Miller is one of the nations best

Littleton (Colo.) Columbine offensive lineman Ryan Miller came in to the Nike camp this past weekend with a lot of hype but more than lived up to it. In fact, if we were a college and could have our choice of any player from the camp, Miller would be our top overall choice.

At first glance, the tall red head bears a strong resemblance to Notre Dame bound Sam Young. Both players are long and lean with great feet and very talented. Like Young a year ago, we also feel Miller should be ranked among the top five offensive linemen in the country and possibly the top tackle prospect as well. At the recent Nike camp, Miller measured in at a rock solid 6-6.5, 278 pounds and was a lot more filled out than we expected.

The tackle prospect is broad shouldered with big arms and a filled out chest. Saying that, he's far from a finished product and will have no problem putting on additional weight in college. Along with his obvious physical tools, what we love most about Miller is his competitiveness. The fact that he made the road trip all the way out to Southern CA, despite already boasting scholarship offers from just about everyone, showed us a lot about his makeup.

"I'm a competitor and I wanted to come out here and compete against the best," Miller said. "I love competition like this, it's how you measure yourself and how you get better."

On the field, Miller drew raves from everyone of the Nike coaches, many using the term, 'can't miss' to describe him.

"Ryan Miller is the real deal," lead Nike OL Coach Pete Brock said. "He's the whole package. He's got great feet and he is one of those kids that are very coachable. He was 'yes sir', 'no sir' and paid attention. It's not like he knew everything, and it's not like I know everything either, but he paid a lot of attention and wanted to get better. That's what I want to see from a great offensive lineman."

Miller has the size and athleticism to play either tackle position in college. He has a great frame, long arms and can move. He's a physical player as well and knows how to finish his blocks.

On the recruiting front, Miller said four schools are at the top of his list.

"I like Colorado, Miami, Notre Dame and USC," Miller said. "I've already met with Coach Hawkins at CU and I'm going to take unofficial visits to the rest of the schools later in the spring. I was hoping to meet with the coaches here at USC Friday but they canceled practice and all the coaches were gone so I'm going to try to make it back another time.

"I like Colorado a lot and it was temping to commit when they first offered because that's the school I grew up watching but my family and I talked and we all agreed I need to see what else is out there. So I'm going to take my time with the process, take all my visits and then make a more informed decision down the line."