"I really felt comfortable at Kent State. I went there with my dad on Friday and I just felt everything was right to make the decision," stated Ian Miller when speaking of his verbal. "I have followed the team for a long time and I know a lot of the wrestlers in the room. Knowing the coaching staff it came down to where you feel comfortable and where you think you can experience the most success. For me... that was wrestling for Kent State."
While Ian chose to make an early decision it wasn't an uninformed or quick choice after a nationwide search. Traveling with his uncle Zeb Miller, he spent time on campus at UC Davis, Maryland, Michigan, Navy, North Carolina, Oregon State, Penn, Princeton, Virginia, and Virginia Tech while Zeb was working for GOhioCasts.com. With an older sister a student at Ohio State and former high school teammates that have wrestled in college for the Buckeyes, Michigan State and Kent he was able to make an informed decision.
"I really have to thank my uncle Zeb. Even though he wrestled at Kent State he wanted me to see what was out there and make the best choice for me. He has always been supportive and has always been helpful whether it was wrestling or just life. I owe a lot to my family, my teammates, and coaches," offered Ian.
When asked about the early announcement Miller stated the decision to make it public was for himself and for the benefit of Kent State.
"If you have the chance to look around and you know where you want to go why not let everyone know. I wanted to start my senior year knowing where I wanted to go so you know what goals you are working towards," responded Ian.
"I think it helps the Kent State coaches with their recruiting because they know that I am coming and they can recruit some other weights to put together a great class."
Miller has been on two of the best Oak Harbor teams ever, the 2008 and 2010 Rockets took second both years. Unfortunately Ian was injured in practice after the sectional tournament as a freshman and unable to compete at the state tournament but he came back to place third at 135 pounds in 2009 and he won his first title as a junior at 145 pounds. After three years in the starting lineup he has 122 wins and could graduate as the school's career victory leader if he can match the 41 wins he had in 2010.
"We have a great wrestling tradition at Oak Harbor. I think we have been able to build on our success each year and you are starting to see some of the guys going on to make an impact in college," said Miller. "I am really good friends with Keith Witt at Kent State so I am excited about being on the same team again."
Miller had an outstanding junior season with a 41-1 record at 140 and 145 pounds. His only loss has a 3-2 overtime decision to Blair Academy senior Chris Villalonga in the 2009 Ironman Finals. Villalonga was InterMat's top ranked 140 pound wrestler and the number three recruit in the Class of 2010. Ian was dominant against in-state competition going 40-0 against Ohio wrestlers; to his credit were quality wins over DII 135 pound state champion Issac Jordan (Graham) and DI state place winners Jerrel Valliant (Sandusky), Shane Foster (Perry), and Alec Marsico (Pickerington North). Moving up to 145 midseason Miller ended the year ranked twentieth in the InterMat All-Class Individual rankings.
"It got harder to make 140 as the year went on and our 145 had an easier time making 140 pounds than what I did. It was a move we both made to make the team stronger at the end of the year and I think it turned out pretty well, because Jake (Cramer) ended up placing fifth (at 140), I won the title at 145, and as a team we took second," stated Miller.
Like the Rockets, the Golden Flashes are also a team on the rise with a pair of All-Americans and back-to-back top-twenty-five finishes at the NCAA Tournament each of the last two years. It was something that was not unnoticed or unnoted by Miller.
"Kent State has really been putting things together the last few years. They have two returning All-Americans this year that will be there my freshman year. The goal of the program is to become a top-ten team that competes for a MAC championship every year. I am going to do whatever I can to help the team accomplish our goals," offered Ian.
Following NCAA guidelines college coaches are unable to comment on a potential recruit until they sign their National Letter of Intent during their senior years. Miller is expected to sign his NLI in November so head coach Jim Andrassy will be unable to discuss Miller until they have the document in hand.
When asked about the plan once he arrives at Kent State, Ian stated nothing has been decided.
"The coaches really want to see how I do once I get on campus in 2011. If I am ready to go it would be nice to be able to wrestle and get some experience. That way if I am going to redshirt somewhere down the road I know what I need to work on and I know what I am missing. At the same time I don't know what weight I am going to be at and if the coaches want me to redshirt I need to make the most of my time and be ready to go the next year," responded Miller.
Ian is not waiting to get to Kent State before he starts preparing for the transition to college wrestling. He is currently training to represent Team Ohio at the Junior Duals in Oklahoma City at the end of June and is planning on wrestling in Fargo to end July. He will delay making the decision if he is going to play soccer again in the fall until later this summer.
"The more you wrestle the better you are going to get. I still have a lot to work on before I get to college," stated Miller. "I want to get better on top because it is such a big part of college wrestling. Being able to ride someone and turn them in college is going to be a lot harder than high school so that is one area I can focus on. I am just glad to have made the decision of where I am going to go school so I can focus on wrestling and enjoy my senior year."
InterMat was granted permission to republish this article from BuckeyeWrestling.com.
http://www.buckeyewrestling.com/?q=node/37561
Recommended Comments
There are no comments to display.
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now