Football speed - Is Braxton faster than Denard?

Not faster but he's a hellof al lot bigger and harder to tackle when he's hit.  

FWIW both are somewhat less than wonderful when asked to use their arms instead of their legs but I'd have to say that Braxton is more less wonderful than Denard when it comes to passing.

Denard has long strides and runs like a cheetah. Miller just looks fast because of his stubby legs.

No. Miller got caught from behind fairly easily while at a dead sprint yesterday. That doesn't happen to denard.

He's so fast, that he makes fast people look...not fast.

Being fast isn't everything. Love, Barry White

On the field yesterday. Martinez is just as fast if not faster than Miller. Neither one is even close to having Denard's speed.

The only reason Braxton may look faster is that he is in an offense that takes full advantage of his skills now.  With that said, Denard looked pretty awesome yesterday now that Borges has compensated.  Denard is also faster upstairs than Braxton.

No, but Braxton doesn't need to be.  Braxton is a lot more elusive, has better vision, and is a stronger runner than Denard.

I think Braxton is a better quarterback, but in terms of pure speed, I think Denard would wreck him in a 40 meter dash.

I actually thought about this last night and I quickly realized if Rich Rodriguez were still Denard's coach this wouldn't be a question.

Braxton Miller has good football speed, but it's nothing compared to Tate Forcier's legendary football speed.

This was actually covered in a post a few months ago comparing the mobile QBs of the Big Ten.

Braxton Miller has elite change-of-direction ability. He does not have elite speed. He has crazy shake-and-bake moves that make people look stupid.

Denard doesn't use tricky moves. He merely changes direction faster that most players can. Denard is unquestionably faster; Miller can just fake people out.

Not faster.  But looks more dangerous in his current situation than Denard in his.  However, against a real defense (MSU) they only put up 17 points, so let's not crown the kid yet. 

I would say overall its a wash as a runner, but Miller looks more comfortable making decisions in the pocket and has a more accurate arm. 

I think Miller is every bit as dangerous as Denard because he has crazy moves in traffic for such a big guy. He may not be quite as much of a threat to bust one for the distance as Denard because of pure speed, but his ability to make people miss is really outstanding.

Vince Young was a freak because no 6-6 guy in college has ever had his speed or his elusiveness while being deceptively efficient at throwing the ball.

I don't think any QB in college has Denard's pure speed, but I've always thought that Pat White was a bit better pure runner than Denard, at least in terms of broken-field juking. However, that might be an artifact of White playing four years in an offense that was built exclusively to his skills, something Denard has not had the last two years.

I wouldn't trade Denard for any of them regardless.

I don't think Miller is faster than Denard north and south, however I do think he is just as good at changing directions on a dime at high speeds as Denard is, which is what makes them both so hard to defend in the open field and/or one-on-one.  The big advantage Miller has over Denard is that he is 6'3" 220 and Robinson is 6'0" 197 (although he looks more like 5'10" 185 to me).  So Miller is the size of a linebacker and makes it harder to bring him down with one guy.  

 

Now, the burning question, who is a better thrower...idk I've gone back and forth on this one.  I've seen Robinson look much better in some situations and Miller in others.  I think Miller makes better decisions and forces the ball less.  I think Miller also throws a better deep ball.  I think Robinson throws a better intermediate ball like the crosses, slants, outs, etc.  I think they both struggle sometimes on the short drop offs, which makes no sense to me...that should be the easiest ball.  

 

But, they are both incredible athletes, D-Rob is faster, Miller is bigger, they both have an insane ability to change directions at high speeds, they both struggle throwing at times.  I just hope defending D-Rob in practice makes us better when we play OSU, but I am very concernred with our ability to contain Miller based on what I've seen from our contain thus far.  Hopefully our best defender (Ryan) will be able to basically spy him all game.

No.

Not even remotely close.

Always said that Denard is fast but not a smooth or smart runner. People always freak and shout stats but its not what I mean. He runs awkwardly, almost hard and so hard it makes it tough to react to what is in front of him. Take the run yesterday. Takes off and is GONE. All he needs is a smooth cut inside and back outside and it's a gimme. Yet, since he damn near runs out of his own torse the inside cut takes way too long and the cut back inside has now allowed a defender to shoe tackle him from behind despite having a blocker on the one man between he and the endzone. Miller is better (even last year) at knowing when to tuck it, when to keep it in low gear to scan and when to crank it up to score. I could name 100 slower guys who are/were the same. Denard runs on designed runs and the few times he does tuck on a pass, either way, he goes full speed and forward right away so hard it looks painfull. Imagine Stanton or even Krenzel with Denard's speed, etc. Smart running. Miller is a smart runner. Denard is not. Also, tie your f*cking shoes. It's no longer cute. No way you are faster with loose cleats than tight ones. It's like bare feet and untied sneakers, ffs.

Denard is 1-0 against Braxton

I think both guys accelerate just as fast as each other, but Denard definitely wins in the top speed category. De'Anthony Thomas is probably the only player currently that could challenge Denard for "fastest player in college football."

Braxton's running game is more heavily dependent on his elusiveness, which he has in bunches. It literally looks like a video game when he makes defenders miss. Also on Braxton's 73-yard run last night where defenders caught up to him, I think it was more because he twisted his ankle a bit on a cut. Miller pulled off the run a little gimpy and had to sit for the rest of the drive.

Denard is definitely faster and makes better cuts(that run against AF), but I have to give the instincts and juking to Miller. When Miller is one on one in the open field, its over for whoever is in front of him. I've seen the first guy get a Denard a lot.

Denard has the quickest first step of any college football player I can recall seeing.  No firm idea about top speed, but I'd be surprised if Braxton is faster.

Some still don't see a difference; probably what the OP is mixing up.

I think Braxton is quicker; that's the "east vs west" and "elusiveness" that many reference.

Denard doesn't possess elite level "quicks" like a Tavon Austin or Stephon Diggs. Those are the guys who will make you miss in a phone booth. His is still above average relative other football players.

He does have elite level straight line speed, though; he's one cut and GONE (ND 2010).

Gallon is another example of someone who is pretty quick but not exceptionally fast.

 

We are talking about Dilithium here.

I heard someone say once, "When you have Denard, you can have everything."

I'm thinking at times Braxton may appear faster bcuz he's taller and takes bigger strides than Denard?

Denard is most likely faster than Braxton when focusing on track speed. But football speed plus vision with the ability to juke and take angles and fend off defenders? There is no doubt that Braxton is FAR superior than Denard,imho. Braxton's vision to avoid and juke defenders is simply outstanding. Michigan is going to have to seriously work on their tackling ability for the OSU game because if Michigan falters, Braxton is going to make fools out of the Wolverines.

Let's look at yesterdays game stats.

Denard: 24 rushes for 235 yards. 9.8 y/c 59 yards longest run/ 8-16 105yds passing

Braxton:16 rushes for 186 yards. 11.6 y/c 72 yards longest run/ 7-14 127yds passing

You can decide but putting teams aside, I'd take Braxton over Denard in a heartbeat.

 

Does anyone think Miller will break Denard's rushing record?  He may, but he will be a full time 4-year starter and Denard was only a 3-year starter if my memory serves me correctly Tate started most of 2009.