Billy Napier praises Ventrell Miller for hurricane awareness effort

On Wednesday, Florida linebacker Ventrell Miller decided to use the Millerville Foundation, which he founded, to help victims of Hurricane Ian in Southwest Florida. This is the first project for his foundation, which he says, “is a non-profit that will utilize the opportunity of NIL to ensure that I do my part in giving back to the respected communities in need of urgent support.”

In response to the move by Ventrell Miller, he has received praise from all corners of the college football world. That includes his head coach, Billy Napier.

“It doesn’t surprise me,” Billy Napier said. “You know, Ventrell is as good a human being as I’ve been around.”

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“He’s got–really, what makes him special to me is he actually has a significant care for other people. I mean, he’s walking around living life and he’s got enough wisdom and perspective to realize that there’s other people out there, and he’s not consumed with himself. He’s actually thinking about other people around him. So, he’s doing good things for other people now. He’s making a difference now. He’ll do that the rest of his life. That’s who he is.”

Later, while speaking to the media himself, Ventrell Miller was asked about his fundraising effort.

“Like I said, just with NIL, I thought that I could help out some of the communities that need help,” Ventrell Miller said. “I think I have the platform for that. So, just jumping out there. I’m a little new to it, so I was a little anxious at first, but just diving out to it. Just trying to bring, like, help to the community. That’s my big goal for doing that.

Ventrell Miller posted a link to donate on Twitter. He has set a goal of raising $200,000

Why Ventrell Miller needed NIL to do this

One thing that’s important to note is that Ventrell Miller wouldn’t be able to do this without the change in NIL rules. Prior to the rule change, a college athlete using their platform to raise money, even if it was for charity, was a violation of NCAA rules.

Ventrell Miller isn’t the only college athlete to use NIL for charitable purposes, though. Dillan Gibbons and Jordan Travis of Florida State are also raising money for victims of Hurricane Ian. Gibbons, in particular, operates the Big Man, Big Heart Foundation, which uses NIL for charitable purposes.