All-America Accolades Continue to Roll In for A&M's Miller
Dec 15, 2009 | Football
Dec. 15, 2009
Texas A&M junior Von Miller went from part-time player to NCAA sack leader and first-team All-American after taking over the new “jack” position in the Aggies' defensive scheme.
Miller, a junior from DeSoto, Texas, received first-team All-America honors on Tuesday from the Sporting News and from Sports Illustrated, while the Associated Press put him on its second team. Miller becomes Texas A&M's first first-team All-America since cornerback Jason Webster in 1999.
The 6-foot-3, 240-pound Miller's 2009 season was a stark contrast to his first two seasons at A&M when he was an undersized defensive end as a freshman and ineffective linebacker as a sophomore. Miller shifted to A&M defensive coordinator Joe Kines' hybrid linebacker/end “jack” position last spring and quickly developed into the nation's most feared pass rusher in 2009.
Miller has sat atop the NCAA quarterback sack rankings all season and finished the regular season with 17 sacks. Miller posted more than one sack in five games this season, including a career-high three sacks in two games. Miller's 17 sacks are the No. 2 sack total in school history behind two-time All-American Jacob Green's school standard of 20 sacks in 1979.
Also a strong all-around defender, Miller is the Big 12 leader in sacks, tackles for loss and forced fumbles. In 12 regular season games, Miller produced 44 tackles, including 31 solo stops, 21 total tackles behind the line of scrimmage for a loss of 125 yards, broke up five passes and forced four fumbles.
Miller's 2009 sack total was more than the Aggies' team total of 16 from 2008. With Miller leading the way, the Aggies sacked opposing quarterbacks 35 times, which more than doubled the 2008 total. The Aggies ranked No. 8 nationally with 2.92 sacks per game, and improved over 90 spots in the NCAA rankings from No. 100 in 2008 (1.33/G).
The Aggies are gearing up for an AdvoCare V100 Independence Bowl matchup with the Georgia Bulldogs at 4 p.m. on Dec. 28 in Shreveport, La. For tickets, please visit Texas A&M's Ticket Center at 12thManFoundation.com or call 888-99AGGIE (992-4443).
