Ventrell Miller thankful for his time at Florida, reflects on FSU loss

Unfortunately for super senior linebacker Ventrell Miller, his last regular season game as a Florida Gator was cut short. Following a second-half targeting call at Vanderbilt, Miller was forced to sit out the first half against Florida State on Friday.

“Didn’t feel too good. I know the guys were ready for me to come back in,” Miller said. “They were talking about, ‘Free me,’ at the half. So, it felt good, and my teammates just felt a certain way about me coming back at half. It felt good to see them cheer me on and get back out there.”

Despite his return to the Gators’ defense, Florida still lost to Florida State 45-38 in the highest-scoring game of the Sunshine Showdown. Looking ahead, Miller’s time at UF could be complete.

Have we seen Miller in Orange and Blue for the last time?

When asked about potentially playing in the bowl game, Miller was noncommittal.

“Man, guess we’ll see. I don’t know,” Miller said. “Like I said man I love those guys man. I’ve been going out to go to war with those guys each and every day, battling that practice with those guys. It’s been a pleasure.”

When asked straight up about potentially opting out, Miller pulled no punches.

“I’ve been thinking about it. We’ll see.”

After suffering a fractured foot against Kentucky, Miller made sure to be back for the Tennesse game two weeks later, foot be damned.

Throughout the season, Miller dealt with the injury, still producing 75 total tackles, two forced fumbles and two pass deflections. The stats may not show it, but Miller was the heart and soul of the Florida defense.

For Miller, it makes the most sense to get his foot injury completely healed as he prepares for the NFL. Although he’s an older prospect, Miller showed NFL traits as he led the Florida defense.

Miller reflects on his six years at UF

Looking back on his six years at Florida, Miller was thankful for his time in Gainesville.

“We say each and every day, it’s great to be a Florida Gator. Definitely coming here, they brought me from a boy to a man. There’s been a tremendous amount of resources to be able to help me to grow,” Miller said.

“I just had a great time at the University of Florida. I just want to say thank you to everybody who’s helped me out.”

The Polk County native remains confident in the future of the program

After the FSU loss, Miller reflected on coach Billy Napier and his first year at Florida.

“Like Coach Nape said, I know we didn’t win as much games this year, but this had to be one of my favorite years since I’ve been here,” Miller said.

Napier’s emphasis on people is what the program is built on. Miller echoed that sentiment as he likely put the cleats on for the last time at the college level.

“Just the brotherhood we just built throughout the time. Like I said, that’s something Coach Napier just emphasized, you can just see how the brotherhood has grown throughout the year and it’s been a great time.”

Although year one wasn’t what Gator fans wanted, Miller has faith in Napier’s vision for the program.

“I’m very confident just to see what comes next,” Miller said. “Those guys are trying to continue to learn and get better and look for ways to put us in better positions. So like I said, those guys in the locker room, those are real competitors and I feel good about the direction of the program.”