Wednesday, October 25, 2006

Can an 18 year old change the direction of a program?

The folks that run the various CU recruiting sites have been keeping close tabs on the Centennial state's top prospect among the 2007 Colorado High School seniors. Gigantic offensive tackle (6'8" 280 pound) Ryan Miller, who's unanimously the state top prospect and only 5 star rated player, has apparently given his verbal commitment to the Golden Buffaloes. The Buffs beat out such national powers as Notre Dame, Southern Cal, Nebraska, Florida, Miami (FL), Florida State for his services. For what ever reason, CU has not been able to land a 5 star high schooler, in state or out of state since 2001. The verbal commitment of Miller is huge for a program and it's fans who have suffered through a 1-7 start to the 2006 season. Congratulations to Coach Hawkins and staff for landing a true crown jewel to this recruiting class.

So what can an 18 year old do for the direction of a program? Many things. For one, it makes other top recruits stand up and take notice. Many recruits can't see past the abysmal 1-7 record and see what coach Hawkins is building and what Colorado has to offer, but when one of the best players in the country gives his pledge to go to the top state university, these kids do notice. Another positive is that skill players, i.e. QBs, WRs and RBs want to play behind talented offensive linemen, whether that's protecting the QBs blind side, opening up a hole and pancaking a defender for a RB or giving the QB time to find the WR, it all starts upfront with offensive linemen. Ryan Miller is a big building block in getting the University of Colorado back to national prominence.

Glad to have you aboard Ryan Miller, the buff family welcomes you with open arms!

Please click here to get a glimpse of Ryan Miller

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