UMass linebacker Jarvis Miller is one of those players who flies under the radar and is unlikely to be on many team’s draft board in this week’s NFL Draft.
But, it’s players like Miller that make up a good deal of the NFL populace — walk-ons and free agents that get scooped up after the draft. He has several things going for him that many potential late-round draft picks and UDFAs in this draft do not.
Miller is a graduate student playing out his college eligibility at another school. He began his college career at Penn State and was a close friend of the Nittany Lions’ star running back. Some kid named Saquon Barkley.
Barkley is not only Miller’s friend, he is also godfather to Barkley’s daughter, Miller also has a close connection to Giants’ assistant Sean Spencer from their days at Penn State. The Giants have shown no formal interest in him but several other NFL teams have. Barkley, however, is Miller’s inspiration to keep pursuing a career in pro football. The Giants would be a nice fit for him.
“I tried to mimic his work ethic,” Miller said in an article by NJ.com’s Matt Lombardo. “If you see success around you, you want to taste that success yourself. . . He motivates me in ways he doesn’t even know he motivates me. The little things I see him do, I try to pick up myself and add to my own arsenal.”
And that may give the Giants reason to take a flier on Miller either late in the draft or after it. At 6-foot-2 and 230 pounds, he ran a 4.38 40-yard dash, the three-cone drill in 7.06 seconds, and has a 36-inch vertical jump.
The Giants are looking for a big safety who can cover. Miller played safety at Penn State before lining up as a linebacker at UMass.
“I played three different positions in college, and think I’m a very versatile player,” Miller said. “I’m trying to put myself in the best position. I believe in myself and my talents. I’m just trying to show other people, and take it to the next level.”
