Miller comments on UK commitment

Many players attend summer camps hoping but not always expecting to hear the official word that they’ll be receiving a scholarship offer from that school.

Such was the case for East Carter’s Aaron Miller, who attended the Wildcats’ line camp last week.

“On the second day of camp, I was eating lunch with coach (Paul) Dunn, and he told me that coach (Rich) Brooks wanted to meet with me after the camp,” Miller said. “He told me that he planned on offering, and if I really wanted to be a Wildcat, I should probably go ahead and give him a commitment because they’ve got the scholarship reductions.

“After the camp, I checked out and went to coach Brooks’ office. When he offered, I went ahead and committed to him. That’s the place I’ve always wanted to be, so I didn’t feel the need to wait or think it over any more.”

Miller (6-6, 298, 5.2) became Kentucky’s sixth commitment for the Class of 2004. He’s the first lineman in the new class. Previous commitments included Joe Casey (RB), Tony Dixon (RB/DB), Richard Lyons (WR), Cole Mason (FB/LB) and Mario Urrutia (WR).

He chose the Cats over scholarship offers from Louisville, Cincinnati and Baylor as well as interest from Alabama, Georgia, Boston College, Indiana, Michigan State and Marshall.

“I just really liked Lexington and the campus and the coaching staff a lot,” Miller said. “I also liked the C.A.T.S. academic program a lot. That was really impressive. Plus, I’ve always been a Kentucky fan, so it was really an easy decision.

“I’m glad to have my decision out of the way so there won’t be any distractions this season. I’m just going to focus on getting stronger and helping East Carter win some games.”

Miller, who has also played baseball and basketball, says he hasn’t maxed out on the bench press and squat, but has made steady improvement with the weights.

“My strength is coming up,” he said. “That’s something I’ve worked on improving, and a redshirt year would probably help me even more. Coach Dunn said he liked my physique a lot more since the last time he saw me. He said I’ve come a long way.”