Kyree Miller took his first visit to Knoxville over the weekend, and he saw enough to know Tennessee is where he wants to play in college.
Miller is a massive offensive lineman who plays for West Mesquite High School in Mesquite, Texas. The 6-foot-4, 370-pound lineman took an official visit to Tennessee’s campus this past weekend less than a month after getting an offer from the Vols, and he announced on Tuesday following that visit that he is committing to UT in the 2020 class.
COMMITTED ✍?‼️ pic.twitter.com/gEP7i8WzSE
— Kyree Miller (@Kyree_72) November 5, 2019
Right now, Miller isn’t a highly-rated recruit. He doesn’t hold a rating on the 247Sports Composite, and the regular 247Sports rankings have him as the No. 2,409 overall prospect in the 2020 class. But the huge lineman has generated more interest during his senior season. Tennessee was the first Power Five school to offer Miller, but he picked up an offer from UTEP a week later and has offers from SMU, North Texas, and the Hugh Freeze-led Liberty Flames.
That offer list may not wow Vol fans, but it’s clear that Tennessee offensive coordinator Jim Chaney likes what he’s seen from Miller. And Chaney knows a thing or two about offensive linemen.
Miller was originally surprised when Tennessee told him they would be recruiting him and when they eventually did offer him.
“In the summer, my teammate (three-star running back) Ty Jordan went up there for an official visit, and Ty had Facetimed me, and he and a coach talked to me and told me that they had liked me and wanted to recruit me,” Miller told me in a recent interview. “But I didn’t know they were being serious because I was a player that I didn’t think schools like that would recruit me because of my size.”
But Tennessee’s coaches were being serious. And on October 8th, Miller got his official scholarship offer from the Vols.
“I called (Chaney) yesterday when I got out of practice, and they were all having an offensive meeting,” Miller explained back in October. “He put me on speaker so the whole offensive staff could hear me, and he offered me in front of everybody, and everyone was congratulating me.”
Tennessee is recruiting Miller as an offensive lineman who could either play along the interior or slim down and play tackle. But the huge lineman does have experience as a defensive tackle, too, and he plays both positions for West Mesquite.
Miller is very physical off the line and has exceptional strength. His intensity can’t be questioned, and he moves very well for his size. It’s actually pretty surprising how quick his feet are for how big he is. Miller is superb in run blocking, and he shows some very good awareness. He definitely has things to work on, like getting his hands to move quicker and becoming more polished as a pass blocker. But there are plenty of skills present already, and Miller plays with the type of physicality Tennessee’s coaches are trying to instill into UT’s team.
With Miller’s commitment, the Vols now have 17 prospects pledged to them in their 2020 class, and Miller is the fourth offensive lineman to commit to UT. All four projected offensive linemen in Tennessee’s 2020 class are slotted to be interior players. Four-star center Cooper Mays, three-star center/guard Javontez Spraggins, and three-star guard James Robinson are the other linemen committed to the Vols.
