Blake Miller is “definitely” ready to start his career at Clemson.
The four-star offensive tackle pledge out of Strongsville (Oh.) will be returning to Tiger Town to make his official visit for Clemson’s matchup this Saturday against UConn at Memorial Stadium.
“Being able to see everyone, see the coaches, players and everyone, just looking forward to it,” Miller told The Clemson Insider.
While Miller will put his recruiting cap on from time to time, he leaves that up to Clemson’s five-star quarterback commit. Clemson will obviously be hard-pressed Saturday to show both St. Christopher’s School (Richmond, Va.) four-star wide receiver Andre Greene, Jr. and Jennings (La.) four-star running back Trevor Etienne a good time during their respective unofficial visits.
“Every now and again,” he said. “Though, I feel like Cade [Klubink] is definitely the guy who is really the head honcho when it comes to that stuff. He’s a master convincing artist.”
Miller was asked to detail Clemson’s 2022 recruiting class and what the overall feeling of the class is heading into Saturday’s contest against UConn.
“For how little we’ve seen each other, I feel like everyone’s pretty close with one another,” Miller said. “We all know each other, and talk to each other pretty frequently. So, I feel like it’s not only a strong class when it comes to talent but also a strong class when it comes to relationships.
Miller talks with Clemson offensive line coach Robbie Caldwell almost every week. They check in with each other on a consistent basis. Caldwell came to see Miller play an away game against Cleveland Heights (Oh.) back on Friday, Sept 24.
“Anytime I get to see Coach Caldwell in person is awesome,” Miller added. “He’s a great guy, a great coach. There’s nothing bad that you can say about him. Seeing him in person is always great.”
Miller was verbally committed to Clemson before Thomas Austin joined the coaching staff as an offensive analyst. How has his relationship developed with Austin since then?
“I feel like I’ve developed a pretty good relationship with Coach Austin as well,” Miller said. “He, much like Coach Caldwell, knows a lot about football. He’s had a lot of experience when it comes to coaching and playing football. Just being able to get his perspective on things too, I feel like will be great.”
Clemson’s offensive line this season under Caldwell and Austin’s direction has had its fair share of some relative inconsistencies. The unit has been marred by injuries and poor play. With that said, Miller believes he can be a guy who can help strengthen the room and push to play, once he arrives on campus.
“That’s the ultimate goal to be able to show up there, once my senior season is over, just work every day on skills and fundamentals, so I can show up there and be ready to go,” he said.
What’s the plan for Miller once he gets down to Clemson?
“The plan once I get down there is to just work as hard as I humanly can and any extra stuff that I can do to get ahead, do that,” he added. “They just want a hard worker and hard work usually pays off.”
Before ultimately getting to that next level, Miller is looking to improve his blocking in space against linebackers. He feels like that’s something he’s gradually improved upon as his senior season has gone on. It was the biggest piece of his game that he wanted to work on this season.
“I’ve just been wanting to brush up on things with my game that I felt were lacking, so I feel like I’ve done a pretty good job with that,” he said. “Then being with my teammates, soaking in that final season and getting ready for the next level.
Miller projects as a swing tackle, who can contribute on either the left or right side, but he’s also unopposed to playing an offensive line position that’ll help him get on the field early.
“Whatever it takes to help the team and get on the field, I’m willing to play it,” he said. “If I need to play guard, I’ll play guard. If I need to play center, I’ll take the reps and brush up on my snapping from eighth-grade football and brush up on my center. Whatever it takes to help and whatever it takes to get on the field, that’s my philosophy.”
Time to get the latest Clemson apparel to show your Tiger pride. Order your officially licensed Clemson gear right here!