Ohio State AD Gene Smith on Braxton Miller: 'He's not going anywhere'
Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith told Eleven Warriors that quarterback Braxton Miller is not transferring.
There has been speculation over whether Miller would seek to play elsewhere since the Buckeyes' win over Oregon in the College Football Playoff national championship game. Miller has started 34 games for Ohio State and was named the 2013 Big Ten offensive player of the year.
"He's not going anywhere," Smith said, according to Eleven Warriors.
Miller missed the entire season after tearing his labrum in August. With Miller sidelined, backup J.T. Barrett led Ohio State to a 10-1 record and emerged as a Heisman Trophy candidate before suffering an ankle fracture in the regular season finale against Michigan.
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Third-string signal-caller Cardale Jones took over for Barrett and helped the Buckeyes beat Wisconsin in the Big Ten championship game, Alabama in the College Football Playoff semifinals and Oregon in the national championship game.
Jones announced in January that he would return to school next season, and Barrett told SI.com the same month that he is not leaving the program and that he doesn't think Miller is leaving. If Miller were to leave for another program, he would be eligible immediately as a graduate transfer.
"If you pay attention to him, he's not going anywhere. He loves it here first and foremost. He has a child. He's from here. He's in a good position," Smith said. "We have his medical records. Keep in mind, he's had challenges physically over the years. So he knows that this is a place where we're going to help him, we're going to take care of him."
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"My conversation with him was well before spring ball. He's working out in the weight room and we got into a conversation and I just asked him, I said, 'You good? All these rumors out there, you good? You need some help if you want to transfer?'" Smith said. "He said, 'Mr. Smith, I'm not going anywhere. I love it here.'"
Ohio State, which is ranked first in SI.com's post-spring power rankings, opens the 2015 season on Sept. 7 at Virginia Tech.
