Pleasanton (Calif.) Foothill linebacker Johnny Millard (6-2, 180), knows what success in football is like. His father, Keith, was a Pro Bowl defensive lineman for the Minnesota Vikings and now coaches with the Oakland Raiders.
The younger Millard is starting to make a name for himself with Foothill, and he’s gotten off to a great start in 2008.
Now, Millard is hoping the recruiting process picks up a little more.
“Stanford asked for my transcripts, San Diego and the DB coach and I have talked, and we exchanged e-mails,” said Millard. “San Jose State had me at their Junior Day.”
His father’s alma mater, Washington State, is another school that Millard has interest in, and they’ve been in contact.
“Washington State, they’ve talked to my dad a little bit so we’ll see what happens,” said Millard. “That’s pretty much all of the big ones.”
Millard is playing weakside linebacker for Foothill, but he sees his future in college taking him to the secondary.
“I think I’ll play strong safety, or maybe even a slot receiver,” said Millard. “I’d love to play strong safety, but if I added weight, maybe I can stay at weakside.”
Two schools are standing out for Millard, one nearby and one with the family ties.
“It would probably be Stanford and Washington State as my favorites. Washington State is probably the only school from there I haven’t visited, but I definitely want to take a visit up there since I still have family up there.”
With the two Pac-10 schools in the lead, San Jose State, San Diego and San Diego State round out Millard’s top five.
Foothill lost two anchors of their team, Austin Day and Rob Andrews, who is now at San Diego State, so Millard has taken on a bigger role and he’s made an impact, with 20 tackles, six for loss, a fumble recovery and a blocked punt in the first two games, both Foothill wins.
“I work out with Rob and I know the workouts are tough but it’s really helped me. And the results are worth it.”
Millard’s father was a tight end in high school before playing defensive end for Washington State and he eventually added weight to play tackle, where he was a two-time Pro Bowler and the 1989 Defensive Player of the Year in the NFL. He also played with Green Bay, Seattle and Philadelphia. But it was the gaining of weight that has the younger one encouraged.
“My dad didn’t add a lot of weight until he got to college. He said he have the exact same type of body. I want to try and get up to 215,” said Millard.
Millard is hoping to take some official visits this fall, before he makes a decision.
Academically, he is in excellent shape, with a 3.5 cumulative GPA in both AP and honors courses. He’s also scored a 1720 on the SAT.