Jan. 18, 2011
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By John Denton
UCFAthletics.com
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - Training for the NFL out of his home base in suburban Atlanta - Georgia Bulldog country, if you will - UCF great Bruce Miller hasn't stopped smiling too often over the past three weeks.
After UCF defeated Georgia 10-6 in the Liberty Bowl for the Knights' first-ever bowl victory Miller has taken greater delight than ever at seeing the Bulldogs' red and black colors and `G' logo. And that's really saying something considering that Miller grew up in Canton, Ga., and rooted for the Dawgs as a kid before eventually matriculating to UCF where he became a star defensive end.
``I've had a blast being up in Georgia and you would have thought that the game was just yesterday and not on New Year's Eve,'' Miller said. ``Seeing the red and black everywhere on sweatshirts and car bumpers, it just makes me smile every time. The people up here are still talking about the game and I just flash my UCF logo.''
Miller, UCF's all-time sacks leader, is attempting to move beyond the Knights' big bowl win and make the transition to the next phase of his football life. The 6-foot-3, 248-pound defensive end is expected to be a mid-to-late round selection in the spring NFL Draft.
Miller and teammate Jah Reid, an offensive tackle, are hoping to enhance his draft stock in Saturday's East-West Shrine Game at Orlando's Citrus Bowl. The two Knights want to follow the footsteps of former UCF defensive tackle Torell Troup, who shined during postseason workouts last year and eventually was chosen in the second round of the NFL Draft by the Buffalo Bills.
``Hopefully, I'll do the same thing that Torell did,'' said Miller, who began drills in front of scouts for all 32 NFL teams on Monday. ``I went and watched Torell practice and play last year and I was amazed at the number of scouts there every day. But I'm just so excited for the opportunity to play at the next level.''
Days after Miller's eight tackles and 1.5 sacks against Georgia, Miller started the process of hiring an agent and finding a place to work out prior to the NFL Combine. Atlanta-based agent Jack Real was the choice for representative, and Miller is drilling at Competitive Edge in Duluth. He's began making the transition from playing defensive end to outside linebacker and has been working under the tutelage of former Pro Bowl linebacker Randal Godfrey, a 13-year NFL veteran. Godfrey, a Georgia product, undoubtedly has heard some good-natured trash-talk from Miller about the results of the Liberty Bowl.
``The scouts have seen me play defensive end, but they want to see me at linebacker now,'' said Miller, who finished his UCF career with 35.5 sacks and 57.5 tackles for loss. ``I haven't had a chance to stand up defensively in a long time, so it's something that I'm still getting used to. But I'm excited about playing there again.''
And Miller said that every day he dons his work out gear in preparation for the NFL, he stops and thinks about the long road that he's traveled. ``Not below the radar, not even on the radar'' was how Miller described his rise from high school to college. Now, he's about to get a chance to play the game that he loves for a living and he finds it all a bit surreal.
``Not a day goes by that I don't think about it,'' Miller said of his climb. ``It's been my goal of mine all along to play in the NFL. I played pretty well at UCF and now I'm working hard to make my dream become a reality. It's getting closer and closer and it's almost hard to believe.''
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John Denton's Knights Insider appears on UCFAthletics.com several times a week. E-mail John at jdenton@athletics.ucf.edu.