DELRAY BEACH – It shows up in his game.
When Earl Miller is at the line of scrimmage against his opposition, there exists a level of anticipation for what could happen after the play begins.
With the American Heritage junior defensive end, you can expect a lot of good things from him and come away impressed. With this rising star, you will get his whole heart and soul from whistle to whistle.
With Miller, you will get a special sense of affirmation that he can elevate the entire front four as he swims past his direct opponent and keep a quarterback or running back in check. He’s not going to allow many big plays to happen on his watch.
You get one thing consistently from Miller: a steady level of assurance.
This explains why the 6-foot-4, 255-pound standout is currently ranked as our No. 2 defensive end and No. 6 overall player in Palm Beach County.
“It’s a great ranking for me personally,” Miller said. “But it’s always room for improvement.”
Bolstering Miller’s case as one of our area’s top players is the fact that Power 5 schools have been taking notice. His first offer came from Boston College on Jan. 31, and more could be coming in the near future.
“It’s only the beginning,” Miller said. “I was talking to Indiana and Kentucky before the Boston College offer. And as soon as I got Boston offer, Indiana, Kentucky, and FIU started to keep in touch more often. But like I said before, this is only the beginning.”
Miller is a team-first kind of player, which is something that coaches and players alike love to see. He’s honest about addressing what works out and how a situation can get better, particularly when it comes to this past fall season at American Heritage.
“We started off amazing,” Miller said. “But as the season went on, we slowly and slowly fell apart. This upcoming season is going to be a movie though. I feel like the transfers we brought in will help us piece the puzzle together.”
The Stallions had a three-game winning streak in the second half of the regular season, with big wins over Benjamin (20-13 in Week 6) and Bishop Verot (17-14 in Week 8). Their 5-2 record at that juncture was followed by a season-ending four-game losing streak, which concluded with a humbling 33-16 home playoff loss in the 4A regional semifinals to Tampa Catholic.
American Heritage (No. 2 seed in 4A – Region 3) finished with a 5-6 record.
Miller feels as if he could have done more this past season.
“I felt like I did great but it wasn’t my best,” he said. “I played 10 out of our 11 games, but I always feel as there is room for improvement.”
Miller ended his junior season with 48 tackles (7 TFL’s), two pass breakups, one forced fumble, and one sack.
“He’s a big, strong, and versatile player that can play both inside at defensive tackle and slide out to play at defensive end,” American Heritage assistant coach Mike Hall said of Miller. “He has a high football IQ with a great motor. He’s college size already.”
We’re looking forward to even greater things from Miller in 2020 and beyond. We’ll be closely following his continual progress from now until he reaches the next level.
