Brandon Miree

RB, 6'1, 220, 4.39, 315 BP
Cincinnati, OH

Nickname: Brik
Birthday: 4-14-81
High School: Winton Woods
HS Mascot: Warriors
HS Coach: Lou Cyncar
HS Position: RB
HS Number: 31
Official Visits: Alabama, Mich State, ND, Pitt, BC
Second Choice: Notre Dame or Michigan State
Host During Alabama Visit: Shaun Alexander and Fernando Bryant
Committed: 2-2-99
Roommate To Be: Tyler Harris
Academic Status: Qualified

Stats

HS Junior Season

Rushing

• 130 carries
• 1343 yards
• 10.3 yards per carry
• 18 TDs

HS Senior Season

Rushing

• 258 carries
• 2455 yards
• 9.5 yards per carry
• 31 TDs

Career

Rushing

• 388 carries
• 3798 yards
• 9.8 yards per carry
• 49 TDs

Honors

• Two-time All-City
• Two-time All-State
• Two-time All-Southwest Ohio
• Two-time All-League
• Detroit Free-Press Midwest Top Ten
• National Blue-Chips' Number Three Rated Tailback
• Prep Star All American

SBR Scouting Report

[Observation: 15 to 20 highlight plays.]

Stories

Alexander Made Impression on Miree

Brandon Miree was watching a local TV sports show when the announcer said something that caught his attention.

"He said, 'He's back. And he's bigger, stronger, faster, and better than ever," recalls Miree. "I was thinking, 'Who is he talking about?"

That was four years ago when Shaun Alexander was one of the top high school running backs in the nation.

Miree

"The highlights of him were pretty impressive," Miree says. "It was the first time that I had ever heard of Shaun."

Last summer Miree met Alexander for the first time. The two became friends and began calling each other regularly. Their friendship grew to the point where Miree would occasionally ask Alexander for advice about the recruiting process.

"He never tried to sell me on Alabama," Miree says. "He told me to take all of my visits, have fun, and go to the school where I felt the most comfortable."

But once recruiting heated up, Miree wanted to know more about Alabama.

"I wanted to know what it was like from a player's perspective," Miree says. "Shaun told me how things were and that he loves being at Alabama. That's how he influenced me the most."

And now Miree will join Alexander at Alabama.

"Four years ago it never crossed my mind that someday we'd be playing together. It's funny that it ended up this way."

February Fools' Day -- A One-Act Drama

[Late in the recruiting process, Brandon Miree called Mike DuBose to break the news.]

Miree: Coach, during my visit to Alabama you told me that I should make the decision that's best for me. Well, I've made that decision.

[A pause.]

Miree: Coach, I've decided to commit to the University of…

[Another pause.]

Miree: The University of…of Alabama.

[A sigh of relief, then laughter from DuBose.]

DuBose: Brandon, I'll get you back for this. You just wait till conditioning drills next August.

Miree's Run Not Enough

Thanks to one punt and three kickoff returns for touchdowns, Roger Bacon High School led Winton Woods by eight points.

But with less than two minutes left, Winton Woods was deep in Bacon territory. With runs of eight and ten yards, Brandon Miree set up the Warriors with a first down at Bacon's 15-yard line.

Miree took a pitchout and swept left.

"It was like their whole team was over there waiting for me," recalls Miree. "Two guys hit me at the same time in the backfield."

Miree slipped through the arms of both tacklers, broke another tackle and…

"The next thing I knew, I was standing in the end zone," Miree says.

Winton Woods tied the game with a two-point conversion.

But now the moment of truth: could the Warriors stop Bacon from returning another kick all the way?

Barely.

"They returned it to our one-yard line," Miree says.

Two plays later Winton Woods lost the game.

He Prefers Style to Distance

On a scoring run, that is. One of his favorite runs is his 15-yard touchdown against Miami Trace.

"It wasn't a long run," Miree says. "But it was the fashion that it happened that I like."

Lined up at tailback in the I-formation, Miree took a handoff on a counter play to the left.

"I got hit about the same time I got the handoff," he says.

He broke the tackle and bounced to the outside. One defender stood between him and the goalline.

"You need to see the run on film to totally understand it," Miree says. "But near the goalline, I put a move on him."

The defender froze and Miree lunged into the corner of the end zone for a touchdown.

Top Performances

Miree (31)

Over the past two seasons Miree rushed for 3,788 yards and 49 touchdowns, including 2,454 yards and 31 touchdowns as a senior.

His single-game rushing record came against Cincinnati Fairfield this season when he ran for 303 yards on 35 carries and scored five touchdowns.

The longest run of his career was a 91-yarder against Mount Healthy during his junior year.

His fastest time in the 40-yard dash is 4.39. Last spring ran the 100 meters in 10.69.

Q&A

TI: When did Alabama first contact you?

BM: One day last May, Coach Williams came by my school. I was out that day, so I missed him. But he called me that night. It was a typical first conversation. I remember thinking that it was interesting that a southern school like Alabama would come up to Cincinnati to recruit me.

TI: When did you start to seriously consider Alabama?

BM: When I took the unofficial visit down there for the Florida game. I really liked it while I was down there.

TI: Late in the recruiting process Alabama fans became concerned about reports that you were leaning to Michigan State. How close did you come to going to Michigan State?

BM: They were the first school to offer me a scholarship and in the end they were a player in my decision. But the drawback to Michigan State was artificial turf. I didn't want to play on it. They told me that they were going to switch to grass after next season. But by the time they told me, I pretty much already had my mind made up.

TI: When you visited Alabama, did you already have your mind made up?

BM: I knew that Alabama was where I wanted to be, but I wanted to go home and pray about it.

TI: How did people at your school and in your community react to your decision to sign with Alabama?

BM: Up here everything you see is Notre Dame and Big 10, so the people around here had a tough time understanding my decision. There was a lot of subtle pressure for me to go to Notre Dame. But I tell people that Alabama is to the South what Notre Dame is up here. When we start winning again, people will understand my decision.