#20

John Miller

Every John Miller game restarts the same Utah State argument, and neither side ever fully wins it.

LB · Utah State · Sr. · #20

6′1″ · 225 lb · Tualatin, OR

CFB Index 93 · #7 of 583 LBsHigh confidenceAll-Conf 1st teamReturning to Utah State for 2026

Next upSat Sep 19 · 3:30 pm ETat UtahRice-Eccles StadiumUtah by 28

The numbers

118

tackles · 2025

10 TFL · 8 sacks · 3 PBU

Statement game16 tackles · 1 TFL · 1 sackvs Air Force (FBS) · W 49-30

Top 0.1% tackles game since 2021.

His career numbers, season by season

The story

4 linebacker for Utah State. 2025: 118 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, 8 sacks.

Signed as a 3-star recruit to Oregon State in 2020.

His career, year by year

How he plays

Is steady in every phase without a signature trait.

Tackles: 99th percentile.

The full scouting read

John Miller

LB · Utah State · Sr · #20

On Trialas of 2026-09-15

John Miller is on trial in Utah State's fan jury — the eye test against the résumé.

Utah State fans keep putting his case on trial, week to week.

medium confidence9 sources

Minority viewA vocal minority sees it the other way.

Read the story so far

John Miller arrived as a 3-star prospect. He lines up at LB for Utah State.

Utah State fans keep putting his case on trial, week to week.

Whatever the tape says, the room has already made up its mind.

Why nowHis 2026 case is being argued before a snap is played.

compiled from tagged fan discourse

AI-generated narrative · may contain errors · not journalism · updated 2026-09-15

2025 snapshot

Season context · Team result + system

2021Oregon State7-6HC: Jonathan Smith · Run-leaning

2022Oregon State10-3HC: Jonathan Smith · Run-heavy

2023Oregon State8-5HC: Jonathan Smith · Run-leaning

2024Utah State4-8HC: Nate Dreiling · Balanced

2025Utah State6-7HC: Bronco Mendenhall · Balanced

Where this defender ranks vs the field

Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort

93All-America level #7 of 583?

High confidenceBreakout6 metrics · season cumulative

Elite: tackles (99th percentile). Strength: sacks (99th percentile).

Box-score production (6)

Tackles#16 / 2975 · 99th pct

118

Sacks#27 / 2975 · 99th pct

8.0

QB hurries#41 / 2975 · 98th pct

Tackles for loss#103 / 2975 · 96th pct

10.0

Solo tackles#212 / 2975 · 92nd pct

Passes defended#517 / 2975 · 78th pct

Percentiles are versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score production. There are no play-by-play efficiency bars here: CFBD's play-value model credits offensive players only, so no defensive EPA exists to rank.

Splits & context

Splits · Per-game

2025 season · 13 games

Home/Road · Season halves

Home vs Road

	TKL/g	TFL/g	SACK/g	PD/g
Home7g	9.7	0.4	0.4	0.3
Road6g	8.3	1.2	0.9	0.2

First half vs Second half

	TKL/g	TFL/g	SACK/g	PD/g
Weeks 1-77g	8.9	1.0	0.9	0.0
Weeks 8+6g	9.3	0.5	0.3	0.5

Supporting cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2026 season

Head Coach

Bronco Mendenhall

Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.

Awards

Player standing · 2025

All-Conference 1st team

First team in his league at the position.

our read the All-Conference 1st team honor is earned — and the box score backs it up emphatically: #7 of 583 FBS linebackers by CFB Index Score.2025 profile

Recognition

Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Production · CFB Index Score

93 · #7 of 583 LBs

Three-star recruit. Now #7 at the position.

2026 outlook

In the mix for All-Pac-12

Based on 2025: #1 of 45 Mountain West LBs — his program moves to the Pac-12 for 2026

How the All-Pac-12 estimate is computed

49% estimated, 95% confidence interval 43–54%. Base rate measured from players who finished at a comparable rank in their conference and came back the next season. It is an estimate from a small sample, not a forecast of this player. The base rate was measured on players who stayed in the same conference; this estimate is not adjusted for the move to the Pac-12.

Career stats

Season	Team
2025	Utah State	118	40	10.0	8.0	3	--	--
2024	Utah State	52	29	5.5	2.0	2	--	--
2023	Oregon State	11	4	0.0	0.0	1	--	--
2022	Oregon State	5	1	1.0	0.0	1	--	--
2021	Oregon State	4	4	0.0	0.0	--	--	--
Career		190	78	16.5	10.0	7	--	--

Signature game

SIGNATURE GAME · Week 4 · 2025

W 48–7

vs McNeese

3 TOT · 1 QB HUR

Dominant 41-point win at home against McNeese.

With B. Barnes — 293 yds · 3 TD · 1 INT · QBR 90.7 · 128 rush yds (13 car) · 2 TD · M. Davis — 118 rush yds (13 car) · 1 TD

Game log

Game log · Week-by-week

2025 season · 13 games

Box score · CFBD

Wk	Opp	TKL	SOLO	TFL	SACK	INT	PD	Note
Wk 1	W 28-16vs UTEP	10	3	1.5	1.0	—	0
Wk 2	L 22-44@ Texas A&M	7	4	2.0	2.0	—	0	2 sacks
Wk 3	W 49-30vs Air Force	16	4	1.0	1.0	—	0	Season-high 16 tackles
Wk 4	W 48-7vs McNeese	3	0	0.0	0.0	—	0
Wk 5	L 35-55@ Vanderbilt	12	3	1.5	1.0	—	0
Wk 7	L 26-44@ Hawai'i	5	3	0.5	0.5	—	0
Wk 8	W 30-25vs San José State	9	1	0.0	0.0	—	1
Wk 9	L 14-33@ New Mexico	10	1	0.5	0.0	—	0
Wk 11	W 51-14vs Nevada	7	1	0.0	0.0	—	0
Wk 12	L 26-29@ UNLV	11	4	2.5	2.0	—	1	2 sacks
Wk 13	W 28-17@ Fresno State	5	5	0.0	0.0	—	0
Wk 14	L 24-25vs Boise State	14	6	0.0	0.0	—	1
Bowl	L 21-34vs Washington State	9	5	0.5	0.5	—	0
Total		118	40	10.0	8.0	—	3

How he plays

Play style

Is steady in every phase without a signature trait.

CFB Index positional classification

Activity vs finishing · season enumeration

What the box score actually says

13 games

118Tackles

40Solo

10TFL

8Sacks

3Pass def.

0INT

118 tackles. 3 passes defended. 0 interceptions. 10 TFL.

Week 11 sack
Week 10.5 sacks
Week 22 sacks
Week 31 sack
Week 51 sack
Week 70.5 sacks
Week 81 PD
Week 122 sacks · 1 PD
Week 141 PD

Counts only, never a rate — splash-event sample sizes this small (interceptions, pass breakups, TFL) are noise as a rate and signal only as a tally.

2026 Outlook

Utah State

Preseason read · May 27

2026 Depth chart

Returning starter

Linebacker · Utah State

Returning around him

Transfer portal: +10 net (29 in / 19 out)

2026 Award watch

No preseason watch lists yet (most drop June 15 – July 15)

Utah State · Last season: 6-7 · Talent rank #123 · 2026 recruiting class #97

DNA match

Player DNA

Balanced Linebacker

Solid in every phase without a signature dimension.

His 2025 production profile sits closest to Jeremy Banks’s 2021 season.

Jeremy Banks

73%match

Tennessee · 2021

Jett Johnson

Mississippi State · 2023

All-SEC

73%

Chase Wilson

Colorado State · 2023

All-Mountain West

72%

Jordan Stringer

Troy · 2025

All-Sun Belt

72%

Cody Moon

New Mexico · 2022

All-Mountain West

71%

Matches Jeremy on

Tackle volume

Differs from Jeremy on

Solo tackle rate (lower)

Hurry rate (higher)

Class year (higher)

Not enough data yet for this comparison.

As a graduate, his production profile tracks closest to Jayden McDonald's graduate season at UConn (2024).

Jayden McDonald

78%match

UConn · 2024

Jordan Stringer

Troy · 2025

All-Sun Belt

78%

Matt Salopek

Miami (OH) · 2024

All-MAC

71%

Cody Simon

Ohio State · 2024

All-Big TenNFL Rd 4

69%

Marques Watson-Trent

Georgia Southern · 2024

All-Sun Belt

67%

Matches Jayden on

Weight

Tackle volume

Solo tackle rate

Differs from Jayden on

Sack rate (higher)

Player DNA

Players who play like John Miller

Chase Wilson

West Virginia · 2025

76%

Jaden Robinson

Florida · 2025

75%

The linebacker corps · Utah State

#20John MillerLB · Sr.118 tackles · 2025
#14Bronson OlevaoLB · Jr.88 tackles · 2025
#25Chris JoeLB · Fr.41 tackles · 2025
Harrison TaggartLB · Sr.38 tackles · 2025
#17Mataira BrownLB · So.36 tackles · 2025

30 more on the roster · Utah State team page

Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology

2020

202513 games

2025 snapshot

Splits & context

Awards

All-Conference 1st team

Career stats

Signature game

Game log

How he plays

DNA match

Balanced Linebacker

Players who play like John Miller

The linebacker corps · Utah State