Shortly after 11 a.m. Wednesday, Jonah Miller sat down at a table with his parents, Toni and Matt, and his brothers, Josh and Jacob.
The offensive line prospect looked to the back of the patio at La Paloma Country Club and, before he signed a national letter-of-intent to play at Oregon, thanked his former coaches for helping him along the way.
Miller’s youth football coaches, assistants from his time at Salpointe Catholic, including ex-Arizona Wildcat and NFL lineman John Fina, among others, surely smiled underneath their masks.
“It’s a surreal moment, because it goes back to that (2014) national championship game with Marcus Mariota, as a kid and just watching the Oregon Ducks as a program — and the Pac-12 as a whole — and thinking, ‘Maybe I could play there one day,’” Miller said.
“When the day comes and you finally get to sign, it’s pretty crazy.”
Oregon’s coaching staff, under the direction of Mario Cristobal, was persistent in recruiting Miller to Eugene. Whether it was phone calls or visits, the Oregon staff made it evident that Miller was one of its top priorities for the 2021 recruiting cycle.
“They just did a great job — and that’s not saying everybody else didn’t. … It doesn’t mean one is going to be better than the other, but it’s about the right decision for him,” Matt Miller said. “In this case, this was certainly the best-case scenario for Jonah.”
Cristobal and company signed three of the top five recruits in Arizona on Wednesday, including Miller. Gilbert Mesquite quarterback Ty Thompson and Scottsdale Saguaro offensive tackle Bram Walden are the others.
Miller said the world-class football facilities at “Nike U” were too enticing to pass up. He called the Ducks’ football plan “a black starship.”
“It’s mesmerizing, and you wouldn’t think there’d be 60 athletes preparing to play football. You’d think Darth Vader was going to walk out or something like that,” Miller joked. “It’s got a spaceship interior, spaceship exterior; it’s pretty crazy.”
Even Matt Miller, a lifelong Arizona fan who never looked at college football programs for what their facilities had to offer, said he was astonished by Oregon’s $68 million headquarters.
“They take you through a demonstration and it’s hard for you to not say, ‘Yeah, this is pretty bad-ass,”’ Matt said. “‘Please, come to our auditoriums, where the team meetings are. Enjoy our Ferrari-leather seats that we have — and oh, come into our individual meeting rooms and enjoy the Maserati leather that you’ll be sitting on.’ I’m not kidding.”
Even the indestructible Brazilian wooden floors in the weight room left the Millers in awe.
“It’s the little things, and it’s tough to compete with that,” Matt Miller said.
Jonah Miller attended a Cristobal-run practice, and the Ducks coaches’ attention to detail was eye-opening. The connection between offensive line specialist Cristobal, O-line coach Alex Mirabal and offensive assistant A’Lique Terry was “mesmerizing” he said.
“You could tell each lineman was getting a tip from them and everyone was getting information all at the same time. Everyone was sharpening each other and it was cool to watch. Their practices are structured so well,” Miller said.
“If you were to walk in, it’d look like chaos. But as you focus in, everything is moving in symphony. That’s what I fell in love with: The connection between the head coach, offensive line coach and the O-line. It’s a one-mind force.”
Jonah Miller, senior offensive tackle at Sahuaro high school, adjusts his hat while listening to his father (not pictured) talk during a small letter signing event at Westin La Paloma County Club, 3660 E. Sunrise Dr., in Tucson, Ariz. on Dec. 16, 2020. Surrounded by family members and coaches, Miller signed his national letter of intent with the University of Oregon on Wednesday, Dec. 16.
Miller developed into a four-star prospect at Salpointe Catholic, and the Lancers advanced to the Open Division semifinals as a junior. He transferred to Sahuaro with hopes of finishing his high school career at the same program that his older brothers played for. But the coronavirus hit, and Miller opted out of the season.
Unable to take official recruiting visits, Miller picked Oregon based on his visits from 2019 and phone calls with coaches. He said he was tempted to reunite with former Salpointe teammate Bijan Robinson at Texas.
“When it became clear that the official visits weren’t gonna happen in the summer, I knew where I needed to go — and Oregon was the place for me,” he said. “I still would’ve loved to visit those other places but I feel like if I would’ve got those visits, I still would’ve chosen Oregon. … My growth and my future would’ve been more optimized at Oregon.”
Miller began taking classes with Apex Learning, an online program that allows him to fast-track his credits so he can enroll at Oregon as soon as March.
He also lost 80 pounds thanks to a consistent workout regimen and healthy diet. Miller dropped from 320 pounds to 240 pounds, though he is now back to 265.
Oregon will provide Miller with personalized meals once he enrolls. Miller’s newly transformed body shows he’s capable of fluctuating weight, which gives the Oregon coaches something to mold over the next few years.
“Let ’em feed me and build me up. Now it’s going to be good weight,” he said.
Between dropping weight, staying healthy and remaining on track with virtual learning, Wednesday was a sign — a signature — of relief.
“I’m excited to take that next step and become my own person and make those day-to-day decisions my parents would make for me,” he said. “Instead, it’s going to be me.”
