
Christen Miller: The recruiting twists keep coming for the talented All-American DT
Want to attack every day with the latest Georgia football recruiting info? That’s what the Intel brings. This entry is about the latest with prized All-American DT Christen Miller of Cedar Grove High.
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BUFORD -- Christen Miller’s recruiting tale has taken another turn when it comes to the Georgia Bulldogs.
This has been another week where the thought of staying at home to play college football has surged in his mind.
This is also a week in which the 6-foot-5, 295-pound terror in the trenches has found equal parts maturity, stability and tranquility.
His last three tweets are worth 300 or so words that could best be spent chronicling all of that.
Those three really say a lot. But not quite as much as he showed last night in a preseason scrimmage at Buford.
Miller was often at times the very best player on the field. Even factoring in a young and developing line of Wolves he was ripping through.
He wound up with at least three solo tackles, two assists and one sack for about 2.25 quarters worth of work.
And he just turned 17 years of age. It was all there. The effort level. The roadrunner legs off the line of scrimmage and just a generally nasty disposition when the ball came his way. He did all of that while also providing anchor support for his teammates whenever the Buford offense began to frustrate his highly-regarded Class 3A program on the road at Class 6A Buford.
He makes his decision on the big stage of the All-American Bowl in Texas. It will allow everything to just happen without a rushed timeline. Will the USC Trojans remain a factor? How long will the chance to play for Larry Johnson loom on his mind this fall?
How easy does it make his process now?
“Real easy,” Miller said. “I’m just going to go to school. Get good grades. Come to the game and party hard on the weekends. Ain’t nothing to it but to do it.”
It checks off a career goal.
“I always had a dream of being an All-American and committing,” Miller said. “Once I got the All-American, everything else went out the door. I was kind of like God was telling me I gave you what you wanted so now follow through with the plan. My plan is to commit on stage and that’s all I am going to do. I was looking for love in the wrong places.”
Christen Miller: A quick snapshot of his recruiting soap opera
When it comes to Georgia and Miller, there are times where the famous “Godfather III” line from Al Pacino rings true.
Just when he thinks things might be on the outs with him and the Bulldogs, then they pull him back in. Miller himself has brought up the notion that Georgia’s recruitment of his has not been consistent.
It has allowed a recruiting race to develop between USC, Ohio State, Oregon and now Oklahoma, too.
The decision to slow down his recruitment for an announcement at the All-American Bowl has brought on that tranquility.
Miller can just take his time now. He’s only taken one official visit to USC at this time.
When asked about the love from UGA this week, he made a point that he was reflecting it back with the UGA gloves he wore on Friday night.
“For me, Georgia has always had love for me,” Miller said. “It is just the type of personality that I just feel like I want it more. Now, I am starting to get my mind right and dial myself down for what is business. Everyone knows I like to act and that type of stuff but football comes first. That’s priority.”
The Bulldogs are now a constant presence in his recruitment.
“Now they are just being consistent now,” Miller said. “It is not an off or on thing. They are just being consistent. It is like coach [Tray] Scott tells me ‘I am not fixing to worry you every day all day because we go business we are trying to handle. We are all trying to get somewhere. He’s just calling me each and every day. He’s sending me voice memos. He’s just being goofy, man.”
DawgNation “Before the Hedges” viewers will remember the Scott impersonation that Miller whipped up on a live broadcast. Those two do have a long history that will allow the fun-loving Miller to try something like that.
“He’s a solid dude,” Miller said. “He’s just different. That dude is different. I don’t know where he is getting his language from but he called water ‘aqualinity’ and he’s got all this weird slang. But I will rock with him.”
What is he looking for? Well, he knows what will not sway him.
“I don’t want to be approached with NIL anymore,” Miller said. “I already know how that sits. I’m a football player. I’m a class act and I’m a businessman at the same time. I know what I am doing right now. I don’t need anybody to hit me with that NIL stuff. I know what I can do.”
“I can brand myself at Toledo. It doesn’t matter.”
Georgia will have a boost in that area. Atlanta kid. Homegrown player. Miller seemed to focus more about the depth chart in Athens, though.
“With a lot of these tackles leaving this year I get to come in and just get in where I fit in and be around great players like Tyrion [Ingram-Dawkins] and Naz Stackhouse and all them boys.”
Christen Miller: What will his fall recruiting look like?
With the decision date set, he can now just flow towards that All-American stage. He’s only taken the one official to USC.
That leaves four. He sees two bye weeks on the Cedar Grove schedule which will allow him to complete those on football gameday weekends.
The first of those dates will be on Sept. 11. He has long locked in that weekend for an Ohio State official visit. The Buckeyes host Oregon then. That is a matchup of two of his top four schools.
He will use one where he leaves on a Saturday after one of his games and then leave and stay on a Monday. Miller said he does no believe in not using an official visit for a trip to see the in-state Bulldogs.
“I feel like you have got to save the best for last,” Miller said.
Miller said that Georgia will get an official visit, too.
“I am not worried about that,” Miller said. “They are down the road. They are right by the McDonald’s so I can just go there to go see them.”
He mentioned that Oklahoma would get an official visit, too. That’s a new team in his process.
Let’s revisit that “best for last” comment about Georgia. Why did he say that?
“Like I said since Day 1, they are just immaculate with everything,” Miller said. “Their energy is great. They are always going to bring the energy. It is just kind of like for me it is kind of like for me I just needed them to be consistent. We only get this process one time.”
He saw a pair of Georgia commits in Griffin Scroggs and De’Nylon Morrissette at the game on Friday night. That group even included major Georgia target Jake Pope. Pope was on the winning side of a 21-7 win for Buford against Miller and Cedar Grove.
“I’m good friends with all of them boys,” Miller said. “I had Jake and them laughing during the game. We were all joking during the game. They showed love. Jake was trying to recruit me to Buford, though. He told me.”
SENTELL’S INTEL
(check on the recent recruiting reads on DawgNation.com)
- WATCH: New UGA commit Griffin Scroggs breaks down why UGA
- BREAKING: State champion OL Griffin Scroggs commits to UGA
- BREAKING: 3-star Texas WR Dillion Bell commits to UGA
- Georgia recruiting: Recapping the Dawg Days of Summer that ended the on-campus summer visits
- Cole Speer: “If I had a dream school growing up, it would be Georgia.”
- 5-star junior safety Joenel Aguero is already very high on Georgia
- Priority 2023 in-state CB target Kayin Lee dishes on his best trip yet to UGA
- BREAKING: Elite RB target Branson Robinson chooses UGA
- Dani Dennis-Sutton breaks down his final three with a July 22 decision day approaching
- Kayin Lee: Georgia and Ohio State made two very big impacts on this 2023 priority DB
- Nation’s No 1 DT Walter Nolen places UGA in his top five
- Carlton Madden Jr: Fast-rising prospect says “it just feels like it is right” about UGA
- 2022 RB commit Jordan James says “It’s the ‘Dawg Way or no way’ for a RB
- Nolan Smith set to give back to his native Savannah with camp
- The last 24-hour stretch shows that commitment season has arrived in July
- Andre Greene Jr: 484 reasons that show why he’ll be a major player in college
- Oscar Delp: Priority TE target sees for “main leaders” after his June officials
- Pearce Spurlin III: 2023 TE commits dishes on the scavenger and Arch Manning hunts
- AJ Harris: Bulldogs appear locked into a big-time battle for the 5-star CB
- JaCorey Thomas: The 4-star ATH breaks down his sudden commitment to UGA
- 5-star 2023 QB Arch Manning (yes that Manning family) set to check out UGA
- Massive 6-foot-8 OL Jacob Hood points to what he really likes about UGA
- Nation’s No. 3 RB prospect Branson Robinson sets commitment date to honor his late uncle
- Carlton Madden Jr. and the 500-something peanut butter and jelly sandwiches that led to a “dream school” UGA offer