OSU Buckeyes

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The deep balls carried easily down the field.

The passes to the sideline arrived crisply, and pretty much everything over the middle was on the money.

None of the 36 scouts at Ohio State on Friday morning were there to watch Troy Smith work, but six years after going through his own Pro Day, the former Heisman Trophy winner still put on a show for them anyway.

"That wasn't for me, though," a sweating Smith said as he walked off the field at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center. "That was for Jake Stoneburner, that was for those guys. Anything the Buckeyes need in general around here, I'm at their leisure. Any which way we're going to work, I'm going to help.

"You know, over the years I've learned [a writer's talent] is media stuff. I can roll out of bed and throw spirals, what can I say?"

Those tight spirals helped Stoneburner, who said he dropped his 40-yard dash time to 4.52 seconds and then followed it up with an impressive pass-catching performance with his new mentor playing quarterback for him.

The hybrid wide receiver/tight end was been working closely with Smith to prepare for his pro auditions ahead of next month's draft, and the two certainly made each other look good during the positional drills late in the morning. It might not help Smith get back to the NFL after getting released by the Pittsburgh Steelers last summer, but the outing could boost Stoneburner's stock and help him get there for the first time.

"I can see why he won the Heisman, I see why he was a captain -- he motivated me better than anyone I've ever seen," Stoneburner said. "Having him out there certainly made me look better, and I think he was happier for me than I was for myself.

"I mean, that guy is incredible. I was running as fast as I can 40 yards down the field, didn't have to take one single less stride. He hit me right in stride. I absolutely believe he could be in the NFL, and I think he believes it, too. For the scouts here today, I'm sure he made an impression. He looked flawless out there."

On the other end, Stoneburner didn't look too shabby, either.

Ohio State hardly needs motivation thanks to the chip on its shoulder already firmly in place after sitting out the postseason with a perfect record. But just in case any players required any extra fuel heading into workouts or wanted a little help putting together some goals, BuckeyeNation is here to lend a hand with some records that could be in reach with another productive offseason.

CAREER QUARTERBACK RECORDS

• Who owns it: The various names are already well established in Ohio State history -- from Art Schlichter to Troy Smith, Bobby Hoying to Joe Germaine. But their respective career passing records could wind up under assault from a quarterback who's currently better known for his legs than his arm. A few of them might take two more seasons for Braxton Miller to chase down, but even if he simply maintains his current pace and doesn't take another step forward throwing the ball as he did as a sophomore, hallowed marks such as passing yardage, touchdowns and total yardage could go down as well as a pile of others that require steady contributions over a long period of time.
• Who wants it: Miller's passing statistics after getting thrown into the lineup as a true freshman didn't turn many heads, but they did give him a head start and sent him on his way to potentially leading the Ohio State attack for four seasons. That's a significant boost in a bid to set career passing marks, even if that's not Miller's motivation. If he merely duplicated his dynamic sophomore campaign twice more, Miller would finish his career with more than 7,000 passing yards, 500 completions and 58 touchdowns -- enough to clinch the last two categories and a legitimate threat to the first even without boosting his numbers in Urban Meyer's spread offense.
• Relevant number: The conversation for quarterbacks invariably comes back around to a much more simple category, and Miller is well on his way to piling up enough victories to make his case as one of the school's most decorated signal-callers. Even after getting tossed into the mix before he was truly ready as a freshman and then missing out on two more chances to win games due to NCAA sanctions as a sophomore, Miller officially has 16 victories through two seasons. He would need 20 wins over the next two seasons to tie Schlichter's 36 from 1978-81, and Miller could potentially have 29 games to match or surpass it taking possible postseason games into consideration.