Longest tenured beat writer for Arizona State football and basketball, and a Website Publisher since 2001.
2023 LB RL Miller during his ASU visit with linebacker's coach Chris Claiborne (RL Miller Twitter)
As the quiet recruiting period was coming to a close this past weekend, RL Miller was planning to squeeze his one last visit to the University of Arizona. Yet, when the Wildcats’ archrival extended an offer of their own, the 2023 San Francisco Sacred Heart Cathedral linebacker decided to venture to Tempe before heading down for his Tucson trip. And the rest, as they say, is history.
“Arizona State is close enough that my family can come to watch me,” Miller said, “and all their games are televised, so it will be awesome for my family to always see me play. It’s a good school overall, and (linebackers) coach Chris Claiborne is one of the best coaches and can’t get better than that. When he offered me I contacted him and decided I wanted to visit there before I visit U of A.
“We sat down after my visit, and the way he was talking to me, he seemed like he really cared about my future outside of football. He is a really good coach and a good guy. And because he played in the NFL, he knows what he’s doing, and that means a lot.”
The Sun Devils offered Miller a mere three days before his arrival for an unofficial visit on campus, one that preceded his visit to Arizona. The Sacred Heart Cathedral standout couldn’t have asked for a more impactful first impression experience with the eventual college of his choice.
“I really enjoyed it was a good time,” Miller remarked. “I liked it a lot more than U of A. Everyone on my visit was really welcoming, and I liked that. Visiting Arizona State just felt like being with your family because that’s how it felt hanging out with (linebackers) coach Chris Claiborne. That’s what I needed to feel on the visit, and he was right there by my side the whole visit. Do you know how schools usually have the recruiting assistants taking around the school? Coach Claiborne was right there with me.
“Of course, the facilities there are really nice, and that school just ended up being my top choice. I always thought about playing football at the next level in the Pac-12, which is one of the best leagues, and Arizona State isn’t too far away from home. I knew about Arizona State because they were in the Pac-12, and I knew that they kicked U of A’s ass 70-7. But ASU really didn’t talk about them (U of A) during my visit, and I know U of A can’t talk smack about ASU, so they said nothing about them when I was on that visit.”
Miller who is being recruited as an outside linebacker and played both wide receiver and cornerback for Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep, who captured the 4-A CIF championship this past year with a 48-29 win over Northview. In that contest, three of Miller’s four receptions went for touchdowns as he posted 108 receiving yards, a performance that netted him the MVP award as well. On the season, Miller collected a total of 1,076 receiving yards, 62 receptions, and 19 touchdowns. On defense, he tallied 101 tackles, seven of them for a loss, in addition to 13 pass breakups, three interceptions, and two forced fumbles.
“Coach Claiborne likes my energy and my intensity,” Miller described. “I’m the type of player that wants to go after it every time because I’m the most competitive dude you’ll see. I’m the guy that brings up all the energy to his team. They (ASU) plays the same style of defense I play now, and I like that.”
Miller represents the overall third ASU pledge in the 2023 class and comes less than a week after the team’s first defensive commitment of this group, Texas cornerback Chase Davis.
