Last Friday, I got my third opportunity to check out 2010 Michigan commit Ricardo Miller in person, as the Ann Arbor Pioneer Pioneers (we're from Pioneer!) traveled to Chelsea to take on Michigan State commit Nick Hill and the Chelsea Bulldogs. Ricardo Miller caught 4 passes for 123 yards and a touchdown in a 45-9 Pioneer victory.

First, since it's what everyone cares about the most, the video:

Ricardo Miller Scouting Report

This was the first time I'd seen Miller look truly dominant against high school competition, though he's looked semi-dominant before, he just never gets the damn ball. His quarterback doesn't have the confidence in his own arm to hit Miller on the always-wide-open deep posts (or deep crosses - look how open he is nearly every time he runs a route, but the QB is too scared to throw it), otherwise Miller would have finished with 200+ receiving yards in every single game of his I've attended.

In this game, the QB managed to hit him on a couple screens. Those play more to the QB's strengths than Ricardo's, but the coaching staff has struggled to find ways to get the ball into his hands, and a screen is better than nothing. Miller also caught a quick slant at the end of the first half, then outran the Chelsea defense down to the 8-yard line before two deep defenders managed to drag him down as the second quarter expired. In the third quarter, Miller got behind the defense and the QB finally hit Miller for his second 53-yard catch of the game. This one was a touchdown (above, courtesy of AnnArbor.com's Lon Horwedel). Miller was also targeted a couple times on poor throws that suggested why the QB rarely throws it long.

This game, however, was not Ricardo's best blocking performance. He's usually performed very well, sometimes even dominating against defensive linemen as a tight end. This game, he was just OK. He got a Pioneer running back killed when he whiffed a block on the perimeter.

Nick Hill Scouting Report

On the other side of the ball, the pride of the Chelsea Bulldogs was Nick Hill. Unfortunately, I was running low on memory and I didn't shoot any video of him. However, in my estimation (and please note that I am not a professional) Hill didn't impress. He looks like a guy that would go to a MAC program, where he would become a star... against MAC defenses. It's easy to see why the Michigan coaches didn't offer. I think that Mark Dantonio offered him because he wants a bunch of guys on his team who are pissed at Michigan, in hopes that they Hulk Up and perform like beasts against the Wolverines each season.

For someone who is often compared to Mike Hart, the first thing that jumps out about Nick Hill is his fumbling. He fumbled three times in the game, losing two of them. He also dropped two passes, one of which should have been ruled a lateral and a 3rd lost fumble. Hill didn't seem spectacular running the ball, either. Once he got in a groove, he showed some of the jump-cuts in traffic that led to the Hart comparisons, but he's not a tough runner, and goes down on first contact almost every time. His only big play was being the recipient of a pitch on a hook-and-ladder play that he ran in for a touchdown with nobody from Pioneer threatening to come near him. Hill got hurt and missed the entire second half, and I honestly didn't think his backup (random white kid who will never sniff a D-1 offer) was all that significant of a downgrade.