Jeremy Pruitt and the Vols dipped into the junior college ranks several times in their first recruiting class with players like Dominick Wood-Anderson, Jahmir Johnson, and Jordan Allen. In the 2019 class, Tennessee has one of the top JUCO players in the country committed in Lakia Henry and another JUCO product committed in Darel Middleton. Thursday, the Vols offered JUCO cornerback and current LSU commit Dreshun Miller.
Miller, a huge junior college cornerback, plays for Eastern Arizona and originally played for Sprayberry High School in Marietta, Georgia. He tweeted Thursday that he is “blessed to receive an offer from The University of Tennessee.”
Blessed to receive an offer from The University of Tennessee ?⚪️?⚪️?⚪️ .@UTCoachTFair @CoachJPruitt pic.twitter.com/HmBUnNRIl1
— Dreshun ® 〽️iller (@DreshunMiller) July 26, 2018
Miller was a three-star recruit coming out of high school according to 247Sports. Their composite rankings had him as only the No. 1,749 overall player. He had interest from Kentucky, Louisville and South Carolina but signed with Coastal Carolina. After complications, he decided to take the junior college route, and he’s found a lot of success there and has gained much more attention.
The talented corner is now a four-star per the 247Sports rankings. He’s the 13th-ranked JUCO player in the country and No. 3 JUCO cornerback in the 2019 class. Along with LSU and Tennessee, he holds offers from Texas Tech and Houston.
Miller is a lengthy and athletic player. At 6-foot-2, 175 pounds, he is bigger than the average corner, something the new coaching staff prefers. In his first season at Eastern Arizona, he recorded 41 tackles, 2 forced fumbles, 1 interception, and 12 pass breakups. Additionally, he was the MVP of the Salt City Bowl game.
The highly-rated JUCO corner is a fast and physical corner, running a 4.5 40-yard dash time. Miller processes things quickly on defense and covers ground with ease. His vision is good and he’s consistent, and he closes down on routes really well. His hips are fluid, and he accelerates out of cuts well when he breaks on routes. Miller has a knack for tracking passes in the air and making plays on the ball. He is strong enough to line up on the line of scrimmage and press receivers, but he’s also fast enough to not get beat overtop. He isn’t afraid to stick his nose in the run game either. He is a versatile player, and coaches should feel comfortable playing him in the slot as a nickel corner or out wide.
Miller is an exciting player, and the Vols have a decent chance to pull him away from LSU. The Tigers already have a lot of corners committed in 2019, so there would be better opportunity for him at Tennessee, something that is especially important to a player that has already exhausted multiple years of eligibility.
Tennessee likely offered Miller after missing out on fellow four-star JUCO corner Elijah Blades on Wednesday. Blades was one of the Vols’ top targets at cornerback in the 2019 class, and UT’s staff felt they had a very good chance of landing him. But he ultimately committed to Oregon this week.
But Miller may actually be a better player than Blades when you look at his film and intangibles. He is on track to graduate in December and could join whatever school he chooses as an early enrollee.
Right now, Miller is committed to LSU and has been since late June. But the offer from Tennessee could change things, so keep an eye on his recruitment.
