One college football door closed, another opened for JA grad
Life can often work in mysterious ways.
For Jonathan Alder alumnus Caleb Miller, his journey to playing college football was a tricky one.
It could be a cautionary tale for those who seek a future in college athletics.
Jonathan Alder graduate Caleb Miller (45) lead blocks for Cameron Jewell (2) during a 2022 regular season game.
(Photo by Aleksei Pavloff)
Alderson Broaddus University was the preferred landing spot for Miller, who proved to be one of JA’s primary forces on the defensive side of the ball.
The former Pioneer earned first team honors in the Central Buckeye Conference, third-team All-Ohio and first-team All-District for linebacker during his final season of 2022.
His accomplishments on the gridiron piqued the interest of Alderson Broaddus coaches.
“(The program had) a pretty good coaching staff and I had a really good relationship with the head coach,” he said, adding the offer was something he could not pass up.
“They were also promising me a starting spot at linebacker.”
The dream of competing in college football whisked away like breath to the wind following the announcement of the university permanently closing.
In late 2023, Alderson Broaddus, located in West Virginia, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy following financial struggles. That left many students, like Miller, in a state of disbelief.
The college lost its accreditation on Dec. 31, 2023, due to its later closure, according to a document by the Higher Learning Commission.
Miller was told about the university’s future a day before he was set to be on campus for the first day of football camp.
“All my bags were packed and I was ready to go,” he said. “The coach put us all on a zoom call and told us the school is closed.”
The JA graduate explained how apologetic the coaching staff was during the call, further sharing they were also “blindsided” by the announcement.
Miller subsequently reopened his recruiting status hoping to keep his goals of playing college football alive.
During the zoom call, he was given a list of schools in the West Virginia area which were addressing students displaced by the closure.
“I was just like, now what do I do?” Miller said. “Everybody is starting camp and I have no idea where I am going.”
The search led the former Pioneer closer to home after becoming a member of Ohio Dominican University’s football program in 2023.
He is currently majoring in business and marketing with a minor in environmental science.
Before deciding on ODU, Miller reached out to a number of schools.
The process took about a week and a half until he was able to find a new school in which to attend.
“I had a bunch of Division III schools reach out like Capital, Ohio Wesleyan and Ohio Northern,” he said. “I felt like I was at a higher level than that, so I waited.”
Through a family friend, he sent film to ODU’s running backs coach, James Lee. After attending one of the team’s workouts and taking a tour of the campus, Miller was glad to find a new home.
“I was blessed I landed at a spot like ODU,” he said. “The coaching staff is good and it is a really competitive program… I was lucky I guess.”
One former player of Alderson Broaddus, DeShannon Butler, also transferred to ODU.
Experiencing what led to the Alderson Broaddus situation, Miller became wary that the next school he attended could face a similar fate.
“I am still kind of worried,” Miller said.
Miller said perspective student athletes should do their due diligence in researching a school prior to making a commitment.
He said there were rumors of Alderson Broaddus’ fate when he was getting recruited. However, he still committed when he was a JA senior.
“There are rumors flying around and I would just say keep your ears open and listen,” he said. “Don’t burn bridges with other schools.
“Keeping a good relationship with a bunch of coaches from different schools is always a good thing,” he said.
