Colorado University Athletics
Miller Named Second-Team All-American
BOULDER - University of Colorado senior guard Ryan Miller was named second-team All-American by the Walter Camp Football Foundation Thursday evening.
It's the oldest All-America team in college athletics, as the organization was the first to select one back in 1889. This is the 122nd team, which is selected by head coaches and sports information directors in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS).
Miller, 6-8, 295 pounds, prepped at Littleton's Columbine High School and was a member of CU's 2007 recruiting class. His true sophomore season was cut short due to a broken fibula, but he played in the season's first four games, more than enough to letter, and became the just the ninth player out of almost 2,000 lettermen in school history to earn five letters.
"It sure feels good. I feel honored and I am very thankful to have played five seasons in front of all the Buff fans at Folsom Field and for coach Embree this year," Miller said. "It's been an honor and pleasure."
He set the school record for the most career games started with 47 (48 including the 2007 Independence Bowl), breaking the old marks of 45 overall (ILB Jordon Dizon) and 44 by an offensive player (held by two players); he started the last 37 games of his career. From his redshirt sophomore through his senior seasons, he played 2,548 snaps, all but two of the team's total. In 3,320 career plays, he allowed just five sacks, allowed only nine pressures and was called for 10 penalties, only four in his last three seasons. In his career, he had three position coaches: Jeff Grimes for his first two, then Denver Johnson for two, and Steve Marshall his senior year.
"We're real proud of the accomplishments he had this year," Marshall said. "He played extremely well the second half of the season and deserves every honor he gets. It's rare for a college player to have to endure three different position coaches in their career ... change can be unsettling dealing with new philosophies and teaching techniques. But Ryan worked extremely hard under the new circumstances and just got better and better each week and had a heck of a year as it turned out."
This past season as one of four team captains, he played 850 snaps from scrimmage, all but one of the CU's total (the one was allowing another senior to finish the Arizona game). He graded out to 83.3 percent on the season, coming on strong the last half of the season (88.8 percent in the final six games), and posted 80 percent or better grades in 11 games, with a season-best 90.1 versus Arizona. He led the team with 40 "great effort blocks," awarded for knockdowns, downfield blocks, touchdown blocks (which he had three) and blowing opponents off the line (not pancakes). He was called for just two penalties, and allowed a single quarterback pressure and just one sack.
Miller was one of 65 players on the official preseason watch list for the Outland Trophy (one of 14 guards to make the list) and was one of 15 guards on the 125-man official watch list for the Lombardi Award.