Penn State picks up commitment from OL Josh Miller
Penn State picked up another important commitment for its Class of 2023 Monday in offensive lineman Joshua Miller.
A three-star prospect according to the On3 Consensus, Miller has long been considered one of Penn State’s top interior offensive line prospects in the class. He was close to deciding back in November, but elected to hold off.
However, after thinking about it some more, he decided that now was the best time to end it.
“Honestly, it was really just having some talks with a few other recruits, sitting down, and really thinking about the decision myself,” Miller said. “When I really looked at Penn State and compared them to my top schools, I just realized that Penn State had everything I needed. There was no more time to waste. It was the right time.”
Miller said he had a long talk with close friend Payton Kirkland recently about recruiting. He said that after that talk, he knew it was time to wrap it up.
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“Payton is my guy,” Miller said. “He’s going through the process, too, and he understands what’s involved with it. We had a real good talk.”
Miller actually informed Penn State of his decision back on Saturday. He was primarily recruited by Phil Trautwein and Ja’Juan Seider, although head coach James Franklin was also heavily involved.
“They were super excited and just proud of me and how I handled it,” Miller said. “They’ve been wanting me to join for a while now but didn’t want me to rush it either. But they were mainly just excited more than anything. I’m excited, too.”
Overall, Miller earned 18 verbal scholarship offers throughout the past year-and-a-half. Penn State was the third school to offer back in March 2020. Maryland and Pitt offered just a few days prior.
Related: 10 things to know about OL Josh Miller
Back on Nov. 2, Miller cut his list of schools to five. In addition to Penn State, he included Clemson, North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia Tech. All five of those schools hosted him for visits in 2021. However, Penn State hosted him the most, totaling four visits between June and November.
With Miller now committed, the Nittany Lions are up to five players in the Class of 2023. He’s also the second true offensive lineman, joining Alex Birchmeier. However, it should be noted that Mathias Barnwell, who currently plays tight end, could also play tackle at the next level.
Penn State also holds commitments from cornerback Lamont Payne and tight end Joey Schlaffer. Both Miller and Birchmeier are expected to be guards at the next level, which means tackle will become a bigger priority for the 2023 class moving forward. Top prospects include Evan Link, Luke Montgomery, Samson Okunlola and Chase Bisontis.
