Penn State Football: Shareef Miller leaves behind productive legacy
Just a month away from the 2019 NFL Draft, Shareef Miller leaves Penn State football as a major force in helping the Nittany Lions get back on track.
Right at the forefront of Penn State football’s program turnaround in 2016, was a bevy of superstar talent that helped the team go on a 31-9 stint over the next three campaigns. Lost in the shuffle of an exciting, high-flying offense led by Saquon Barkley and Trace McSorley was an underrated defense. Safeties Marcus Allen, Troy Apke, linebacker Jason Cabinda, cornerbacks Grant Haley, Christian Campbell, etcetera got a lot of credit for the run. But, there were plenty of great stars that saw the start of the run like defensive end Shareef Miller
Miller is currently headed for the NFL Draft after a phenomenal past two seasons, but he started seeing time during his freshman year in 2016. He played in all 14 games on the Big Ten Championship team and started the next 26 after that.
2016 Season Stats: 22 tackles, five tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, one forced fumble
2017 Season Stats: 37 tackles, 11.5 TFL, 5.5 sacks, one fumble recovery
2018 Season Stats: 41 tackles, 15 TFL, 7.5 sacks, one fumble recovery
Career Stats: 100 total tackles, 31.5 TFL, 14.5 sacks, two fumble recoveries, one forced fumble
Miller leaves behind a fantastic legacy, proving that Penn State’s current defensive line philosophy works at the college level and puts players into the pros. He’s a product of the unique, multiple rotation system that Penn State uses, opting to use an abundance of players and fresh legs instead of one, two or three dominant pass rushers.
He gave the Nittany Lions one of their many unstoppable forces on the D-Line. He bought into defensive coordinator’s Brent Pry’s system, helping the team improve its sack total individually and team-wise every single year. Penn State football brought down QBs for a sack 124 times in his three seasons going from 36 in 2016, to 42 in 2017 and finally 46 in 2018.
Offenses had to stop Miller but then it’d be Shaka Toney, Torrence Brown, Kevin Givens, Yetur Gross-Matos, Robert Windsor, etcetera. This D-Line made life difficult, and it all started with the leading rusher in Miller.
Next. Penn State Football: Defensive interior stacked with talent. dark
He is one of the best examples and leaders out of the new-age Penn State D. His athleticism at 6-foot-4, 254 pounds makes him a versatile pass rusher that can play anywhere at the next level, as noted by his NFL.com draft profile.