If Clemson Played Today, Blake Miller is Pulling a Mitch Hyatt
If Clemson played a football game today, Blake Miller is the starting right tackle, pushing Walker Parks to right guard, according to Brandon Streeter.
The offensive coordinator of the No. 4 Tigers feels that good about how the true freshman has impacted the offensive line.
"He brings a toughness every single day," Streeter said about Miller. "There's no question at all that he's one of the toughest guys we've got. He's really strong too."
And quickly accelerating through the offensive line process. It's not easy to play right away at this level anywhere, especially at Clemson. The gold standard starts and ends with Mitch Hyatt, who in 2015 became the first Tiger freshman to start at left tackle since 1944. Three-time All-ACC selection Hyatt went on to set the record for the most snaps ever played and starts made by anybody at Clemson.
"(Miller's) got a really good big picture for a freshman. It's very much like a Mitch Hyatt-type deal where he came in and really understands the game," said Streeter, who was on that offensive staff the year Hyatt started at Clemson. "It's hard to do at offensive line where there's so many moving parts. It's hard to do that at a young age. A lot of times it takes a little longer for those guys."
It doesn't appear that's the case with Miller, who has been impressing his teammates through fall camp.
"I feel great where Blake is, learning that tackle position," Streeter said.
But the Tigers don't play a game until Sept. 5 when they head down to Atlanta to face Georgia Tech at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. And while Streeter likes what he has among the first two groups up front, there's still open competition to find the best guys and cross-train in case of issues and emergencies.
"We're still rotating those guys and continuing to evaluate," Streeter said, "but I feel really, really good about where those guys are."
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