Clemson has had success dipping into the Buckeye State for big-time offensive line prospects, and the Tigers did just that again in the 2022 class, inking Strongsville (Ohio) High School four-star Blake Miller on Wednesday when the early signing period began.
It marked the third time in the last six recruiting cycles that Clemson has landed a highly touted offensive lineman from Ohio. The Tigers signed eventual All-ACC selection Matt Bockhorst out of Cincinnati’s St. Xavier High in 2017, and a year later, they beat out Ohio State for former Fairfield (Ohio) High five-star Jackson Carman, now a rookie in the NFL with the Cincinnati Bengals.
Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney believes Miller is poised to become the Tigers’ next stud Ohio O-lineman.
“Last two times we went to Ohio, we got Bockhorst, and we got Jackson Carman – two great gets,” Swinney said during Clemson Football’s National Signing Day Show. “This one’s going to be the same.”
A physically imposing blocker, Miller is a mountain of a man at close to 6-foot-7 and around 300 pounds. He was a four-year starter on the offensive line at left tackle, dating from his fourth game as a freshman through the end of his senior year, and did not allow a sack as a junior or senior in a total of 352 pass attempts.
“This is one of the biggest linemen we’ve ever signed,” Swinney said. “Every time I see him, he looks like he’s grown two inches. He’s got to be 6-7. But he is a big, big man.”
Miller was a first-team All-Ohio Division I, first-team All-Region and first-team All-District selection in 2020 and 2021, as well as a four-time Greater Cleveland Conference All-Academic selection. He never missed a game during his career and did not miss a play in 2021 while starting on both the offensive and defensive lines as a senior.
Miller, who holds many records in the Strongsville High weight room, also ran track in 2020. He is ranked as high as the No. 13 offensive tackle and No. 139 overall prospect in the 2022 class by Rivals.
“I got to see this young man as a ninth-grader, and he just stuck in my head,” Clemson offensive line coach Robbie Caldwell said, via Miller’s official Clemson bio. “He was a big, tall, lean young man at the time, and now he’s turned into quite a big, big man. He’s 6-foot-6, 300 pounds, and probably doesn’t have 15 percent body fat. He really loves to train. Great weightlifter.”
Miller committed to Clemson on Oct. 28, 2020, becoming the first member of Clemson’s 2022 class to commit to the Tigers. He plans to enroll at the school in January.
Miller was coached at Strongsville High School by Louis Cirino, who has affectionately described Miller to Caldwell as “a snake in the grass,” and Caldwell thinks that’s an accurate way to sum up what the Tigers are getting with him.
“Blake is a very quiet young man, doesn’t have much to say,” Caldwell said. “He’s probably one of the easiest guys there was to recruit. He knew what he wanted, and he doesn’t say a whole lot. But when he does, people listen.
“I like the way his coach described him – he’s kind of like ‘a snake in the grass.’ He just kind of sits there and sizes up his prey, and then when he pounces, you will feel it.”
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