Onaje Miller granted release

This is Denny Schwarze filling in again for Joe. I will be here for the remainder of the week. My apologies for the delay, but I was driving back from the DC area all day and just got back a little after 8 p.m. ET. Former Sexton All-State runningback Onaje Miller has been granted a release from his letter of intent. He was ranked the 14th-best player in the state by Rivals.com for the 2011 class.

I have tried to get in touch with Sexton coach Dan Boggan today, but Miller will be playing in this weekend's Michigan High School Football Coaches Association All-Star Game in Mount Pleasant. I won't be covering the game on Saturday, but I will be heading up to Central Michigan for Media Day on Thursday and plan on speaking to Miller along with other Lansing area kids who are scheduled to take part in the game. I will make sure to post a full report on here when I return and you'll also be able to read about it in Friday or Saturday's LSJ. Some big-time players from around the state won't be in uniform for the game (MSU signee Lawrence Thomas, DeAnthony Arnett and Valdez Showers to name a few), but others will (Anthony Zettel, Ashton Gaines, MSU signee Damon Knox and Michigan signee Desmond Morgan).

Miller's loss hurts from a special teams standpoint, as he was an outstanding kick returner while playing for the Big Reds and had seven kick returns for touchdowns in his junior season at Sexton. There was some question as to whether he'd fit better as a runningback or a safety in college. With the loss of Miller and Mikail McCall, who was previously committed to MSU before switching to Iowa in December, the Spartans will take no runningbacks from the 2011 recruiting class. Currently, the Spartans are fine in the backfield, with Edwin Baker and Larry Caper both juniors and Le'Veon Bell entering his sophomore season. Nick Hill is there too. If anything, runningback recruits may like the idea of being able to come in behind a class that featured no backs. In their minds, the competition could be scarce and playing time could come sooner.