Ohio State quarterback Braxton Miller is the subject of much intrigue. The two-time Silver Football winner in the Big Ten strangely seems to be the odd man out in Columbus according to a number of college football minds, which almost seems unfathomable for a player many would have thrown in the Heisman Trophy race last season if not for a preseason shoulder surgery. Eligible for a transfer as a graduated senior, Miller could easily answer a quarterback question for any team in need, including Alabama. Recent trips to Alabama have some thinking the plan for a Miller-to-Alabama transfer is in the works, but let’s take a step back and realize what’s more likely to be happening here.
Former Alabama linebacker Trey DePriest is friends with Miller and says the quarterback’s trips to Alabama have been spent visiting Dr. James Andrews, who performed shoulder surgery on Miller last summer. Since the operation, Miller has visited Andrews for follow-up appointments and some rehab. This is nothing out of the ordinary, and DePriest says that is all there is to it.
“He wasn’t coming down here to visit me,” DePriest said in a report from Al.com. “He just had shoulder surgery, and that’s where he does his rehab, in Birmingham, so he was like 35 minutes away.”
“To be honest with you, we don’t even talk about it,” DePriest said. “When we talk, we talk more as friends because I know everyone is in his ear about all that, so I just try to leave it alone. But I really don’t know because it’s hard to get a feel from him, and I really don’t try to get a feel from him to be honest with you.”
If Miller does transfer, he will be eligible to play this fall. Of course, he has said before he intends to stay at Ohio State and he could still battle to regain the starting job from either J.T. Barrett or Cardale Jones if his shoulder is in good form.