Ohio State's Harry Miller Invited To Attend President Joe Biden's State Of The Union Address

Harry Miller medically retired from football in 2022 after a battle with mental health concerns.

Author:
Cole Thompson
Feb 7, 2023 5:10 PM EST

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Ohio State Buckeyes

Harry Miller may no longer be making an impact for the Ohio State Buckeyes in the trenches, but he still is making his presence felt in the public eye.

Miller was invited as a guest by First Lady Jill Biden to attend Joe Biden’s annual State of the Union address on Tuesday night. Miller will be one of 25 people in attendance in the First Lady's viewing box "because they personify issues or themes to be addressed by the President in his speech, or they embody the Biden-Harris Administration’s policies at work for the American people.”

Ohio State coach Ryan Day praised Miller's courage to speak up about his mental health struggles before the start of the 2022 season and thanked him for his continued efforts in bringing awareness to the problem internally among players and at the national level.

"For him certainly, the impact has been felt," Day said Tuesday morning. "Ever since he's gone public, so many people have been affected by his courage and what he's done. To see him get recognized like this at the White House and something of this magnitude and the type of people that he’s going to be around tonight is just tremendous.

"For the White House to pick this up says a lot about what Harry's done."

Miller, a former five-star recruit out of Buford, Ga., was expected to be a focal point of the Buckeyes' offensive line after signing with the team in 2019. He started at left guard in 2020 and was expected to be the starting center in 2021 in place of Josh Myers.

Miller played sporadically during the 2021 season after suffering an injury prior to the season-opener against Minnesota. That year, he began to battle with depression and suicidal thoughts, openly admitting that he considered taking his own life before the start of the new campaign.

Last offseason, Miller medically retired from football, citing his battle with mental health as a factor. Since then, he's become an advocate for mental health awareness, speaking on platforms such as NBC’s TODAY show and Ohio State’s Faces of Resilience banquet.

"At the time, I would rather be dead than a coward. I'd rather be nothing at all, than have to explain everything that was wrong," Miller penned last March in a two-page retirement post on Twitter. "I was planning on being reduced to my initials on a back of a helmet. I had seen people seek help before. I had seen the age-old adage of how our generation was softening by the second, but I can tell you my skin was tough."

Miller's story is expected to be highlighted Tuesday night during President Biden's State of the Union address. Day said that the White House reached out to Miller earlier this week, and his impact advocating better resources for mental health in the state of Ohio won't soon be forgotten.

"People really don't understand how important mental health is," Day said. "Harry sharing his story has made a huge impact."