USC football recruiting: Four-star OT Jonah Miller names Top 6

Four-star offensive tackle Jonah Miller included USC football in his top schools.

The recruitment of four-star prospect Jonah Miller is heating up, as the offensive tackle named his Top 6 schools on Tuesday.

Miller, who plays for Salpointe Catholic in Tucson, included USC alongside Oregon, Texas, Penn State, Washington and ASU.

“I’d like to thank every coach that has given their time and their university’s time to recruit me over these past two years,” Miller wrote on Twitter. “I can’t thank my coaches enough for getting me to this point. I’m cutting my list to six schools, and again I’d like to thank the schools and coaches who gave me their valuable time to recruit me. I can’t thank you enough.”

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It would seem the Trojans and Ducks will be in a showdown for Miller’s signature. They share a 50 percent share of 247Sports Crystal Ball predictions.

As USC clearly showed in their offensive line recruiting efforts in 2020, when they added five offensive tackles outside of the Top 650 prospects nationally, the west isn’t a place to cultivate top-tier linemen. That means the ones that do pop up in the Trojans’ recruiting footprint are essential to land.

In 2021, Miller is one of two prospects from Arizona in the Top 25 of offensive tackles. There are none from the state of California.

Miller is the No. 256 prospect in the class of 2021 overall at 6-foot-8, 285 pounds. Blair Angulo of 247Sports praised him for being “impressively agile for his size.”

USC’s recruiting class for the cycle includes two offensive tackles, but Miller is a step above each, in the rankings at least. Three-star J Serra lineman Mason Murphy is the highest-rated offensive tackle in California at No. 422 nationally. Three-star OT Maximus Gibbs, out of St. John Bosco, is another promising, but relatively low-rated prospect at No. 608.

USC will lose three linemen to graduation after the 2020 season, though Liam Jimmons is the only one expected to factor into the rotation. Still, projected starters like Alijah Vera-Tucker, Jalen McKenzie,  Andrew Vorhees and Brett Neilon will all be eligible to leave for the NFL Draft.

The addition of five offensive tackles in the class of 2020 means the Trojans’ depth won’t be in dire shape. However, a player like Miller could be a major upgrade in terms of starting quality right off the bat.