Current, former Buckeyes showcase power of 'Brotherhood' at Braxton Miller youth camp
COLUMBUS — Braxton Miller stood in the crowd of hundreds of youngsters running around on the Woody Hayes Athletic Center, all of them in the building for the former Ohio State quarterback’s camp.
The Buckeyes legend – indeed, the two-time Big Ten MVP of 2012 and 2013 – seemingly was all at once directing traffic, signing autographs, posing for photos and talking at his fifth annual CHARG1NG Football Camp for ages 8 through 17.
Fellow former Ohio State players including Cardale Jones, Doran Grant, James Cotton, Chase Farris and many others had showed up at his request to help, even some present-day Buckeyes including quarterback C.J. Stroud and receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
“When I was little I looked up to a lot of great players, like Braxton Miller,” Smith-Njigba said after signing autographs for a long line. “He was one of my favorite Buckeyes of all time – they put the ball in his hands and the things he could do.
“So for me to give back and be that guy that people look up to, it’s really just a blessing.”
Funny, that’s the word Miller also used to describe the reward he gains from staging the annual camp. Any one could see and hear the funny the youngsters were having as they took part in directed drills, races, 7-on-7 competitions and the like.
“It’s a blessing,” Miller said. “My success trail, this is where it first started.”
Having grown up in Springfield, Ohio, he said the intent is for the kids to have an impactful experience “that I didn’t have (as a youngster) and bring that to them early so that when they get here, it’s not a shock to them.”
The newly replaced artificial grass surface on the indoor field of the WHAC made for quite the playground. The enthusiasm by those involved, young and old alike, was palpable.
“Oh, my God, it’s crazy,” Miller said. “Having a great guy like Trumain Hall, and Mike Tucker, and having my team out here helping out, and having former (Buckeyes), current guys coming out, having some fun. It’s a brotherhood.”
It’s why former Ohio State defensive lineman James Cotton – part of the 1998 Big Ten championship team and a former NFL and Canadian Football League player who’s now long-time in the insurance profession – showed up early and stayed late.
“The allure is just Buckeye brotherhood, man,” Cotton said. “We’re all trying to help each other out — camps, fundraisers, things like that. That’s what being a Buckeye is all about.
“It goes back to Woody Hayes, ‘paying it forward,’ and the opportunity to meet some of the current players, and kind of just be around the facility. This is home.”
The esteem to which former and current players are held in, be they stars or role players during their career, is obvious.
“It’s about the tradition,” Cotton said. “And the fact that (maybe some of the kids running around eventually might) have the opportunity to put on the scarlet and gray and make a name for themselves, this is where it starts, at these little community outreach, these events, and then you see those guys have success on the football field, there’s a correlation there.
“It’s great that you see C.J. Stroud out here, and these (other Buckeyes) out here, just helping out. It’s fun.”
