5/29/2008 football Edit

Arizona DB is one of the regions best

Greg Biggins

Recruiting Analyst

One of the defensive backs we really liked at the recent NIKE Camp at Stanford was Chandler (Ariz.) Hamilton's Ryan Milus. Milus, 5-10, 155 pounds was rated as one of the top three defensive backs in the camp and recently picked up offer No. 5 earlier this week.

Milus is a two sport standout and is among the fastest football players in the entire West region. He was the state 100m champion as a sophomore with a 10.56 clocking and could easily double sport in college. He was a 1st team all-region selection a year ago after totaling 53 tackles and five interceptions and is among the top corner backs in the region this year.

At the NIKE Camp, Milus drew raves from lead DB coach Eugene Jackson.

"Milus was the most consistent defensive back from the beginning of the camp to the end," Jackson said. "He had the best feet of all the DBs at the camp and a lot of feel he has the best upside of any of the defensive back because of his combination of speed and great footwork.

"He plays bigger than his actual size, has good technique and speed to close on the ball. He's a really good technician with a smooth backpedal. He needs to get stronger in his upper body so the big receivers are not pushing him around off the line in press coverage but that will come down the line. He showed great cover skills during the 1-on-1 drills and got better and better all day."

On the recruiting front, Milus picked up his latest offer out of the MWC.

"Colorado State just offered," Milus said. "I already had offers from Washington State, Utah, Boise State and Air Force. I'm also hearing from most of the Pac 10 and will be at passing league competition at Arizona and Arizona State in the next few weeks so that will give me a chance to show those schools what I can do.

"I'm open right now and will take some unofficial visits in the summer. I'm thinking about Boise State and Washington State. We do a lot of passing league so I'm not sure how much time I'll have so I'm just going to play it out and see what happens."