Patrick Miller explains why he declared for NFL Draft

AUBURN – Patrick Miller stunned fans and many of his former Auburn teammates alike when he chose to forego his senior season and declare for the NFL draft.

The former Tigers right tackle finally explained his decision after his Pro Day workout, which was his only opportunity to perform for all 32 NFL teams after not being invited to last month's NFL Combine.

"Every year you're not guaranteed to play football," Miller said. "I was guaranteed a shot at the NFL if I came out now. I did it, and that's my life goal."

Miller said he thought about leaving for "about a year" before choosing to declare in mid-January.

"I didn't really know what I was going to do, but how the season ended up, I felt like it was the right thing to do," Miller said. "Once you make a decision like that, you can't go back and forth, back and forth, because then you're left somewhere in the middle. You just got to go."

He insisted it was merely a "personal decision" and had nothing to do with a potential position battle had he chose to return or any other issue. Miller just wanted to pursue his dream as quickly as possible.

Still, barring a catastrophic injury, which Miller could have had insurance for, perhaps even at Auburn's expense, he could have returned for his senior season and had the same shot at the NFL a year from now and used the time to further develop and train.

There were multiple individuals who advised Miller, who started 20 games over three seasons including six last season, not to enter the draft and return to school. No matter the approach or line of argument, backed by overwhelming statistic evidence to indicate he would not end up being drafted, the 6-foot-7, 292-pound Miller was not going to be deterred.

"You just got to do what you believe," he said. "Facts and numbers, you can look at all that, analyze that data but at the end of the day you got to go with your heart. If your heart's not in something you're not going to be working full speed at it."

It didn't make the move any less peculiar to his former coaches and teammates.

"It surprised me a little bit but that's what he wanted to do, and we're rooting for him," Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said. "Wish him nothing but the best."

C.J. Uzomah and Cameron Artis-Payne were among those who were stunned by the news when Miller left.

"It was strange, but I wish him the best of luck," Artis-Payne said. "He's a good player, hopefully he finds a spot."

Miller's results at Pro Day mixed.

His 27.5-inch vertical ranked just ahead of former LSU tackle La'el Collins (27) and 106-inch broad jump tied for 12th among offensive linemen at the Combine. However, his 16 bench press reps would've tied for worst among those at the Combine, though his long arms are not conducive to producing a high number.

Miller's unofficial 5.15 seconds in the 40-yard dash would tie for 10th among the offensive linemen at this year's Combine, though the 10-yard split, which was not recorded on Tuesday, is a far more useful measure in evaluating offensive linemen.

NFLDraftScout.com ranks Miller as the No. 44 offensive tackle in this year's draft, far below the 26 players the site projects to be drafted or sign as undrafted free agents.

Still in the face of overwhelming odds, Miller is steadfast. His goal remains to "make it on a football team and have a long NFL career," wherever the journey begins.

"I don't care how I get there," Miller said. "I don't care if it's the first round, I don't care if I'm an undrafted free agent and I work my way from the bottom up. It's all fine by me.

"It's not how you get there, it's that you get there."