Zone Read: Jonah Miller Unplugged

The last time we visited with Jonah Miller, he was just checking into his dorm at the University of Oregon in the spring of 2021.

Well, quite a bit has changed over the last three years for the former Salpointe Catholic High School four-star offensive lineman.

Miller’s journey has taken him from Tucson, to the Pacific Northwest, to northern California (Santa Rosa Junior College), and now, the Alamo City (University of Texas-San Antonio). The redshirt junior, with three years of eligibility, is expected to compete for the starting left tackle position this fall for the Roadrunners. He’s in the process of changing his major to business and hopes to get him MBA in the coming years at UTSA.

Here’s our visit from earlier this week.

Your football and academic life have pivoted. Things didn’t work out, for a number of reasons, at Oregon. How would you assess your year and a half in Eugene? “It was awesome. I just wasn’t ready for it. The way I explain it to everyone is that, if you’re going to [play] at Oregon, you need to be ready to play right now. That coaching staff and that place. You have to go ready to play now. It’s not really a place where you’re going to develop. If I’m being honest with you…I think a big thing, my senior year [at Sahuaro High], where I wasn’t connected to a program, I was just finishing classes trying to graduate early. That was an integral part in it. By the time I got to Oregon, I got sick with this stomach parasite and I lost almost 60 pounds just before I got there. I lost another 80 pounds and I got down to like 230 [pounds]. When the new [Oregon] staff came in, they transitioned me to play defensive end, and maybe even tight end. By the time spring [of 2022] ended, I was like, ‘This isn’t what I do. This wasn’t what I came here to do…what’s the first step to transferring?'”

From a mental standpoint, where were you after experiencing all those road blocks with the Ducks? “When I was leaving Oregon, I was in probably one the worst states in my life. You’re basically on top of the world a month earlier, and now you’re in the transfer portal. The thing about the transfer portal is, the first two days, you really realize where you’re going to go. What was weird for me was, the first day I thought I was going to go to USC. I thought I was going to go to UCLA. Then, after talking more, it sort of dies down and you’re like, ‘[Expletive], okay.’ [laughing]. I was talking to San Jose State and I was going to transfer there. Then, half of my credits from Oregon weren’t going to transfer over and I wasn’t able to. It was either, try to find another [academic] term-system college [like Oregon], or go JUCO. I was in the portal for three weeks, I was in Santa Rosa [California], and I was like, ‘Alright, let’s go JUCO.’ The only reason I was even in Santa Rosa was because my dad lives there with my step mom. The junior college I ended up going to [Santa Rosa Junior College] is only 10 minutes from their house.”

How humbling was it for you to go from playing at Oregon to being at a junior college in essentially a month? “It was actually the inverse. I was so worried that I wasn’t going to be on the field again, I was scared. There are too many examples of people not being able to play anymore. People who have so much left in the tank and they’re just left on the sidelines. You get to the point where it’s like, ‘I just need a chance.’ When you’re not talking to a lot of coaches, you kind of get lost in that echo chamber. You’re in a space where you’re questioning yourself. You’re like a self-locker room lawyer. Getting to Santa Rosa and going from like mahogany floors in the weight room [at Oregon], to our weight room being outside and sort of in a jailhouse setting. It was awesome. At the end of the day, the 45 [pound weight], still weighs 45. When I hit the bag, it’s the same bag. I think my favorite thing about Santa Rosa was the weather. Whenever I was lifting, it wasn’t raining…the sun is a huge thing, especially for people from Arizona.”

I know you suffered a season-ending injury this past season, your sophomore year, at Santa Rosa. What happened? “So I dislocated/broke my finger in the second game and I relocated it myself [on the sideline] but kept [expletive] it up during that game. So, I was going to keep playing. I was wearing a taped up lacrosse glove which is hilarious, right? The game went fine but I needed to make sure, if I was out there, I was the best tackle we had. And I wasn’t. I wasn’t putting out my best film. It wasn’t the best for me and it wasn’t the best of me. My dad sort of real-talked me. He said, ‘You have to realize, this year, you can still get back (by redshirting).’ I kind of wanted to play football. That’s why I came here. We sort of got into it. But I eventually got a meeting with a surgeon and he said it was a terrible idea if I play with it. I got put into a splint and I sort of became a coach. I was either on the sidelines or in the [coaching] box which was really cool.”

Is Santa Rosa one of those elite JC’s that gets a bunch of high-profile D-1 bounce backs? “So, Santa Rosa obviously has had D-1 talent in the past and had some on the team I was on, but I guess I was sort of an anomaly. It just sort of happened because my older brother, Jacob, who played receiver at [Tucson] Sahuaro, he toured Santa Rosa when he was looking at colleges.

3 game tape from this year, I tore ligaments in my hand in the first game. Played through until it got worse, I’ll end-up petitioning for a medical redshirt leaving me with 3 years of eligibility after I graduate in December. pic.twitter.com/9tmeqxmwY6

— jonahmiller (@jonahmiller17) November 30, 2023

“So we knew [Santa Rosa Head] Coach Lenny [Wagner] before that. So there were many options when it came to junior colleges but it was an easy one when it came to Santa Rosa.”

Did you ever think, through all these ups and downs, that maybe football just wasn’t going to work out or were you always pretty head strong that you wanted to ball? “No, it was always the goal and it was always what I told everyone I do. So, I worked as a waiter for two years at this restaurant, Tips Roadside, for two years when I was in Santa Rosa. That was the main way I got tips [laughing]. Just [talking football] and getting to know people.”

Did people tip well up there in Northern California? “It’s literally in the name, yeah [laughing].” 

I bet you used that in the conversation, didn’t you? “Yes, for sure!”

How was it being in the portal the second time around after being at Santa Rosa for two years? “Obviously, it was a lot better. I had film and I was proven. I was ranked but that doesn’t matter. I knew I was going to find a good place and I low-key knew it was going to be UTSA after the first time I had been there.

Beyond blessed to announce my Commitment to The University Of Texas at San Antonio! Cannot wait to get to work! #Birdsup🤙 pic.twitter.com/qf3HFKHgGA

— jonahmiller (@jonahmiller17) December 19, 2023

“Honestly, I was just trying to get as much exposure for the my team [at Santa Rosa] as I could. We had a really good receiver, Isaac Torres, who I really believed in…when BYU wanted me, I told them, ‘You got to take a look at Isaac.’ I think that was a big deal for me because Santa Rosa wasn’t a big [recruiting stop]. It was cool that I was getting attention again. It’s like, the train was still moving. It was really cool.

Congratulations to @Isaatorres23 for his commitment to @CalFootball. Keep up the great work. #BEARCUBNATION pic.twitter.com/aL1YwFqxsX

— SANTA ROSA JC FOOTBALL (@srjcfootball) January 14, 2024

“Torres got a really good [preferred walk-on] at Cal and I think he’s going to get a scholarship. He’s 6’5, 210. He’s a really good receiver.”

Did anyone at Santa Rosa connect the dots that you blocked for Bijan Robinson for three years in high school? “I made a TikTok of him maybe getting drafted by Seattle. Us trading up. Seattle’s my team and I happy about that. One of my teammates was like, ‘Why are you glazin’ like that?’ I was like, ‘Bro, that’s my running back. I blocked for that fool for three years [laughing].’ They asked me, ‘What was he like?’ I said, pretty much what perfect football player would be. It sounds corny but the dude is who he is.”

Your head coach at UTSA, Jeff Traylor, is one of the best young coaches in the country. Was he the one who primarily recruited you? “I need to give a little love here. It was definitely Coach Traylor, and my offensive line coach, Coach [Kurt] Traylor [Jeff’s younger brother] but the main person who recruited me was [assistant offensive line coach] Tyler Preston and he’s my guy. Obviously, Coach Jeff Traylor recruited me a lot but it was mostly Coach Kurt Traylor and Coach TP. 

𝓢𝓲𝓰𝓷𝓮𝓭 ✍️

Welcome to the #210TriangleOfToughness, @jonahmiller17 #NSD24 | #BirdsUp 🤙 pic.twitter.com/6ObcQaVuLp

— UTSA Football 🏈 (@UTSAFTBL) December 21, 2023

“TP is my guy. He’s a really good recruiter. He’s not the type that’s just going to call you to talk about random [stuff] and just waste your time. He’s going to call you to check in and see how you are and where you are.”

Did you grow at all? “Yeah [laughing]. I have. I always said I was 6’9 or maybe 6’8, but I was really around 6’7. But I’ve passed that threshold now. Without shoes I measure in now at about 6’8 and some change.”

Why would you lie about being 6’9 when you were 6’7 [laughing]? “Because I wanted to be different! In cleats and a helmet now I’m literally 6’10. Even in some pictures with me and the o-line, some guys have helmets on their head and they’re still not as tall as me. It’s resting on their head, it’s not even on their head.”

How do you like San Antonio? “San Antonio is awesome. It’s like a more interesting version of Phoenix. I like it a lot.”

How cool is going to be playing in the Alamo Dome? “Well, I had my experience before. No, I’m joking! [Miller was redshirting when the Ducks lost to Oklahoma in the 2021 Alamo Bowl] I had been in there before. No, it’s going to be fun. It’s Texas football all the way. There are usually 40,000 people a game during the season.”