Louisville assistant coach Greg Nord asked for film of Miller after watching him at Centre College. Ohio University also expressed interest as did Eastern Kentucky and Western Kentucky.
Miller says Boyle coach Chris Pardue has told him not to worry about scholarship offers yet. "Coach Pardue says there probably won't be a lot of early offers and that the bigger offers will probably come if I have a good season," Miller said. "With my size, I kind of figured I would attract some attention at Centre. Playing at Boyle County, if you are a good player coaches expect a lot because of our team's reputation. Sometimes it's hard to know what coaches are looking for, but you just do the best you can."
Miller knows how fickle recruiters can be. His older brother, Matt, was a standout receiver at Boyle and played on state championship teams. Yet despite his size and speed, he was largely overlooked by recruiters before signing with Eastern Kentucky.
Hard sell for EKU
"In my opinion, I thought my brother was a better player than I was," Miller said. "I don't see how he didn't go to a bigger school."
Matt Miller didn't finish his playing career at Eastern after Roy Kidd, the coach who recruited him, resigned and was replaced by Danny Hope.
"Honestly, there's probably no way I could go to Eastern because of the stuff that happened with my brother," the Boyle junior said. "If they did offer (a scholarship), I couldn't just say no. I would listen. But it would be a hard sell."
His brother just graduated from Eastern and will be working in Lexington. He's offered to help Josh Miller with anything he needs during his recruitment.
"He basically has told me to just make sure I have fun," Miller said.
Miller gave up baseball this spring to run track to help improve his speed. He says it was "definitely the right decision" for him. He's also been able to maintain his weight despite the extra running. "I just eat a lot. My mom takes care of me. She makes sure I'm always fed well," Miller said.
Moved from secondary to linebacker
Miller had 86 tackles last year when he moved from the secondary to linebacker. He also accounted for 942 yards and 11 touchdowns receiving and rushing. All those numbers figure to go up next season when Miller is the marquee player on the team.
"I made more plays and became more of an impact player as a junior. I've had some colleges tell me they really like my film," he said.
Miller says the success of past Boyle players such as Neal Brown, Bobby Leffew, Travis Leffew, Taylor Begley and Jacob Tamme helps him gets noticed because coaches know Boyle produces solid players.
"You can also tell sometimes when you are at a combine that people are looking at you and thinking, 'He's not that good or there's no wonder Boyle County has a good team,'" he said.
Miller has no favorite teams on his college lists. He admits he's always been a Ohio State fan since he was born in Ohio and that would be his "dream school" to play for. However, he just wants a chance to play college football.
"Right now I know I'm not a big name statewide. That's just more motivation than anything," Miller said. "I just have to get busy and make people know who I am. Football is a game of heart and making plays. Combines are great to show how you run and jump, but you make your name on the field with the way you play."
