdowns, threw for 52 and caught three.

His 88 touchdowns responsible for are a school record, and he finished his career second in yards of total offense at Ohio State.

Ward, who grew up in Dayton and graduated from Patterson Co-Op, was a three-year starter on the offensive line for the Buckeyes from 1975-77.

After helping clear the way for Archie Griffin to win two Heisman Trophies, Ward was the No. 4 pick in the 1978 NFL Draft.

A two-time All-American on the field who also was an Academic All-American, Ward spent seven seasons in the NFL with the New York Jets and New Orleans Saints before going into ministry for at-risk youth in Southern California.

In December, he will become the 28th man inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame from Ohio State as a player, a group that also includes fullback Bob Ferguson of Troy and running back Keith Byars of Dayton Roth.

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