COLUMBUS, Ohio — As the college football offseason enters its dog days of summer, everybody seems to be voicing an opinion about Braxton Miller.
Everybody, that is, except for Miller himself.
Rumors of the Ohio State quarterback taking advantage of his ability as a graduate transfer have been attached to his name ever since last fall, when J.T. Barrett—and then Cardale Jones—stepped up in his injury-induced absence during the Buckeyes' run to the national title. The rumblings hit a peak during the postseason, with high-profile names like Oregon, Florida State, Alabama and LSU all being attached but never amounting to more than message-board fodder.
And now that spring football is over and fall camp sits nearly two months away, all indications appear to be that Miller will return to Ohio State for an unprecedented quarterback competition.
"I am pretty confident," Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith said at the Big Ten meetings on Tuesday, via the Big Ten Network's Tom Dienhart. "Any kid could flip. In my conversation, which was well before spring ball started and he was rehabbing, he was committed to coming back. He was taking courses and coming back. I don’t have any reason to believe he won’t be back."
Smith's answer sounded a lot like Buckeyes head coach Urban Meyer's response to a similar query during an appearance on The Dan Patrick Show in April.
Obviously, young people or anyone is allowed to change their mind. I have not heard [Miller is transferring]. I did not ask him, one of our strength coaches did, and he said, 'I don't know where that's coming from.' So I would say Braxton is staying, is all indications that I'm getting. I don't go by hearsay. I just talk to the people involved and he seems to be very happy and excited for 2015 as a Buckeye.
But while both Smith and Meyer's answers may be truthful—and there's no reason to believe they're not—each are couched with vague terms and leave room for Miller to change his mind. They're the politically correct answers to a delicate situation, one that appears to still possess at least some level of uncertainty.
And until Miller ultimately decides to speak—or the 2015 season arrives with the two-time Big Ten MVP on the Ohio State roster—that uncertainty will remain.
In the nine months that have followed his senior season ending before it even started with a torn labrum in his throwing shoulder, Miller has declined to participate in media sessions at the Big Ten Championship Game, Sugar Bowl, College Football Playoff title game and Buckeyes spring practice. By contrast, Barrett has met with the media no fewer than four times since fracturing his ankle in November, including at a spring practice interview session Miller was originally schedule for but declined to attend.
There are a few ways to read into Miller's reluctance to talk to reporters—especially when you consider that he's an introvert by nature—but his ignorance to the transfer speculation is not one of them. Back when a new Miller-related rumor seemed to be making the rounds every day, the Huber Heights, Ohio, native caused a stir when he favorited a tweet indicating he was picking Oregon over Ohio State in the national title game, before taking to Twitter to call it an accident in a since-deleted tweet.
If Miller knew why he was temporarily facing backlash from Buckeye fans for appearing to favor the Ducks over his own team, then surely he's aware of of the transfer innuendo that's been attached to his name.
All it would take is one tweet from him to put an end to the rumors, or a meeting with the media to address all that's been speculated about for the past nine months. Instead, Meyer, Smith, his teammates and even his high school coach have been left to answer for him, with no one being able to say without absolute certainty that Miller will be in Columbus for the start of the 2015 season.
Miller's personal circle is small and has only shrunk since he left the starting lineup for the sideline last August. Those who do know Miller, however, have indicated that last season was a shock to his system, as he's never had to deal with a team not only succeeding, but excelling in his absence.
With that in mind, it'd be hard to blame Miller for keeping his options open, just as he appears to be doing. For everyone insisting if Miller were to transfer, he would have done so by now, it's worth noting that Russell Wilson didn't use his ability as a graduate transfer to move from North Carolina State to Wisconsin until just a month prior to the start of the Badgers' fall camp in 2011.
With so much still unknown, especially when it comes to the rehab of his injured shoulder which still isn't at full strength, Miller has the right to take as long as he'd like to before deciding where he'll be spending his final college season. At this point, it's more likely than not that place will be Ohio State, where the homebody Miller already possesses familiarity with his surroundings, a playbook and a coaching staff that feels indebted to the two-time Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year.
But regardless of who says what, only Miller knows for sure what his future holds. And until he gives any definitive indication—whether it be with his actions or his words—questions will continue to persist.
Ben Axelrod is Bleacher Report's Big Ten lead writer. You can follow him on Twitter @BenAxelrod. Unless noted otherwise, all quotes were obtained firsthand. All statistics courtesy of CFBStats.com. Recruiting rankings courtesy of 247Sports.
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