Even if he had thought his collegiate debut was a roaring success, Blake Miller’s humble nature likely would not have let him admit it. But Clemson’s freshman offensive lineman was blunt with his personal assessment.
“I’m not going to go out there and say I played great just because every day, every game and every practice, there’s things you need to improve,” Miller said. “I just look at the film and, good or bad, I just look at it as there are things I need to improve.”
Last week, Miller became the first Clemson true freshman since Mitch Hyatt in 2015 to start a season opener at offensive tackle. The 6-foot-6, 315-pounder got most of the first-team reps there until the Tigers began emptying their bench in garbage time during their 41-10 win over Georgia Tech.
Miller rose to the top of the depth chart at right tackle over the course of preseason camp as one of the Tigers’ five best linemen, moving junior Walker Parks inside to guard in the process. Playing against college players for the first time Monday, there were times when Miller held his own. There were also times when he showed his age.
Miller earned the starting job, coaches have said, with a combination of physical and mental maturity that’s rare for first-year offensive linemen. But Miller had some breakdowns in his technique against the Yellow Jackets that he didn’t show in preseason camp, something Clemson coach Dabo Swinney chalked up in part to first-game jitters.
“Next thing you know, you get outside some of your technique and fundamental things, but he’ll get better from it,” Swinney said. “No doubt about it. He did some good things, but definitely work to be done.”
Most of Miller’s struggles came in pass protection. On one third down late in the third quarter, Miller was beat off the line by Ayinde Eley. Miller tried to recover and push Tech’s edge rusher past D.J. Uiagalelei in the pocket, but it was too late. Eley grabbed Uiagalelei by the lower leg and appeared to be taking Clemson’s quarterback down for a sack before Uiagalelei spotted running back Will Shipley out of the corner of his eye and flipped him the ball just before falling to the turf.
Shipley turned the broken play into a 10-yard gain and a fresh set of downs, but the play stuck out to Miller for a different reason.
“Obviously not a good feeling at all,” Miller said of allowing the pressure on that play. “No offensive lineman wants that feeling ever.”
Miller, who enrolled in January after signing with the Tigers in December, has been practicing with the team since the spring, so he said the speed of the college game isn’t an issue for him anymore. And practicing against arguably the top defensive line in college football on a daily basis makes for the best preparation he could ask for.
It was primarily inconsistent fundamentals in pass protection that got him in trouble at times against Tech. Asked if his run blocking is ahead of his pass protection at this point of his career, Miller kept his answer diplomatic, saying there’s not an aspect of his game that he doesn’t feel like needs to be honed. But Miller acknowledged it starts with his pass blocking sets.
“Just not opening my hips up and staying square with guys is something, it’s just something I’ve just drilled in my head this week that I’m not going to flip my hips,” Miller said. “I’m going to trust myself and be confident in my sets.”
Miller wasn’t expected to be perfect. Rarely are any college football players, let alone freshmen going through it for the first time. The goal for Miller is to gradually progress over the course of the season into the player he knows he can be.
His next chance to do that will come Saturday when Clemson hosts Furman in its home opener.
“I’m going to do my best in these coming practices, this coming week and these weeks forward to improve those things and, by the end of the year, be the best player I can be,” Miller said.
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