SANTA CLARA — Back home in Dallas, Von Miller’s mother Gloria has a book of handwritten letters addressed to her son. They’re laminated.
The notes are from Stan Eggen, who spent a good chunk of 2006 at DeSoto (Texas) High School recruiting Miller during his junior year. Eggen, who was the defensive line coach at Texas A&M at the time, prides himself on writing to his top prospects. And while Miller was considering schools like Florida, Texas Tech, Ole Miss and Oklahoma, Eggen needed to do something to stand out.
Hundreds of letters took care of that.
“It’s from the heart,” said Eggen, who is currently the defensive line coach at New Mexico. “I talk about passion, being an impact player. I remember talking about how I couldn’t wait to get him on campus to show him the playground for the D-line and all the sleds and pop-ups and all those things.”
Miller was given three stars by recruiting services in high school, mainly because he was undersized. Eggen said Miller is what many coaches call a “tweener.” Was he a defensive end or was he a linebacker? As a freshman at A&M, he clocked in at 6-3, 212 lbs. But that didn’t matter. Eggen wanted him.
Miller is now up to 250 lbs., part of one of the NFL’s most lethal pass rushing attacks. And as he prepares for Super Bowl 50 with the Denver Broncos — his first because he was recovering from a torn ACL when his team played in 2014 — he remembers those letters.
“I got them all,” Miller said. “Coach Eggen. That’s really like 40% of the reason I went to Texas A&M. Through the whole recruiting process, he was the only one who hand wrote me every single letter. I thought that was great mixed in with what Texas A&M brought and everything it stood for. I felt they wanted me there just because of all the time and effort that he put into it.
“He did it every week. Everything that he told me in those letters, that I was going to be able to do and be able to achieve at Texas A&M, I did. And I went above and beyond all the stuff that he imagined.”
In addition to these notes, Eggen told Miller two other things during their visits.
Brett Davis-US PRESSWIRE
“Obviously he took both to heart,” Eggen said. “I said, Von, the first one is I expect you to graduate from Texas A&M in academics with your degree, which he did. But the second thing is I want you to get your degree in sackology—that’s s-a-c-k-ology.
“Obviously he did more than get his undergraduate. He went on to get his masters and now I just call him Dr. Miller because he’s got a doctorate in sackology.”
DeSoto was in Eggen’s recruiting territory and the first time he remembers seeing Miller was late in his junior year. Eggen said Miller was “still gangly at the time,” but remembers watching him rush the passer during a practice. “And I just went wow. I circled his name and realized that I needed to concentrate a lot of energy on this young man.”
Because of Miller’s smaller size and stature, Eggen had to win over his boss, Aggies coach Dennis Franchione. Once he laid eyes on Miller, and Eggen explained that they needed this player not just because of his talent, but also because of his character and passion, they knew he had to come to College Station.
“Everybody had a concern because you look at him and you go, yeah, he’s a little slight, can he do it?” Eggen said. “I said, let’s make those offensive linemen catch him.”
Plus Miller had good grades and ran track — which meant he was quick, athletic and flexible.
“He was upset when didn’t win the hurdles even though he was the biggest guy,” Eggen said.
Eggen said he’d be lying if he wasn’t nervous about Miller’s commitment. He told the family he’d sleep on their couch every night if he had to.
It never came to that. One night in January 2007, Miller called up his recruiter and said he was ready to become an Aggie.
“When he called me that night and said, ‘Coach, I’ve been reading all these notes on my bed, and you spent all this time and energy.’ And he said, ‘Coach, this is where I need to be,’” Eggen said. “I jumped up and tried to do a double backflip and I think I tore a hamstring. But it was well worth it. I was so excited about it.
“He was one of 20-something players you sign, but for me, I thought the sky was the limit for him, not knowing he was going to become what he’s become.”
The notes are from Stan Eggen, who spent a good chunk of 2006 at DeSoto (Texas) High School recruiting Miller during his junior year. Eggen, who was the defensive line coach at Texas A&M at the time, prides himself on writing to his top prospects. And while Miller was considering schools like Florida, Texas Tech, Ole Miss and Oklahoma, Eggen needed to do something to stand out.
Hundreds of letters took care of that.
“It’s from the heart,” said Eggen, who is currently the defensive line coach at New Mexico. “I talk about passion, being an impact player. I remember talking about how I couldn’t wait to get him on campus to show him the playground for the D-line and all the sleds and pop-ups and all those things.”
Miller was given three stars by recruiting services in high school, mainly because he was undersized. Eggen said Miller is what many coaches call a “tweener.” Was he a defensive end or was he a linebacker? As a freshman at A&M, he clocked in at 6-3, 212 lbs. But that didn’t matter. Eggen wanted him.
Miller is now up to 250 lbs., part of one of the NFL’s most lethal pass rushing attacks. And as he prepares for Super Bowl 50 with the Denver Broncos — his first because he was recovering from a torn ACL when his team played in 2014 — he remembers those letters.
“I got them all,” Miller said. “Coach Eggen. That’s really like 40% of the reason I went to Texas A&M. Through the whole recruiting process, he was the only one who hand wrote me every single letter. I thought that was great mixed in with what Texas A&M brought and everything it stood for. I felt they wanted me there just because of all the time and effort that he put into it.
“He did it every week. Everything that he told me in those letters, that I was going to be able to do and be able to achieve at Texas A&M, I did. And I went above and beyond all the stuff that he imagined.”
In addition to these notes, Eggen told Miller two other things during their visits.
Brett Davis-US PRESSWIRE
“Obviously he took both to heart,” Eggen said. “I said, Von, the first one is I expect you to graduate from Texas A&M in academics with your degree, which he did. But the second thing is I want you to get your degree in sackology—that’s s-a-c-k-ology.
“Obviously he did more than get his undergraduate. He went on to get his masters and now I just call him Dr. Miller because he’s got a doctorate in sackology.”
DeSoto was in Eggen’s recruiting territory and the first time he remembers seeing Miller was late in his junior year. Eggen said Miller was “still gangly at the time,” but remembers watching him rush the passer during a practice. “And I just went wow. I circled his name and realized that I needed to concentrate a lot of energy on this young man.”
Because of Miller’s smaller size and stature, Eggen had to win over his boss, Aggies coach Dennis Franchione. Once he laid eyes on Miller, and Eggen explained that they needed this player not just because of his talent, but also because of his character and passion, they knew he had to come to College Station.
“Everybody had a concern because you look at him and you go, yeah, he’s a little slight, can he do it?” Eggen said. “I said, let’s make those offensive linemen catch him.”
Plus Miller had good grades and ran track — which meant he was quick, athletic and flexible.
“He was upset when didn’t win the hurdles even though he was the biggest guy,” Eggen said.
Eggen said he’d be lying if he wasn’t nervous about Miller’s commitment. He told the family he’d sleep on their couch every night if he had to.
It never came to that. One night in January 2007, Miller called up his recruiter and said he was ready to become an Aggie.
“When he called me that night and said, ‘Coach, I’ve been reading all these notes on my bed, and you spent all this time and energy.’ And he said, ‘Coach, this is where I need to be,’” Eggen said. “I jumped up and tried to do a double backflip and I think I tore a hamstring. But it was well worth it. I was so excited about it.
“He was one of 20-something players you sign, but for me, I thought the sky was the limit for him, not knowing he was going to become what he’s become.”
