Braxton Miller: Fire and Nice
Freshman quarterback is praised for his competitive drive on the field and his humility off it
Thursday September 8, 2011
By Bill Rabinowitz
The Columbus Dispatch
For more than a decade, the carp in the pond behind Jay Minton's house had eluded everyone who had cast a line.
"Everybody who has fished this pond has said, 'Man, I want to catch one of those,'" the Huber Heights Wayne football coach said.
A year or two ago, quarterback Braxton Miller, pole in hand, announced that he was going to do it. Minton scoffed.
"No, you're not," he said. "We've lived here 12 or 13 years and no one has ever caught one.
"But lo and behold if he didn't get one. He was determined to catch it, and he found a way to catch it. Leave it to Braxton."
Minton figures he should have known not to doubt Miller. The coach is effusive in his praise for the Ohio State freshman. Not just for his fishing prowess, of course, and not only for his football ability. Minton saves his biggest compliments for the way Miller has handled his success in a fishbowl existence that only figures to become more intense as he settles in as a Buckeye.
"He's a special young man," Minton said. "He's just something. You don't have enough ink to write about him. It has been fun to have him around and watch him develop."
Whether Miller plays second fiddle to Joe Bauserman this year or becomes the starter as a true freshman, Minton and others who know Miller well expect one thing ? he won't change from the person they know.
"One of the neatest things about Braxton is that with all the success he's had and through (being courted during) recruiting, you'd think this kid thinks he walks on water," Minton said. "But he is so humble."
Miller credits his father, Kevin, for making sure his athletic prowess wouldn't result in a swelled head.
"When I was growing up, my dad always got on me, that even if you're good, don't try to be a showboat," Braxton said. "If you score, act like you've been there before. I try to be humble. If someone asks me about myself, like, 'How good do you think you are?' I just say, 'I don't know, I just go out there and try to do my best.' My dad always preached for me to do that."
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