Recruit working hard to learn system

Oregon State football coach Mike Riley stood behind the lectern in the Valley Football Center in February to talk about his recruiting class for the 2006 season.

He boldly pronounced Gabe Miller of Lake Oswego High his star recruit.

Rivals.com ranked the 6-foot-3, 220-pounder a four-star athlete with vast potential. Miller was Oregon’s 4A Defensive Player of the Year as a linebacker and honorable mention at tight end.

Once Riley saw the fax come across with Miller’s signature on a letter-of-intent and he thought his No. 3 tight end for the season, and starter of the future, was found.

Two months later that plan changed. Miller ruptured his right Achilles’ tendon in a track meet while running a hurdles event, taking him out of competition for the next year.

“When I went down, I thought of this season,” Miller said. “I’m not going to get that chance. I thought I was going to come in here and get to play right away and prove myself. But it’s all right.”

Miller needed surgery to repair the injury, and then began a rehab period that would be 6-9 months long.

There was an option of working out on his own and joining the program in the winter so his eligibility didn’t begin, but Miller wanted to be with his new team. This is a redshirt season and when he’s back to full strength, he’ll prepare for next season.

“It’s been difficult,” he said. “It’s been hard to miss out on some things like the senior bowl, and not being able to practice right away. It’s tough, but it’s been good for me to get into the program. Everything has gone pretty smoothly as far as rehab goes.”

Miller says he’s further along than expected. His doctor told him he should only be able to lightly jog in a straight line at this point, four months after surgery. However, he can already change directions and work on his speed.

“Everything that happened since the day he got hurt until he received his physical here has gone well,” trainer Barney Graff said. “He looks really good coming in.”

Most of Miller’s time is spent with the trainers working on his conditioning and strengthening the injured area. He pushes himself hard each day, but not too hard. Finding his balance is his latest challenge.

He attends most of the practices during fall camp. It’s an opportunity to watch, listen and learn.

“I’d love to get out here and play, but it’s a chance to get in here and learn from Joe Newton,” Miller said. “I can get the system down and get bigger, stronger, faster.”

When Graff has a moment during practice, he takes him to the side to work on his agility. There are individual drills, and then he slips in with the rest of the tight ends on a few of the position drills.

Miller says he feels healthy, but won’t get too excited. He understands he can become too confident and re-injure himself if not careful.

“He’s close,” Graff said of his full-speed return. “He’s behind a step because he hasn’t been able to go full speed. We want him to stay in it and learn, but at the same time we have to be cautions until he gets the green light from his orthopedic specialist. We are just being cautious with him. There’s no need to rush.”

The hard part for Miller isn’t the painful rehab. It bothers him watching, after being such an important contributor at Lake Oswego. His biggest concern is falling too far behind the other freshmen.

Newton and Jason Vandiver graduate after the season. That leaves a heated competition in the spring for next year’s tight end, and Howard Croom and John Reese have looked strong in fall camp.

“I definitely can’t wait to get going full speed again,” Miller said. “I want to prove myself. I’m a little worried. I see all these guys out here and they get to take all the reps and stuff while I’m sitting on the sidelines.”

COUNTDOWN TO KICKOFF OREGON STATE

* DAYS REMAINING: 13

* TODAY: Practice 8:30-11 a.m.; 6:30-9 p.m.

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