GoGamecocks.com
This Ryan Miller can play music - but football?
Lexington High's Ryan Miller is getting all sorts of recruiting letters from USC and other schools -- saying they are interested in his football abilities. Only problem is that Ryan Miller is not a football player; he's a trumpet player in the Lexington High School Marching Band.
Erik Campos/ecampos@thestate.com
Posted on 08.16.09
Comments
RYAN MILLER CONTINUES to be surprised by what he receives in the mail.
Letters began arriving early this summer from the University of South Carolina football office. Then a couple every week from Illinois. One from Tennessee. Others from Charleston Southern, East Carolina and North Carolina State.
All expressed interest in having Miller, a rising senior at Lexington High School, join their respective football programs.
Trouble is, Miller never has played a down of organized football in his life.
“I’m pretty good in the (back) yard,” Miller says, “but I’ve never been on a team. So I can’t see anything going there.”
Miller did win one heat of a 400-meter race this past spring on the Lexington High track team. He also plays trumpet in the marching band.
But that hardly explains why he keeps getting mail from schools wanting him to play football.
The episode has been a mystery to Miller and his parents, Derek and Joyce. The explanation of how Miller got to be such a sought-after commodity is a simple one, at least according to Shane Beamer, USC’s recruiting coordinator. Beamer surmises that Miller’s address was somehow mixed up with that of another Ryan Miller, a football recruit from Andrew Jackson Academy in Ehrhardt.
USC, Illinois and many other schools subscribe to recruiting services that provide mailing lists of potential recruits. Early in the recruiting season, USC might have as many as 1,000 names on its list. The list is gradually whittled down to the 50 or so USC wants to pursue.
According to Beamer, Lexington’s Ryan Miller likely is receiving mail intended for Andrew Jackson Academy’s Ryan Miller.
“We were as dumbfounded as anyone,” says Derek Miller, whose only disappointment in the letters is that his alma mater, Florida State, never showed interest in his son. “Maybe it’s because we are naive to the recruiting process.”
Still, the Millers have had fun with the recruiting process. Ryan admits to bragging to his friends, particularly those who play football, about the letters he received from Beamer and Illinois coach Ron Zook.
None of his football-playing friends was asked in a letter if they had “thought about how you are going to lead the University of South Carolina to the SEC championship and the national championship! We can do it with you!” None was invited to attend USC’s Garnet and Black game this past spring.
Miller considered the latter offer, but then realized his appearance would blow his cover. At 6-foot-2 and 165 pounds, Miller has seen far too many salad bars and not nearly enough all-you-can-eat pancake specials.
“We could have ended this pretty quickly,” Miller says. “I would have gotten axed right there. They would have seen a tall, skinny white kid.”
That did not seem to matter to the schools that mailed form letter after form letter to Miller. USC and Illinois spent the most postage on Miller, and their letters took the similar tact of providing information about various aspects of the school and program.
USC directed Miller to a Web site where he could keep up with Gamecocks news. Another letter detailed USC’s concern for its athletes’ health and well-being. Yet another showed how the USC coaching staff works closely with its athletic academic support staff. USC also provided a media guide and a toll-free telephone number for Miller to call if he had questions about the program.
Miller resisted the urge to call and ask for advice on how to tackle his upcoming senior English class, or whether his frame is more suited to long-distance running instead of sprints, or whether Steve Spurrier is serious about establishing a running game this season.
Instead, he continued to read and be informed. Illinois touted its recent multimillion-dollar renovation of it football facilities. The Illini also mailed dates for SAT tests and the NCAA sliding scale for prospective students to gain admission. Reggie Mitchell, Illinois’ recruiting coordinator, tipped Miller off to Zook’s upcoming birthday and Twitter information, presumably so Miller could send a happy birthday message to the coach. Miller snubbed Zook.
Illinois included a full page of color photos showing what an Illini game day looked like and a quote from former Illini great Mike Ditka: “The ones who want to achieve and win championships motivate themselves.”
Surely Ditka must have known of Miller being motivationally challenged when it comes to football, other than the backyard variety. Despite being invited to several college football camps in the summer, Miller never so much as responded. He did attend Camp Ridgecrest, an all-boys gathering of Christians in the North Carolina mountains, where he admits to lifting weights for the first and only time.
Otherwise, Miller has been content to rest on his laurels, or maybe just on his behind ... except to check the mailbox every day to learn more about his football-playing prowess.
Listen to Morris Tuesdays from 4-5 p.m. on ESPN Radio 93.1 FM.
Most Viewed Stories
- Gamecocks' Gilmore wise beyond his years
- Men's pregame: USC vs. Miami
- USC's Archie suffers knee injury
- Kentucky rallies to beat Georgia 34-27
- Parker Attends Clemson Game
- Barnes Has Good Visit With USC
- Women's pregame: USC vs. Penn State
- Gamecocks' bowl bid needs 1 for the road
- Fulton Still Working On Decision
- Parker Has Good Visit to Clemson
@Nyx.CommentBody@