Braxton Miller's Teammates Say His Return Was Never In Doubt

By Tim Shoemaker on July 17, 2015 at 1:05 pm
Braxton Miller
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We’ve all read the headlines over the past six or so months. There was tons of speculation that Miller, the two-time Big Ten Player of the Year and three-year starting quarterback who missed all of the 2014 season due to shoulder surgery, was going to head somewhere else to use his final year of eligibility.

There was at least some reason to believe it may be possible, too. Ohio State already had J.T. Barrett and Cardale Jones returning at the quarterback position and because Miller has already graduated he would have been eligible to transfer to another school without sitting out a year.

Couple that with the fact Miller went silent since his injury and the rumors started to fly and, as a result, some Ohio State fans became at least a little bit worried.

But all of that came to an end last week when Miller broke his silence and finally announced he was returning to Ohio State for his final season. And on Tuesday, he spoke to the local media for the first time since his injury.

“I’m a Buckeye, man,” Miller said. “I’ve got a tat on my shoulder. My son is gonna come here one day.”

Throughout the whole process, all of the talk about Miller possibly moving on came from the outside. Those close to him — Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer, athletic director Gene Smith, his high school coach, his father — repeatedly stated they expected Miller to be back in Columbus.

But still, there was always speculation because Miller himself hadn’t publicly said anything. That speculation, though, should have never been there. Not according to his teammates, anyway.

“I knew Braxton since our junior year in high school. This guy had an Ohio State tattoo tattooed on him in high school before he let everyone know he was coming here,” Jones said Tuesday. “He’s a commitment type of guy, he’s a dedicated type of guy and when he puts his mind, his heart and his soul into something, he’s gonna get it done. That’s what he did for Ohio State, he put his whole body on the line for Ohio State. For him, I just couldn’t see him leaving and going anywhere else.”

That seems to be the common sentiment amongst Buckeye players. Miller’s loyalty to the program and his teammates meant there really wasn’t ever a chance he’d leave.

“Just because how much he has invested in Ohio State and how much we've invested in him,” running back Ezekiel Elliott said. “It's a brotherhood. Why would you leave this for something else?”

Throughout his Ohio State career, Miller has amassed 8,346 total yards through the air and on the ground and he’s accounted for 84 touchdowns. He’s one of college football’s most dynamic talents and Miller recently called himself “the best athlete in college football.”

It’s not surprising there were other schools at least interested in landing his services. But with all of that speculation, all of that chatter, there was never any real doubt from the Buckeye players Miller was returning.

“I knew he was coming back,” linebacker Joshua Perry said. “As much time as I've spent around him, it was all Ohio State. Just training, he would be up at 2 a.m. running around campus and in the gym training, getting back, trying to get back, get his body right so he could come out here and play for Ohio State and perform.”

Miller will get exactly that chance again in 2015. And he’ll get to do it in the same uniform he’s terrorized opposing defenses in for years.

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