Football becomes an individual sport at some point.
I know what you are thinking… no way. It takes a whole team to push the ball down the field. It takes offense and defense to make it to a championship. A squad gets absolutely nowhere without special teams.
Ok, fine. But right now, football is an individual sport for Drew Miller. The former Florida Gator was recently cut from the Jacksonville Jaguars and is all by himself. It wasn’t always that way.
As a four-year letterman at the University of Florida, Miller finished his career as a decorated lineman with a trophy case full of accolades. As a captain for the Gators during his senior year, Miller anchored the nation’s 3rd ranked offense at center and was named an All-SEC Honorable Mention by the Associated Press. The year before, Miller was the starting right guard on the 2006 national championship team. Miller played Division I football at the highest level... There was nowhere better to be.
It’s crazy to think that Miller only began playing football in high school, as he was too big for the Pop Warner youth teams.
“I played baseball and basketball my whole life and I got to high school and decided to give it [football] a shot. I realized I was pretty good because I made varsity as a freshman. My coach told me to work hard and that would take me far, and I started getting letters from colleges. And then I realized there was a possibility that I could get a scholarship and play in college. That was my goal from then on,” Miller told me in a recent interview.
I most likely caught him driving home from the gym. I could hear the distraction in his voice. Miller works hard, training six days a week, pushing himself to make it back to the league. “The hardest thing for me right now is getting the opportunity [to play]. Last year I made it with Jacksonville. They gave me an opportunity. I ended up doing well and I made it, made it the whole year and to the active roster. Unfortunately, they released me because it’s a business and they needed to open up other spots. So now it’s just the next team giving me another chance. It’s basically just getting the opportunity because I know I can prove that I belong. Now I just sit and work out six days a week and [stay] in the best shape because when that team calls, I’m going to be ready to go.”
Sounds pretty positive for a guy who is out of a job, like so many other Americans. His parents, neither of them having the opportunity to attend college, instilled that determination in him. Miller appreciates all that his family has given him. “They’ve been with me since tee-ball, taking me to every practice and they came to every game when I was at Florida. I know they are real proud of me and what I do.” Miller understands that his mentality is a product of his upbringing and being a part of the UF football program. “Work hard and be humble and then also with Coach Meyer and the staff. Basically, I’ve never really had struggles with that because it’s the way I was brought up.” The respect is mutual, as Coach Meyer has complimented Miller in the past for his leadership and character.
But character is not what it’s all about in the NFL… as we all know. All the bad boys aside, it takes passion, grit, determination, and perfect timing. “When you get to that level in college and you start playing and you’re like I can compete; you want to push yourself to get to the highest level. That was my goal after my sophomore year – to work hard and get to the NFL. And by playing multiple positions in college, it helps with the NFL because there are not too many spots and the more things you can do, the better chance you have to make it. I took that as a positive and took on different positions for the team.” In fact, Miller switched from right guard to center after his junior year.
Miller played on a Gator team full of talent, including the revered Tim Tebow. I asked Miller what it was like to play with Superman Timmy. “It was great. We are great friends. He’s a great guy. And also just the way he prepares for games and how hard he works – there aren’t too many out there like him. It was cool to have another guy to compete with. Ya know, friendly competing in the weight room and everything like that. He is a great quarterback and I had a lot of fun blocking for him.”
I couldn’t help but be nosy, so I pushed Miller to talk about Tebow’s openness with the media – particularly this year concerning his virginity. Miller confessed that he didn’t even know that Tebow had publicly announced that to the media, but that it didn’t surprise him in the least. “He’s all about if he can influence others…You know if someone hears that he’s a virgin and he’s waiting, then maybe he thinks that someone will think then I can do it too. I know he’s got God first over football and everything, and he’s trying to use his celebrity to his advantage to show people God.”
Influence… a pretty big responsibility for a 22-year-old.
So how would Drew Miller influence others looking to expand their game and succeed at America’s favorite physical sport?
“It ultimately starts in the off-season. All the training and hard work, that’s where you win football games. And we had a great strength coach, Mickey Marotti [at the University of Florida]. He pushed us to limits where we thought we couldn’t go anywhere and we went further and further, and things like that... So that’s where it all starts. And then you get to the mental side of it, watching film. We’d meet as an offensive line every morning and watch film before the week coming up and try to get every little advantage that you can because there is such a narrow window for performing, especially in the SEC.”
He also cited dedication to your team and the willingness to keep fighting, just like the Gators did in 2006 after their loss to Auburn on the road. “Keep up the faith and believe that anything can happen and that hard work will pay off.”
Will Miller’s hard work pay off in the coming season? Well, he has to get there first and he can’t do it all on his own. Craig Schaeffer and Glen Lansky of Elite Sports Agency represent Miller. I wanted to know what Schaeffer (his primary agent) was doing for Miller in the down time. “His job right now, especially for me, is to be contacting teams and letting them know that I’m ready to go as soon as they need me. Just calling up teams and talking and seeing where I stand with each team. They are working hard and eventually I will get my shot.”
I threw another tough question Miller’s way - the everyone’s-favorite-job-interview question - the where do you see yourself in 10 years question. “Hopefully I’ll be playing football, but I know it's tough to last that long. But if not, I may want to get into coaching. I haven’t thought too hard about that because I’m concentrating so hard on making it. But I definitely love football and the game.” One way or another, Drew hopes to be a part of football for a long time to come.
He has been thinking hard about football and what he can do to chomp his way back onto an NFL roster. “My main thing right now is getting in the best shape and being as strong as I possibly can be so when I go in, I can make a statement and prove that I belong.”
Miller re-signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars and reported on August 7, 2009. However, he was injured (dislocated metatarsal) a week after returning. Miller was waived with an injury settlement and expects to return mid-season, according to Schaeffer.
We would like to thank Drew for his time in talking to Access Athletes, and we send our best wishes to him for a speedy recovery and a quick return!
