Ohio State University is investigating whether star quarterback Braxton Miller violated an NCAA rule by appearing to endorse a product in a photograph that was posted online Tuesday night.
In a photo that has since been removed, but was captured by the Buckeyes fan site elevenwarriors.com, Miller appears with a number of Advocare products, a line of nutritional supplements, along with trainer Brandon Oshodon. It is a violation of NCAA rules for a student-athlete to endorse a product using name, image or likeness, a rule which has been court-challenged by former UCLA basketball star Ed O'Bannon.
If Miller received anything of value as compensation for the endorsement, his eligibility could be at further risk. The OSU athletic department, presumably the compliance office, is looking into the matter, according to James Grega Jr., who writes for the OSU student newspaper.
Miller, who starred as OSU's quarterback for two seasons before a shoulder injury kept him off the field last year, has one more season of NCAA eligibility remaining. He will compete for his starting job back against two other quarterbacks who create the most intriguing quarterback battle in college football: J.T. Barrett, who replaced Miller to lead the Buckeyes to an 11-1 regular season, and Cardale Jones, who replaced Barrett and went 3-0 in the postseason to clinch a national championship.
Of the three, only Jones is fully healthy for spring practice.
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