Former Ohio State Football player Ryan Miller takes flight with the Blue Angels

Former Ohio State football player and co-founder of the 2nd and 7 organization, Ryan Miller, received the honor of a lifetime when he was chosen to fly with the Blue Angels this past Wednesday at the Columbus Rickenbacker International Airport which is hosting the Columbus Air Show today through the weekend.

Miller was in the second seat with Lieutenant Commander Thomas Zimmerman on a F/A 18 Hornet for the ride of a lifetime in preparation for this weekend’s show. This is the first time in over two decades since the U.S. Navy Blue Angels have flown in an air show in Columbus, Ohio.

Miller, who was interviewed by 10TV WBNS stated, “I ran out of the tunnel in Ohio Stadium over 30 years ago and I never thought I’d have that feeling again, until today. Flying in that jet and experiencing those g-forces, I don’t know if anyone, unless you’ve experienced it, (can) put into words.”

Miller, an Allen Park, Michigan native linebacker played for John Cooper from 1992-1996, capping off his career with a big Rose Bowl win against Jake Plummer and the Arizona State Sun Devils in the 1997 Rose Bowl. Miller finished his career with the Ohio State football program with 211 tackles, 21 tackles for loss, 16 forced fumbles, and three pass breakups.

I once spoke to Cooper about Miller, when his former head coach told me, “Ryan was a real good player. He worked harder than anyone I ever coached. I wish I could have had a whole team just like him.”

That work ethic that Miller possesses has served him well since finishing his career at Ohio State. Miller has watched the 2nd and 7 Organization grow from a small football camp that he along with co-founders Mike Vrabel and Luke Fickell started in 1999 to an organization that has distributed over half a million books to kids in need all across the country. That same year in 1999, Miller and Fickell read books to 2nd graders in 7 schools, which is where the name 2nd and 7 is birthed from.

Miller told the Columbus Dispatch before his honorary flight on Wednesday, “It is an incredible honor to be selected for this flight with the Blue Angels. The opportunity of a lifetime, really, and a great physical challenge too. I hope I can live up to the standard of excellence that the Blue Angels represent, all while bringing exposure to the 2nd 7 Foundation and its mission to promote reading.”

To learn more about the 2nd and 7 Foundation, please visit their website.