VIDEO: Braxton Miller at Reds game
Reds second baseman Brandon Phillips, who caught a strike from Miller, laughed as Miller retreated to corral his son. It made for a cute moment on a beautiful night for baseball. Miller made his name on the football field but grew up a Reds fan in Springfield and wore a signed Pete Rose jersey Monday before switching to a uniform with his name on the back.
“I remember coming to the Reds games when I was young,” Miller said. “Getting a chance to go into the locker room, to be on the field with my son and my friends, it means a lot.”
The first pitch comes just over a week before Miller will hear his name called in the NFL draft, which takes place April 28-30 in Chicago. Miller said 12 teams are looking at him. He named a few of them: the Cincinnati Bengals, Houston Texas, Tennessee Titans, Baltimore Ravens and New England Patriots.
Miller is projected to be a second-round pick but said he has an opportunity to go in the first round. Draft analyst Bucky Brooks, of NFL.com, described Miller as “arguably the most electrifying playmaker in the 2016 class.”
Asked what his emotions are in what must be a crazy time, Miller said, “It is (crazy), but I love this stuff. I hope I get a chance and a good opportunity to have a nice career.”
Miller would be the first Springfield native to be drafted since another Ohio State wideout, Dee Miller, who was taken in the sixth round by the Green Bay Packers in 1999.
“I love Springfield,” Miller said. “That’s my home. I was born and raised there.”
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