re: Class of 2018 Recruiting MEGATHREAD: So Long Old Friend Edition

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CUB TO A BEAR

At Jackson-Olin, coach Tim Vakakes taught Miller the proper lifting technique. T.D. Moultry, his 2016 teammate and current Auburn linebacker, showed Miller how to handle the recruiting limelight, and how to lead his peers.

Now, it's all up to Miller.

Moultry inspired him last season, telling Miller he expected him to become stronger than him. Moultry then set a herculean-level effort for Miller to follow and eventually, surpass.

"Seeing him benching more than me, squatting more than me, just made me think, 'Hey I have to step it up,'" Miller said.

Said Vakakes: "It took awhile for him to catch on in the weight room and really embrace it... I put him with TD for a reason; so he could see what 'elite' looks like. That's how they work, that's how hard they lift, they don't skip reps.

"If he ever embraces it 100 percent - he's embraced it, and developed his body, turning himself into an elite prospect - but if he ever fully embraces it, he's a first-day guy in the (NFL) draft. That's the kind of talent he is."

Miller remembers sending a workout video to Moultry the day he passed him in the weight room. Nowadays, Miller tosses weight room plates around like so many pillow on his mom's sofa.

"Wake up every day with a good mindset," Miller said. "Go hard every day. Go harder than the person beside you. A lot of things aren't given to you, so you have to take it. Go out, keep grinding, keep going."

Speaking of workouts, Miller's gym idol is James Harrison, a future Hall of Fame linebacker with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Harrison's creative and entertaining workout videos, from tossing a medicine ball over a volleyball net and one-handed barbell shoulder presses, inspire and educate Miller.

"I think that's why I like him," Miller said of Harrison, a two-time Super Bowl winner and five-time Pro Bowler. "He does stuff that catches my eye. Some of the things he does, we started doing it in here. I even begged my dad to buy me his jersey."

Miller has never worn his Harrison jersey. He just wants to get it signed.

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