re: Class of 2015 Recruiting MEGATHREAD - Twilight Edition

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MADISON - With Kerryon Johnson held out of the spring game, it was Malik Miller's time to shine.

Miller has been in this role before -- he filled in superbly when Johnson went down with an injury last season -- and certainly didn't disappoint against J.O. Johnson High School.

Playing in front of Alabama assistant Kevin Steele, the 6-foot, 220-pound rising junior looked terrific on both sides of the ball. He didn't get the bulk of the carries at running back, but showed off his physicality during one touchdown run. It wasn't hard to see why Steele, Auburn running backs coach Tim Horton and other coaches from around the country stopped in at Madison Academy this spring to see Miller.

"Malik is one of the best running backs anywhere in the country," Madison Academy coach Eric Cohu said. "He's such a great athlete and physical specimen."

Florida State, Georgia and Tennessee all offered Miller a scholarship this spring. Cohu said he had an SEC or ACC coach at every single practice this spring to see Miller and Johnson.

Miller started spring practice at 240 pounds, but dropped down to a more manageable 220 pounds. The amazing thing about Miller is that he looks great at any weight, according to Cohu. The four-star prospect is physical and strong, but still maintains good speed, good contact balance and good footwork. His size and strengths are why college coaches are eyeing him at both running back and linebacker.

Miller plays both positions at Madison Academy - he's the starting SAM linebacker - though most believe he wants to stick with running back at the next level. Miller agrees with that thought, but isn't against making the switch to linebacker if it makes the most sense long-term. He watched the recent NFL Draft and noticed that no running backs went in the first round, but linebackers like Alabama's C.J. Mosley did.

"If a program wants to move me to linebacker, I'll have no problem with that," he said. "Running backs are getting undervalued right now; (NFL teams) are loving defense. If I get a chance on either side of the ball, I'll take it, be happy and love it as long as I'm on the field."

Auburn and Alabama are considered the teams to beat for Miller, but he said he won't narrow down his options until this summer. The plan is to narrow it to a Top 10 so he can evaluate each program to see how he fits in.

His teammate Johnson, who committed to Auburn, will undoubtedly try to show him he'd fit in well at Auburn.

"These next two years, definitely," Johnson said about recruiting Miller to Auburn. "It's hard not to want talent like that. I'm sure Auburn will make that clearly noticeable too."

Miller said Johnson hasn't pushed too hard for him to commit to Auburn, but that the recruiting efforts have already started a little.

"He's not really in my ear yet, but I know he's getting there," he said. "I can see him edging on 'I'm going to go to Auburn this weekend, do you want to come?' That's him, that's Kerryon. He's a social media guy, he's always recruiting. Me and Kerryon talk about it a lot. We both like Auburn; he committed there. Every visit I've been, I've never had a bad time there. I enjoy the coaching staff...coach (Gus) Malzahn, coach (Tim) Horton, coach (Rhett) Lashlee.

"Auburn will definitely be a top choice when it comes down to it."

In a previous interview with AL.com, Miller had very high praise for Alabama. The Crimson Tide offered Miller Feb. 3 and have been very active in recruiting what could be the state's top class of 2016 prospect.

"I love the atmosphere (in Tuscaloosa)," he said. "It's Alabama, the best place you want to be if you want to play football. Everybody there, the coaching staff is nice and they're all about business. But at the same time, I can tell they care about me as a players and see me as a priority coming in the next few years.

After narrowing down his list this summer, he hopes to make a decision before his senior year -- more than a year away. Coaches like Steele, Horton and Florida State assistant Sal Sunseri, who was the first college coach to recruit Miller, will likely be frequent visitors to Madison Academy in the next two years.

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T Rey WI

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