Was it inevitable that Jack Miller III would be a Gator someday?

Courtesy Florida UAA

By Franz Beard

GatorBait Senior Columnist

Perhaps it was inevitable that someday Jack Miller III would be a Florida Gator. His dad, Jack Jr., the general manager of the 5-star Fairmont Scottsdale Princess Resort in Scottsdale, Arizona. He’s also a huge Gator fan dating back to when he was growing up in Cocoa Beach.

When Tim Tebow played in the Arizona Fall League during his minor league baseball days with the Mets, Jack Miller Jr. reached out to the former UF Heisman Trophy winner through a pastor who was a mutual friend. Tebow ended up staying with the Millers during his time in Arizona and that’s where a fast friendship began with then 11-year-old Jack Miller III. Young Jack wanted to be a star quarterback so naturally he asked Tebow for advice and from there a bond was formed that remains to this day. Miller still considers Tebow his mentor and close confidant about all things quarterback and life.

While Miller was a record-setting quarterback at Scottsdale Christian Academy and Chaparral High School he set Arizona state records for throwing 53 touchdown passes in a single season and 115 career touchdown passes. In 38 high school games, he threw for more than 10,000 yards and was responsible (running and throwing) for 130 touchdowns, another state record. A consensus 4-star quarterback , Miller was the MVP at the Los Angeles Opening Regional which got him invited to the Elite 11 event. A back injury prevented him from participating at Elite 11. Later that year he suffered a shoulder surgery 11 games into his high school senior season.

Miller had offers from nearly every school in the SEC including Alabama, Auburn, LSU and Texas A&M, but stuck with the commit he made to Ohio State (July 2018) when Urban Meyer was the head coach. Ryan Day, the former grad assistant for Meyer at Florida, now the Ohio State coach, continued to recruit Miller after Meyer retired and signed him with a 2020 class that included C.J. Stroud. After a redshirt season in 2020, Stroud won the starting job and was a Heisman Trophy finalist.

During the 2021 season, Miller played in four Ohio State blowouts, completing 7-14 passes for 101 yards. He was charged with operating a vehicle while intoxicated in November, and though he was reinstated to the team after pleading to reduced charges of reckless driving, he didn’t play in another game.

Ironically, Miller entered the NCAA transfer portal on the day Billy Napier was named Florida’s football coach. In the weeks since, all signs have pointed to Miller joining Napier at UF, particularly with Emory Jones declaring his intent to transfer after the bowl game and Anthony Richardson unable to play after undergoing a procedure for a knee that he first injured as a senior at Gainesville’s Eastside High School. We don't know exactly how much influence Tim Tebow had in Miller committing to the Gators, but with Tebow's statue prominent outside Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, it's safe to assume there was some sort of a connection.

So, what are the Gators getting in Jack Miller III?

Miller is a pro-style pocket passer with a big arm. He has good mobility although he’s not exactly what you would call a dual threat type. Think of him as an opportunistic runner who can make something out of nothing when the pocket breaks down and someone who can pick up 5-10 yards if he sees an opening. He’s not going to wow you with his footspeed or dazzling moves. He stands tall in the pocket yet throws the ball well when he’s on the move. He has excellent accuracy with the 14-17 yard passes in the seam and on the 15-yard out, the two passes that are the staple of any downfield throwing offense, plus he’s shown nice touch on the deep ball.

Because 2020 was a COVID year that doesn’t count against eligibility and he only played in four games in 2021, Miller has four years of eligibility remaining.

So with Miller joining the Gators, what does the 2022 quarterback room look like as of December 21?

Anthony Richardson (6-4, 240, SO): Richardson has absolutely electric skills. He has a powerful arm and once he leaves the pocket there aren’t many defensive backs in the Southeastern Conference that can run him down if he gets a couple of steps. He showed in the first two games of 2021 what he’s capable of doing when he had seven carries for 160 yards including a 73-yard TD run against Florida Atlantic, then a week later went 3-3 for 152 yards and two touchdowns passing against South Florida while running for 115 yards and a TD on four carries. In that South Florida game his touchdown passes were for 75 and 41 yards and his TD run was an 80-yarder.

Photo by Chris Spears

That was the good Anthony Richardson. He messed up a hamstring in that game and didn’t see much playing time again until the LSU game (Florida lost 49-42) when he threw three touchdown passes but was intercepted twice. Two weeks later, he got the start against Georgia and in one three-minute disastrous stretch at the end of the first half turned the ball over three times (two interceptions, one fumble) that allowed Georgia to break open a 3-3 tie for a 24-3 halftime lead.

He got hurt again in the Georgia game and didn’t play much until the season ending win over Florida State when he threw a TDP.

Richardson’s stats for 2021 are 38-64 passing for 529 yards with six TDs and five INTs plus 51-401 rushing for three TDs.

Richardson is a hometown kid with an unbelievable skill set but he was injury prone in high school and was sidelined on three different occasions with injuries in 2021. He is missing the Gasparilla Bowl game having undergone a procedure on the knee he injured his senior season at Eastside. Can he stay healthy? Can he grow out of his habit of trusting his arm too much and throwing into coverage? And, can Napier harness that talent enough to turn Richardson into the disciplined quarterback that he demands?

Jack Miller III (6-4, 210, RFR):

This is a fresh start for Miller, but it’s not like there aren’t some injury concerns with him, also. He had knee surgery in high school, had back issues and separated his shoulder. Healthy, he has the skill set and pocket presence that Napier wants. It’s a sure sign that Napier intends to run a pro-style offense that is a far cry from the RPO type of offense that Dan Mullen ran in 2021. He doesn’t have Richardson’s wheels, but who does? Is he good enough in the pocket to find passing lanes? Does he read the defenses well enough to understand when the blitz is coming and when it’s necessary to throw the ball away? He is a transfer. Can he step in and show the leadership skills it’s going to take to get the team to follow him? There is no question that job number one for Miller will be to win the team over? To do that he will have to get a quick grasp of the offense and assert himself without coming across as too cocky. Teammates will respect confidence. Cockiness from a transfer might be a bit tough to take.

Carlos Del Rio-Wilson (6-2, 225, RFR):

Del Rio-Wilson was a 4-star dual threat QB coming out of high school. He throws an excellent deep ball and he’s a strong runner. With Richardson sidelined, he’s the backup quarterback to Emory Jones at the Gasparilla Bowl. If anything happens to Jones, Del Rio-Wilson will see his first quarterback action as a Gator in a bowl game against UCF. What we don’t know about him is if he is more runner than thrower? If he is, then you can figure it won’t take him long to put his name in the transfer portal. But, if he can be disciplined enough to stand in the pocket, make the right reads and good throws, his added dimension of good wheels might add an unexpected element of competition at the quarterback position in the spring. There is no question Del Rio-Wilson has the talent and skill set to be a good Division I quarterback, but will he be a good fit in this offense?

Jalen Kitna (6-4, 210, SO):

Kitna must be elated that Napier’s quarterback signee is a pocket passer because that’s exactly where his skills are. He’s the son of former NFL QB Jon Kitna. He has a power arm and strong pocket presence. He can move around well in the pocket, but he’s not much of a threat to run the football, which could actually work in his favor if Napier wants a pure pocket guy as his quarterback. Kitna was essentially sent to UF by his dad to work with Mullen, so with Mullen gone will he still have the same interest in staying or will he have one

foot out the door when the bowl game ends Thursday night. Finally, Napier was actively recruiting Robbie Roper of Roswell, Georgia when he had a bad reaction to anesthesia Tuesday after undergoing what seemed to be routine surgery on his left (non-throwing) shoulder. Roper was in serious condition Tuesday night. If he pulls through, it could be awhile before we know if there are any long term effects that could prevent him from playing college football. (Editor’s Note: Sadly, Robbie did not survive and passed away on Wednesday.)