Oregon Football: What can we expect from Jonah Miller in year one?

In honor of 50 days until the start of the 2021 Oregon football season, we’re going to take a look at the Ducks’ No. 50, Jonah Miller.

The former four-star in the 2021 recruiting class was ranked the No. 282 overall prospect in the country and fifth-best Arizona-based player, according to the composite. He chose Oregon over a dozen other top programs, including home-state schools Arizona and Arizona State along with Florida, Oklahoma State, Penn State, Tennessee, Texas, USC, Utah, and Washington.

Essentially every Pac-12 school wanted a piece of the four-star lineman and he was listed as more of a guard or center, but projections have him as more of a tackle.

Oregon was lucky enough to win the recruiting battle for him and he joins a roster with talented offensive linemen and it just goes to show that Mario Cristobal is slowly turning the Ducks into ‘OLU’.

With Penei Sewell gone and a potential void at left tackle, could Miller really push for snaps?

What to expect from Miller in year one with Oregon football

Seventh-year offensive lineman George Moore is the current projected starter at left tackle, but that could easily change. Behind him is Kingsley Suamataia, a five-star also from the 2021 class.

Those two are going to be tough to overcome at left tackle, but what about right tackle? Sophomores Steven Jones and Dawson Jaramillo are the current two-deep. Like left tackle, there could truly be room for advancement for a guy like Miller if he proves to give the Ducks a boost.

Unfortunately, I don’t think Miller will be ready to contribute heavily in year one. He comes as a 6-foot-6, 260-pound lineman and he needs to work on his technique a bit.

I could see Miller as a third-stringer for most of the season and then pushing for a starting spot in 2022. He has Power Five starting potential and most young linemen need a year to adjust anyways. Get him in the weight room all year and allow him to learn behind some solid linemen and he could be a starter by the start of the 2022 season.

Still, he’s an injury or two away from playing major snaps.