Dunbar’s Horace Miller commits to Louisville

He By Ryan Mink
rmink@digitalsports.com

The question that lingered for Dunbar linebacker Horace Miller was, “If it wasn’t for the football team, which school would you go to?”

For Miller, that made the decision of where he would play college football easy. And his choice is Louisville.

Miller uncommitted from the University of Las Vegas Tuesday afternoon and announced just three days after visiting Louisville that he will be a Cardinal. Miller will sign with Louisville Wednesday during national signing day.

“It was just the best decision overall,” Miller said. “If you’re smart, you have to
think outside of football. Early in my recruiting, I wasn’t thinking
outside of football.”

Miller recorded 29 sacks this season after posting 17 the year before, leading the Poets to the Maryland 1A state championship.

His stock also rose after winning the Nike My Better Championship in Oregon this past summer. And that’s when his connection with Louisville began.

After Miller won the Nike title, he emailed coaches to tell them of his accomplishments. Then Tennessee secondary coach Larry Slade was the first to get back to Miller, saying his hard work would pay off.

Not long after, Slade was hired at Louisville to be the Cardinals secondary coach. Within a couple days of being hired he contacted Miller to see if he wanted to come for a visit. That kind of dedication impressed Miller.

“I needed to see what else was out there,” Miller said. “Even people at the Crab Bowl kept asking me why I committed so early. I never had an answer
for that.”

Miller went to Louisville and was smitten with the school’s tradition, including being the alma mater of Johnny Unitas, and character of the players and coaches.

Coach Slade struck up a game of billiards with Miller while they discussed his decision. While beating Miller badly, Slade started to coach the Dunbar linebacker on billiards.

“I learned a lot of techniques playing pool,” Miller said. “He’s really a good coach!”

Miller returned home from Louisville on Monday and mulled over his decision. But by that point, he said it was easy.

“I don’t want to commit to the name. I want to commit to the school,” said Miller, who will get to wear the same number he donned at Dunbar, 33. “I can’t wait to sign with Louisville.”