Jan. 6, 2011
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By John Denton
UCFAthletics.com
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - Just when UCF defensive end Bruce Miller thought the end of his college football career couldn't get any better, the hits just keep on coming for the standout senior.
Miller and Jah Reid, two of the four captains on UCF's Liberty Bowl champion squad, were selected to play in the 86th East-West Shrine Game on Jan. 22 at the Florida Citrus Bowl in Orlando. Kickoff is at 4 p.m.
Miller, Conference USA's two-time Defensive Player of the Year, is hoping that playing in the game will have a similar effect that it had on former UCF standout defensive tackle Torell Troup last season. Following a stellar career at UCF, Troup impressed scouts at the East-West Shrine Game enough that he was a second-round draft choice of the Buffalo Bills.
Both Miller and Reid, a 6-foot-7, 325-pound offensive tackle, are strong candidates to play in the NFL and can enhance their stock for the spring NFL Draft with strong showings. Reid was a first-team all-conference performer each of the past two seasons and is a strong possibility at the next level because of his prototypical size, his massive wingspan and his better-than-average footwork.
Miller and Reid helped UCF win a school-record 11 games this past season, culminating with a defeat of SMU in the Conference USA title game and a beating of Georgia in the Liberty Bowl. It was the second C-USA title for the Knights in four seasons and the first-ever bowl victory in school history.
The 10-6 toppling of Georgia was especially sweet for Miller, a native of Canton, Ga., who grew up rooting for the Bulldogs and dreaming of someday playing for Georgia. However, when no scholarship offer came following high school, Miller jumped at the chance to play for UCF.
And the four-year starter proceeded to re-write the record books at UCF. After getting another 1.5 sacks in the Liberty Bowl, Miller finished his career at UCF as the school's all-time leader in sacks with 35.5. The number is good for a tie for second for the most sacks of any player ever to play at a Florida-based college. Only Miami's Daniel Stubbs (39.5 from 1984-87) registered more sacks than Miller.
The 6-foot-2, 248-pound end also finished his UCF career with 57.5 tackles for loss, ranking him second all-time in school history just behind Elton Patterson's 59.5 from 1999-02.
Despite facing constant double teams, Miller finished this past season with 63 tackles, 8.5 sacks and 13.5 tackles for loss. He also had two interceptions that he returned for touchdowns - a 30-yarder against Buffalo and a 15-yard thing-of-beauty versus Houston in which he jumped high in the air for the pass and ran over quarterback David Piland at the goal line.
Reid was one of the Knights' most improved players over the past five years, going from a 370-pound project coming out of high school to an anchor of the offensive line at UCF the past two seasons. He started 41 games at right tackle, including 33 in a row dating back to 2008.
With Reid often leading the way with his blocking, UCF had three backs - quarterback Jeff Godfrey and tailbacks Latavius Murray and Ronnie Weaver - run for at least 10 touchdowns this season. Wisconsin was the only other school with three backs to run for at least 10 scores. UCF ran for 192.5 yards and game and 35 TDs on the ground - many of them behind Reid on the right side.
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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.