Corey Miller: a look at Tennessee signees

One of the more common names for Tennessee fans everywhere throughout this past recruiting cycle was Byrnes High School star Corey Miller. The 6-foot-4, 235 pound defensive end standout comes to Knoxville by way of a South Carolina powerhouse program that sends a number of players on to BCS schools each year. Miller’s recruitment was an often publicized and highly scrutinized affair but through all the drama, the scandal and the coaching changes, one thing remained steady, Miller’s desire to be a Tennessee Volunteer come signing day.

That resolve, in addition to his All-American talent has Volunteer fans everywhere excited about what the future holds for the four-star defensive end prospect. Miller originally committed back in September after being on hand for the weekend of the UCLA game. Although the Vols lost a tough one that weekend, they gained a lot by adding a few commitments within days of the game, including Miller and Byrnes teammate Brandon Willis. Willis later defected after the “hostess” issue arose and the final straw being the coaching changes that took place in January.

Through it all, Miller became perhaps the most important recruit for the program as he did everything he could to keep the class together in spite of everything that had happened. You all know about Miller’s recruiting prowess and leadership abilities by now, but the reason he is at Tennessee is because it is believed that he can help continue the legacy of having an outstanding defensive line in Knoxville. Miller has been described as “unorthodox” and “quirky” in the way that he does things on the field in terms of technique, but the end result is more often than not, exactly what you want out of a defensive end.

Here is what ESPNU and Scouts, Inc have to say about Corey Miller’s game…

Miller is an active defender, a very active defender. He plays like his water bottle on the sideline is filled with trucker stop coffee. He is always moving and bouncing around and he is a tough kid to get and keep blocked. First off he has a nice build. He will need to keep adding weight, but he is a tall long limbed kid with plenty of room to keep bulking up. He is quick off the ball and very active with his hands. He is constantly using them to try and swim over, shed from, or push by blockers. He in general is a pretty quick twitched kid and can jump around blocks. Some of what is does is unorthodox and at times his hyper nature will get him out of position, but for the most part he makes it work for him. He can get penetration and does a good job of being able to follow blocks and jump in the hip pocket of pulling linemen. While he is an active kid he is also tough at the point of attack. It is not all just trying to avoid blockers as he can use that reach to press blockers off of him and hold his ground. He displays good natural strength and should continue to improve in this area as he gets into a college weight program. He needs to watch his pad level. He flashes the ability to play low, but his style will leave him tall and with his chest exposed and he can get caught up with blockers. He is a solid tackler though a bit sloppy at times because he can be wild. Good short-area change-of-direction skills and speed. He can cause problems rushing off the edge and if given the corner he can get up-field and in the quarterbacks face. He is once again active with his weapons, but needs have a plan at times. Miller is a good looking kid and a fine prospect. He needs to channel some that energy at times into better technique, but most of his flaws can be fixed. He is a good football player now and also impressively possesses nice upside.

Early on in the process, it looked as if Florida State would be the beneficiary of the Byrnes talent level, but after a couple unofficial visits and then an official visit to Knoxville, it was a done deal. In fact, Miller made it known that he would be attending Tennessee after his first unofficial visit in September and he never wavered on his commitment to the University of Tennessee.

While Miller was working on keeping the class intact and making it stronger, he was doing the same for himself as he enrolled early and has been hitting the books and the weight room getting prepared to make an early impact in Knoxville. The one knack on Miller is that he is a little light, especially for the SEC, but he has the frame and the work ethic to make that a non-issue within months. The future is bright for Corey Miller and he plans on making sure that it isn’t just him.

He has a goal in mind to get UT back to the top of the college football world by taking back the SEC Championship and parlaying that into a BCS National Championship for “the school of his dreams.” Stay tuned because you can never count Corey Miller out when he puts his mind to something that he has a part in.

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