Westlake star lands first offer
Westlake Village (Calif.) Westlake is one of the best programs in Southern California. Westlake rivals just about any school in the state when it comes to producing players who continue playing football on the collegiate level. Once again the Warriors have a player destined for the D-I level.
The player in question is defensive end/tight end Jeff Miller (6-6, 250, 4.8).
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If the Miller name sounds familiar to USC fans that is because Miller's older brother Jim signed a D-I scholie with the Trojans and was a member of the Westlake Championship team of 2003.
The younger Miller was only a sophomore at the time and was one of the main reasons that Westlake won that CIF Championship.
As a matter of fact it was the championship game against Ventura (Calif.) Saint Bonaventure that Miller really stood out. He played so well that Saint Bonnie head coach John Mack went up to him after the game to let him know what a great job he did.
Miller has never looked back. He was selected all-state underclassman, all-county, all-area and all-league for his junior season performance.
Miller racked up 60 tackles, 14 sacks, five batted down passes, four forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries. His 14 sacks and five blocked passes will give you an indication of his pass rushing skills. Miller puts the heat on the passer.
From his tight end position, Miller caught 16 passes for 183 yards and one touchdown.
Miller is getting a lot of recruiting attention. He has one written offer from Boston College. He has three pending offers from LSU, Washington State and Arizona State.
Miller was invited to UCLA's junior day but couldn't attend due to previous obligations but he did attend Cal's junior day and enjoyed it immensely.
Other schools that are showing Miller recruiting attention are most of the rest of the Pac-10 conference, Michigan, Notre Dame, Colorado, Florida, and Florida State.
The thing that stands out about Miller is he has a non-stop motor. He is hustling all the time. Towards the end of the season the opposition had seen enough of Miller that he was getting a lot of double teams.
"Jeff is a national guy when it comes to recruiting," Westlake coach Jim Benkert said. "He will be one of those guys who get offers from colleges from coast-to-coast."
"Jeff dominates the line of scrimmage and is hard to contain with just one player," Benkert said. "Even when he gets double teamed he's still a load to stop."
"Jeff is also a very good tight end," Benkert said. "Some schools may be tempted to play him there."
What is Miller looking for in a school?
"I want to play for a school where I can get early playing time," Miller said. "Also team chemistry is very important. I would like to play for a team that has a family atmosphere."