Tennessee Recruiting 2013: Kameron Miles Commits To Vols

In a big pickup for Tennessee, 2013 West Mesquite (TX) safety Kameron Miles announced his commitment to the Volunteers at halftime of the Wrangler spring game. However, it appears that Miles will take official visits this fall, so his commitment may not be completely solid to the Vols at this time.

Down to Penn State, Tennessee, Stanford and Arkansas in the final days of his recruitment, the 6-2, 200-pounder is widely considered the top safety in the state of Texas and held offers from Arizona State, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Kansas, Kansas State, Ole Miss, Northwestern, Oregon State, Purdue, TCU, Texas Tech, UCLA, Vanderbilt, Virginia, Wake Forest, West Virginia and others. The Nittany Lions were in the mix despite offering Miles only 10 days ago.

Miles is the seventh commitment in the 2013 class for head coach Derek Dooley and the first in the class from the state of Texas.

At one time, he and teammate Eldridge Massington, a wide receiver committed to USC, had talked about playing college football together. But like many such plans for prep stars, as Massington received several offers, including from the Crimson Tide and the Trojans, that talk began to end prior to his pledge back in early May.

A consensus four-star prospect who is ranked among the top 100 players in the country by Rivals, some believe that Miles could eventually grow into a linebacker, as he has the frame to eventually hold 230 pounds. Despite that projection, he is a solid player in coverage, showing the instincts to read plays, break on the football and finish with interceptions.

In college, Miles will be comfortable walking up into the box if he does stay at safety, as he’s a physical player who relishes contacts, consistently wraps up and does not allow yards after contact. When coming downhill, he has the lateral quickness to change direction and understands pursuit angles to avoid giving up big plays.

The Wildcat quarterback for West Mesquite as a junior, Miles is a tough runner with the football who can lower his shoulder to finish plays and also shows strong vision of cutback lanes for a player who projects only as a defender in college.

If there’s a criticism of Miles, it’s that he’s not a player who will test well out of pads. It’s something of a recruiting cliche to say that a player plays faster in pads, but that’s the case with Miles, although he still does not display the suddenness and burst out of his breaks that define true bluechip prospects.

Perhaps it says a great deal about the other attributes that Miles brings to the table that he’s still considered such a strong prospect despite not possessing the speed that scouts and coaches fall in love with.

For more on Vols football, visit Tennessee blog Rocky Top Talk, plus SEC blog Team Speed Kills.

Kameron Miles (junior highlights) (via 247SportsStudio)