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COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – An Ohio State football player who left the team to address his mental health will be a special guest at tonight’s State of the Union address.

Former Buckeyes offensive lineman Harry Miller, a senior mechanical engineering major, will attend the address as a guest of first lady Jill Biden.

Miller announced last March that he was medically retiring from football to deal with a mental health battle he was dealing with.

“Prior to the season last year, I told Coach [Ryan] Day of my intention to kill myself. He immediately had me touch with [two doctors] and I received the support I needed,” Miller wrote on Twitter at the time. “I am a life preserved by the kindness that was offered to me by other when I could not produce kindness for myself.”

Since then, Miller has become an advocate for mental health and emotional wellness, appearing on the Today show to discuss his fight and being honored at the annual Art of Recovery Art Auction at the Columbus Museum of Art.

Guests of the First Lady and Second Gentleman are chosen by the White House “because they personify issues or themes to be addressed by the President in his speech, or they embody the Biden-Harris Administration’s policies at work for the American people,” according to the guest announcement.

Before the speech Tuesday, OSU head coach Ryan Day expressed his pride in Miller and the fight he is dealing with.

“So many people have been affected by his courage and what he’s done but to see him get recognized like this of this magnitude and the type of people he’s going to be around is just tremendous,” Day said. “I’m just so proud of what he’s done.”

Day’s own family has been impacted by mental health issues as well, with the coach applauding the courage and commitment Miller has shown and how it is changing things.

“We all understand how important mental health is and Harry sharing his story has made a huge impact. You can see that now,” Day said. “I think Columbus is at the forefront. I think what with Nationwide has done with Ohio State and what they’re doing with their research and their resilience fund, I think it’s just amazing and Harry’s a big part of that.”

Miller, originally from Georgia, was projected to be Ohio State’s starting center in 2021 after starting six games on the Buckeyes’ offensive line in 2020. But Miller only played two games that season as he dealt with his issues.

In addition to Miller, other guests of the First Lady included RowVaughn and Rodney Wells, mother and stepfather of Tyre Nichols; Brandon Tsay, who disarmed a gunman who killed 11 and injured 10 more in a Monteray Park, California, shooting in late January; husband of former House speaker Nancy Pelosi,  Paul Pelosi, who was attacked in his home by a man with a hammer in October; Bono, lead singer of U2 and an HIV/AIDS activist; and Ambassador Oksana Markarova of Ukraine. Miller is one of six other guests who were invited to represent the administration’s health care initiatives.