Notre Dame May Have Another ‘Rocket’

Notre Dame may launch another Rocket next season.

The Fighting Irish landed one of the country’s most prized prospects Wednesday when receiver Mike Miller of Sugar Land, Tex., signed a national letter of intent.

Coach Lou Holtz said the 5-foot-7, 160-pound speedster reminds him of Raghib (Rocket) Ismail, the triple-threat star who is leaving Notre Dame a year early to enter the NFL draft.

“He looks like Rocket, he talks like Rocket, he’s even got some of the same facial expressions,” Holtz said. “He’s slightly faster than Rocket and more experienced coming in at wide receiver. But I do not expect him to be another Rocket.”

Like Ismail, Miller has excelled as a receiver, runner and kick returner. But the high school star doesn’t want to be known as Rocket II.

“I want my own identity,” he said. “If Rocket hadn’t left, the chances of me going there were slim. When he left, that opened up the door for me.”

Despite the signing of Miller, Notre Dame did not have a banner recruiting year.

“They’ve had the No. 1 recruiting class the last four years, but this year they’re not in the Top 10,” said Allen Wallace, publisher of SuperPrep magazine. “I’d rank them about 15.”

Florida State, Penn State and Michigan were the biggest winners on the first national signing day for high school players.

“Penn State got the best group of running backs, some great people on the offensive line and a couple of outstanding linebackers,” Wallace said.

Unlike most schools, Penn State does not release its list of recruits. But Wallace said the Nittany Lions were expected to sign SuperPrep’s second-rated receiver, Bobby Engram of Camden, S.C., and two running backs ranked in the Top 10--Stephen Pitts of Middletown, N.J., and Kijana Carter of Westerville, Ohio.