Our next recruiting report adds a ton of size to the Iowa State offensive line room. Tyler Miller the in state product out of Jefferson comes to Ames at 6 foot 9 and 300 pounds. That’s a whole lot of offensive lineman.

Miller was a three star prospect and held offers from Minnesota, Purdue and Cincinnati. It appeared it was more than likely going to be Iowa State all the way in his recruiting process as he made continuous trips to Ames during his recruitment.

Our last profile keyed on another offensive lineman, Hayden Pauls. We stay within the offensive line as we continue our recruit reports.

Style

Iowa State has been trying to piece together the right offensive line for the last three years. A line that can be dominant up front and power a productive running game. What they need are tackle-sized players that can play anywhere. Miller may not be able to play anywhere, but does bring the kind of size that can’t be taught.

Miller fits the mold of your prototypical blind side blocker. Big, tall and has wide reach. With a left handed quarterback sitting in the class with him, he could find himself playing right tackle.

Film

You can see on film he’s a significant presence on the field. The size and explosive blocks jump out. Another things that jumps out to me is when he seals the edge on run plays, he turns his hips and drives the defender away, which creates walls for his running backs to get to the corner if they need to do so.

You can also see what I was alluding to earlier about being a prototypical blindside blocker. He has great range out of his stance that allows him to get anywhere in the pass blocking set. This will come in handy when he faces speedy Big 12 defensive ends that are going to try and use speed to get around him on the outside. The only thing that I am worried about with Miller at the moment is the smaller defensive ends.

If he initiates contact, it’s game over for them. But if they are able to get the first step, he does show that he struggles with smaller defenders getting under his pad level and using it to their advantage. He’ll need to work on sinking his hips and playing with better pad level to combat his enormous size.

Player Comparison

On the current roster right now, he reminds me a bit of Rob Hudson. Coming into the program with great size and potential. I do see similar traits between the two at this point in their career. Smaller defensive ends and playing low. In the limited snaps we saw of Rob Hudson in the 2019, it appears coaching has helped him tremendously, and the same is possible for Tyler Miller. While Rob Hudson has converted into more of a guard I don’t see that happening here with Miller.

Scheme Fit

He is going to be protecting the blind side of the quarterback. Just depends on if it is a right hand thrower or a left hander. One huge leg he has up in his development curve is that his high school blocking scheme is very similar to Iowa State. At Greene County, they ran a ton of RPO-based packages that fall right into what Iowa State likes to do on the offensive side of the ball.

Final Verdict

There is a ton of upside with Tyler Miller,and everyone can see it. His pad level and hip placement need some improvement, and he needs to speed up his footwork, but time with the training staff and speed and conditioning improves him there. He’ll also have the benefit of not needing to worry about playing early in his career, as Iowa State appears to be set at the tackle position for at least the next three seasons.

This gives Miller the opportunity to redshirt, build his body for the college game, and work on himself to be prepared for when the time comes. Miller reported early to Iowa State as well, which gave him extra time to work on himself to prepare for the rigors of college football.