Miller speaks highly of Georgia in early stages of recruiting process

Harry Miller’s recruitment has ramped up in the past few months.

The 310-pound tackle received his first scholarship offer from Virginia Tech on April 3, and that was just the beginning. Seventeen offers have come since, including seven in the past calendar month for the Buford product.

Miller said Clemson, Michigan, Texas A&M and Virginia Tech are pursuing him the hardest. But after taking plenty of visits, an offer received from Georgia on June 14 impressed him.

“It was very big for me. I have visited many times before the offer and I like Georgia a lot,” Miller said in a phone interview with The Telegraph. “(Offensive line coach Sam) Pittman and (head coach Kirby) Smart. The atmosphere (at Sanford Stadium) is great, and the school is very good academically.”

The academic success is of top priority to Miller as he is currently in line to become Buford’s valedictorian for the 2019 class. The rising junior currently holds a 4.0 GPA, takes a number of Advanced Placement courses and ranks at the top in a group comprised of 351 students.

He wants that to continue, despite adding college football to his responsibilities.

“Academics are very important to (Smart),” Miller said. “He doesn’t just want his players to be eligible (to play), but be successful in the classroom.”

Miller said that he came away impressed with Georgia’s facilities on his latest trip, but it also gave him the opportunity to get a better gauge on what Pittman had to offer. The second-year Bulldogs assistant coach helped land seven offensive line signees for the 2016 class and is following that up with having a commitment in both the 2018 and 2019 classes.

“Coach Smart talked about how he is pursued by not only other schools, but other NFL teams, as well,” Miller said. “(Pittman) is very observant and instructs very well.”

Some of Miller’s other offers include prestigious programs: Auburn, Alabama, Ohio State and Tennessee. Each of those schools has a history of competing for a national title, but Miller is also hearing from the most recent national champion.

Clemson’s offer was his latest — received June 21 — and he plans to visit July 18.

“The coaches are always extremely nice to everyone,” Miller said. “The culture there is just great. There’s genuine sincerity with the staff, and the game-day atmosphere is great.”

Miller indicates that while many programs have received his interest, there is no true leader among his offers or a timetable to eliminate programs from the race. He plans to take time to find the balance between upper-echelon athletics and academics.

A reason for the surge in Miller’s recruitment — aside from solid performances — may be due to the efforts of new Buford head coach John Ford. Ford was hired at Buford from Roswell after Jess Simpson left for Georgia State and eventually took a position with the Atlanta Falcons.

Ford quickly carried over his style of being active in getting his players recruited, and he speaks highly of his players’ potential over social media with a prospect page. Miller displayed appreciation that Buford’s staff has been adamant in connecting with programs and coaches.

“He is a great young man with incredible academics and character,” Ford said. “So as the evaluation period went on, more and more people learned about how special he is as a person and player.”

This story was originally published June 23, 2017 at 4:30 PM with the headline "Miller speaks highly of Georgia in early stages of recruiting process."