Oregon State IOL Tanner Miller to transfer to Michigan State
Former Oregon State interior offensive lineman Tanner Miller plans to transfer to Michigan State and rejoin head coach Jonathan Smith and offensive line coach/run game coordinator Jim Michalczik in East Lansing.
Miller announced his decision on Sunday.
Miller is the eighth transfer portal acquisition Smith has made since being hired as Michigan State's head coach in late November, and the third portal addition from Smith’s former team, Oregon State, joining quarterback Aidan Chiles and tight end Jack Velling.
Miller, Chiles and Velling join quarterback Tommy Schuster (North Dakota), long snapper Kaden Schickel (James Madison), defensive end Quindarius Dunnigan (Middle Tennessee State) wide receiver TJ Sheffield (Purdue) and linebacker Jordan Turner (Wisconsin) as Michigan State's transfer pickups since the coaching change was made.
The former walk-on only played in two games in his first two seasons in Corvallis (2019 and 2020). In the 2021 season, Miller played in 12 games for the Beavers. Miller had an even bigger role in 2022, playing in all 13 of Oregon State’s games and he even earned a start against Arizona State.
Miller had his best season as a Beaver in 2023. He played in all 13 games for OSU and played 817 offensive snaps, according to Pro Football Focus. Miller got reps at both right guard (548 snaps) and center (269 snaps) this season. He received an overall offensive grade on PFF of 73.9. He excelled in run blocking as he received a grade of 80.3, while he received a grade of 55.6 in pass blocking.
Because of his solid 2023 season, Miller received numerous honors this past season, starting with earning midseason Associated Press All-American honors. Additionally, he was named to ESPN’s All-American second-team, the All-Pac-12 first-team by the Associated Press and the All-Pac-12 second-team by the coaches.
Also, Miller was a nominee for the Burlsworth Trophy, which honors the most outstanding player who began his career as a walk-on.
Miller will have one year of eligibility remaining. He will join incoming true freshmen Rakeem Johnson, Payton Stewart, Rustin Young, Mercer Luniewski and Charlton Luniewski (all three-stars according to Rivals) as new additions on the offensive line.
Those incoming players will join an offensive line room led by Michalczik. The team returns several offensive linemen from 2023, including Brandon Baldwin, Ethan Boyd, Dallas Fincher, Geno VanDeMark, Kris Phillips, Braden Miller, Ashton Lepo, Gavin Broscious, Stanton Ramil, Cole Dellinger, Evan Brunning and more.
To keep up with all of Michigan State’s transfer portal activity, visit the Spartans Illustrated Transfer Portal Tracker.