Class of 2014 graduate Kolton Miller’s meteoric rise in the world of college football has been one that has shocked and amazed myriad recruiters, as well as NFL coaches. As draft day nears, the four-star offensive lineman has received looks from many NFL teams, many of which appear willing to use their first round pick on the Roseville grad.

According to varsity football coach Larry Cuhna, there’s no doubt Kolton’s years of hard work put him in the position he is in today. Cunha, who coached Miller for four years, had the opportunity to see Miller grow from a high school standout to an NFL hopeful.

“Kolton is just really a testament to what talent, skill and hard work can get you in the world of football,” Cunha said.

Cunha also believes that Miller has the potential to inspire student athletes at RHS to constantly work hard and sets the bar high for their future.

“Kolton just shows all the kids here what it takes to make it to the next level,” Cunha said. “I think it sets a great example of something to work towards.”

According to Cunha, Miller’s level of play is unprecedented for Roseville, as he could reach a new level that no Roseville athlete has reached before.

“If taken in the first round, Kolton would be the first player out of Roseville to ever be taken in the first round,” said Cunha. “[Teddy] Bruschi was taken in the second round and he had a great career in the NFL, so we all hope Kolton can have that same success.”

Being the high school coach of the college standout, Cunha has been invited to attend the NFL Draft in Dallas, Texas, along with Miller’s family and friends.

“I am very grateful to Kolton for being invited. As a football fan, I’m super excited to see the draft in person,” Cunha said. “I’m looking forward to being there with Kolton for such an exciting life experience, so that should be very cool to see.”

Kolton’s brother Chad, who is currently a freshman at Roseville, has been with his brother every step of the way.

In fact, Chad has gone down to Los Angeles to watch all of Miller’s games at UCLA.

“I have watched all of Kolton’s games, so it was really cool to see him get better every game as he got more confidence,” Chad said.

Having seen everything that Kolton has gone through to get to where he is now, Chad believes that Kolton did a great job during the recruiting process.

“Kolton went on a ton of visits to a lot of really nice schools, and at the end it was between UCLA and Oregon,” Chad said. “I am really glad that he chose UCLA, and that we were able to go watch him during the season.”

While it may not be a guarantee that Miller goes in the first round, Chad is more excited at the prospect of Kolton being drafted at all.

“Obviously it would be super cool if Kolton was a first round draft pick, but we are all just really happy to see that he has made it this far,” Chad said. “We all hope that he can keep on going and get as far as he can.”