Keller defensive end Houston Miller is the 17th commit from the 2016 class and the second commit on Saturday. We’ve got video, analysis and links to every recruiting service in one spot.
| DEFENSIVE LINE | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| HOUSTON MILLER | DEFENSIVE END | ||
| HT/WT: 6-4/227 | FORTY: 4.67 | ||
| HIGH SCHOOL: Keller (Keller, TX) | |||
| OFFERS: Air Force, Boston College, California, Colorado, Colorado State, Connecticut, Duke, Iowa, Louisiana Tech, Minnesota, nevada, Texas State, Texas Tech, Toledo, Vanderbilt | |||
| RECRUITING SERVICE: | RANKING: | POSITION RANK: | STATE RANK: |
| Rivals |  5.4 |
N/R | N/R |
| Scout | |
55 | N/R |
| 24/7 Sports | 84 |
56 | 135 |
| ESPN | N/R | N/R | N/R |
| VIDEO: Hudl | |||
| CUMULATIVE RANKING: 0.8281 | |||
| PROFILE DATE: June 15, 2015 | |||
The Player Speaks: Nothing as of yet from Miller’s commitment, but Wreck’Em 24/7’s Daniel Paulling wrote during the Lancaster satellite camp, that Texas Tech was definitely in the running (obviously) and said that the opportunity for early playing time would be a factor:
“I feel like I can be a real standout athlete from my freshman year going there, if I go to Tech,” Miller said. “How Pete runs the defense, I feel that’s a role I feel I could take over and could play just as good as he could on the field. I can rush the quarterback a lot and still drop in coverage and cause some havoc.”
RELATED: 2016 LB Johnathan Picone and 2016 DE Houston Miller Commit to Texas Tech
Scouting Report: I recognize that Miller mentions that he likes the way that Pete Robertson plays, but for me, I think that Miller looks more like a strongside defensive end rather than a weakside defensive end / outside linebacker. Let’s get to that Bill Walsh analysis.
Explosive Moves: For me, I think this is where Miller needs to improve and makes me think he’s better suited for that SDE spot. You can see the athleticism here, mainly the fact that he plays linebacker on occasion. He moves well in space, but I don’t think he has that initial quickness off the ball.
Shoulder Past Tackle: I think you see this a bit more in Picone’s highlights, which is that hard rush on the outside and you see that end prospect really get his shoulder low to the ground and past the tackle. Miller isn’t doing that here, but he may not be asked to do that.
Upper Body Strength: I think this is where I think Miller is going to excel, he’s got the frame to put up some strength here and I think he’s got pretty long arms, which is a detriment to the type of bench press strength, but he looks strong to me.
Quickness: If Miller plays SDE, I don’t think it is as big of a deal, but if he wants to play WDE, then he’s got to be quicker off the edge. I still would rather play to his strengths and I think long-term, he’s going to be a fantastic strongside defensive end.
Girth: I like the size of Miller and if he’s already 227 as a junior, heading into his senior year, he’s most likely just going to keep growing and could see him at a 250 to 255 pound defensive end.
Balance: When in space, Miller does exhibit some really nice balance in dropping into coverage. Maybe he needs to work on those hips, which would help the quickness aspect, but tipping the pass and almost grabbing an interception isn’t easy.
Make sure and check out Staking The Plains’ Recruiting Table for a map of where all the commits are located and links on every commit.