May 5, 2011
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By John Denton
UCFAthletics.com
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - Bruce Miller left UCF as the greatest defensive player in school history, registering 35.5 sacks and winning consecutive Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year awards. But when he got word last week that his future in the NFL would likely come on the offensive side of the ball as a battering-ram fullback, Miller simply shrugged and welcomed the new challenge.
For Miller, a gritty gamer who already gotten far more out of his career than many ever expected, it's simply about playing football - and not a particular position - that drives him the most.
Miller was selected in the seventh round with the 211th overall pick by the San Francisco 49ers. But rather than use Miller exclusively as a pass rusher off the edge, the 49ers felt that the 6-foot-2, 248-pound former Knight would be best suited as a blocking back on the offensive side of the ball. San Francisco's front office called Miller last Wednesday before the draft to gauge his feelings on switching to offense, and when he agreed, they promised to pick him if he was still available in the later stages of the draft.
``They told me if I was still around that they would take me. That was the first time I had heard about playing fullback,'' Miller said. ``But everybody knows me. As long as I'm on the field - I don't care if I'm kicking field goals - I just want to be out there playing. They talked to me a lot about special teams, playing primarily at fullback, but also working in some at outside linebacker in some situational rush packages. I'm excited about it.''
For Miller, a lightly recruited high school player out of tiny Canton, Ga., the call to the NFL was a defining moment for a player who has spent much of his life defying the odds. Shunned by his home state Georgia Bulldogs, Miller jumped at the chance to play at UCF and entered the starting lineup just after his redshirt freshman year. He eventually registered more sacks than anyone in school history and capped his career with eight tackles and 1.5 sacks in a 10-6 defeat of Georgia in the Liberty Bowl.
And now he's headed to the NFL. Miller and fellow UCF teammate Jah Reid were both selected in last weekend's NFL Draft. Reid, a 6-foot-7, 327-pound tackle, was picked in the third round with the 85th overall selection by the Baltimore Ravens.
``It's just an addition to the story I guess. To go from not being on the radar - not even having a radar really - to everything I accomplished as a player and as a team at UCF to the next step now in the NFL is incredible,'' Miller marveled. ``Hopefully I can continue to work hard and take this next step and be successful.''
Miller will be playing on the offensive side of the ball for the first time since he starred as a tight end at Woodstock High School in Georgia. In the weeks leading up to the NFL Combine and the Draft, Miller had been working for weeks on making the adjustment from defensive end to outside linebacker - his expected position in the NFL. But now he'll be trying to take a crash course in the duties of a fullback.
What certainly won't change - despite the position switch - is Miller's mentality.
``It will be different scheme-wise and position-wise, but that mentality that I had as a defensive player at UCF, it won't change much,'' Miller vowed. ``I'll still play tough and hard-nosed and taking the game very seriously. That's what they think I can bring to the fullback position. It'll be new, but that mentality we had at UCF on the defensive side of the ball, I feel like I can take that anywhere and be successful.''
And the hope is that he will impress the coaches enough with his work on special teams and his blocking as a fullback that he will be given some chances to get after the quarterback in pass rush situations on the defensive side of the ball.
Added Miller: ``I definitely think that the kind of coach that coach (Jim) Harbaugh is and the way he uses his players should benefit me. They'll try to use me wherever I fit the best. Right now, it's fullback and if that's not where I fit best, I'm sure they use me on other positions.''
Further complicating his transition from defensive end to fullback is the ongoing NFL lockout, which resumed last Friday a day before Miller was drafted by the 49ers. Teams were not allowed to contact players after the draft, slowing down the move from the college game to the pros for the likes of Miller.
``Right when they called me, I was ready to go to California and get started, but they won't let us do that,'' Miller said. ``I haven't spoken to them since we talked right after the draft. I'm not really sure what's going to happen with the lockout, but I think there's another hearing this week. I'm just pretty much waiting for a phone call. I want to try and get a visit in, but so far there have been no phone calls or playbooks sent or anything.''
But Miller isn't about to let that put a damper on what was a glorious moment. Miller watched the previous 210 draft picks either be announced or scroll across the television and even though he had a head's up phone call two days earlier from the 49ers, nothing quite prepared him for the emotions that hit when he was finally selected. When the 49ers called to inform him that he'd be the next pick, he failed miserably at holding in his emotions.
``We had a few people over and I tried not to get too emotional and keep my composure while I was on the phone, but I had watched every single pick from the first day. To have 210 picks go by and then have my name go across the screen, my heart hit the floor,'' he recalled. ``I didn't think it was going to be that way and I figured I could keep my cool, but I was so excited to have that (pressure) lifted off my back.
``It was hard waiting, but I just kept watching and waiting and hoping that my name would get called before that last pick,'' Miller continued. ``It took a long time, but when it finally did I was excited and my family was here and excited for me. It was a very good day.''
John Denton's Knights Insider appears on UCFAthletics.com several times a week. E-mail John at jdenton@athletics.ucf.edu.