Skip to main content

2022 OT Details Relationship With Florida Gators Coach John Hevesy

In an exclusive interview with Sports Illustrated-AllGators, 2022 OT prospect Blake Miller discusses including the Florida Gators in his top five.

With the 2021 class being the focal point of recruiting since the 2020 season's kickoff, Florida receiver good news regarding the 2022 class this past Monday when offensive lineman Blake Miller included them in his top five.

Sitting alongside Clemson, Ohio State, Michigan, and Auburn, Florida is in high pursuit of the physically gifted 6-foot-6, 315-pound junior of Strongsville, Ohio.

Possessing the qualities of a multi-year starter in college, equipped with an incredible frame and shocking nimble feet for someone of his stature, many schools have placed their name in the Miller sweepstakes before he narrowed the option down to five. Sports Illustrated-AllGators was able to catch up with Miller and discuss what went into narrowing his list.

Florida has been known to limit the outreach they do for recruiting during the season to be fully focused on the task at hand, winning football games. However, Miller spoke highly of the relationship offensive line coach John Hevesy has been able to keep, even with the added craziness brought about by COVID-19.

“I feel like the relationship is pretty good, like with all of the stuff going on right now. They do a great job maintaining the relationship. [Coach Hevesy and I] text back and forth, Facetime, on the phone, pretty much everything. I’d probably say [we talk] at least once a week.”

Throughout his recruitment, Miller mentions that Hevesy’s sales pitch has been intriguing as it consists of “A great program, which I definitely agree with," academics, facilities, and the state of Florida itself. “Why wouldn’t you want to live in Florida? It’s beautiful.”

As a prototypical offensive line prospect, the pursuit of Miller is going to come down to the wire, and right now, all five teams look to be on a level playing field in his mind.

“All the schools have a couple of things in common that’s really why they’re there,” Miller said about the five schools he included. “They have great coaching staffs, they have programs that really breed excellence, they put guys in the league, and they’re schools I can see myself playing in.”

Going forward, his next step will be to find the differences from one another in order to separate one from the rest of the pack.

While Miller is looking to make a trip to Gainesville when in-person visits return to the recruiting trail, the idea that they may not be a possibility hasn’t left him. However, he says that not visiting somewhere in person does not deter him from that school.

Instead, he feels he can get a true feel for the campus and other aspects of a university through a virtual visit, something he says could be discussed between the two parties following the season.

As he looks to meet his timetable for a 2021 summer commitment that he provided in a previous interview, Florida stands in a good position with the trench monster prospect from up north.