Blake Miller’s name is one that comes up often.
Anytime you ask anyone associated with the Clemson program about a player standing out, it’s a good bet that the consensus four-star prospect out of Ohio’s Strongsville High School will be brought up.
Like offensive linemen Matt Bockhorst and Jackson Carman before him, Miller comes to Clemson from the Buckeye State. While Miller’s over 600 miles from home, arriving as a mid-year enrollee in January has helped him transition to a different environment and climate/
“I think (the transition) went pretty smooth,” Miller recently told The Clemson Insider during an NIL collective appearance in Clemson Sunday. “Obviously there are some things I still need to brush up on staff; nothing’s ever perfect. I think it went pretty smoothly and I’m pretty happy with where I’m at.”
Miller said that the biggest thing for him this past spring and leading up into his freshman campaign will be reading and understanding opposing defenses while being able to make adjustments on the fly.
While he hasn’t had to make this adjustment on the fly, Miller finds himself in a unique position as a true freshman. Clemson has been cross-training him at both tackle spots, something that isn’t atypical for first-year players like Miller.
Speaking with reporters inside the Allen N. Reeves Football Complex just over a week ago, offensive line coach Thomas Austin said that while he’d preferably like to have younger guys like Miller and Collin Sadler stay in one spot, Clemson has been compelled to cross-train both freshmen offensive linemen.
That’s due to the lack of depth that Clemson had readily available for the program’s Orange & White Spring Game back in April, which forced Miller to play both tackle spots; something he’d never done before.
Helping Miller with that transition has been Austin. And while Clemson’s offensive line coach didn’t serve as Miller’s primary recruiter — that was, of course, Robbie Caldwell — he’s done a good job of opening himself to Miller as a teacher and a leader.
“He’s been great,” Miller said of Clemson’s first-year offensive line coach. “Just (last Saturday) we went as an offensive line and went and played paintball. The comradery he’s built and also the way he teaches is just great.”
While Miller wasn’t in the locker room for last season’s struggles across the line that mitigated Clemson’s offensive success, there’s a sense that things will be different from the season before.
“I definitely feel like we’re in a really good spot,” he said. “You could definitely tell — even when I got there — that the offensive line kind of had a sense that they wanted to get better. That they wanted to prove everyone wrong. Obviously, they took a lot of heat (last season) and they wanted to be able to flip that and be the strongpoint.”
