Miliano plans to walk-on
by Tim Adams
Article posted on 1/19/2010

With scholarships extremely tight at the University of Cincinnati, the Bearcat football program looks to have gotten a real steal this week when Elder's Tony Miliano politely declined a scholarship offer from Ball State. Cincinnati is offering the talented kicker "preferred walk-on" status, which means a guaranteed spot on their roster but no money for the 2010 season.

The Cardinals had set a deadline of Monday (January 18) for the 1st team Division I All-Ohio place kicker to either accept or reject their offer, and Miliano informed Bearcat Lair of his decision shortly after talking with the Ball State staff late Sunday evening.

Miliano summarized the conversation.

"I called Coach Melvin (recruiting coach) tonight and told him that I really liked everything about Ball State, but there were a couple of other things that went into consideration for me. One was UC was closer to home, and I thought UC had more of what I wanted in a college than Ball State did."

He continued. "I really did like Ball State's coaches, facilities and campus, but I just felt UC was a better fit for me. They wished me luck."

The Elder star was asked why he feels Cincinnati is the better fit.

"I've grown up wanting to be a Bearcat. I've been a UC fan all my life, and it's right in my backyard. They're a big time school that plays in the Big East, which is really appealing. I just want to play in that kind of big atmosphere. I'm planning to take a (official) visit next weekend, but I still have to speak with Coach Coombs about that. All my life I've wanted to go to UC even if it wasn't for athletics. That was also a big thing for me."

Some Elder football fans feel Miliano was their team's Most Valuable Player last season, but when asked about that kind of praise, the specialist laughingly deflected the compliment.

"It's nice but Elder's never really had a kicker. They've had position players that also kicked, but I wouldn't consider myself the MVP especially with guys like Mark Miller and Ben Coffaro. I think that's a stretch but nice to hear."

One reason many universities are hesitant about offering scholarships to place kickers is the change from kicking off a tee in high school to kicking off the ground in college, but Miliano is confident he'll make the necessary adjustments and has a plan in place.

"Over the summer, I worked at a lot of camps and did pretty well, especially the camp in Florida, and I work with Dick Seitz of One-On-One Kicking. He worked with me a lot last year, and he's a really good coach. I plan to work with him again this summer. He'll push me and teach me everything I need to know to get ready for kicking off the ground in college."

Cincinnati's present place kicker, Jake Rogers, will be a senior in 2010, and just like Miliano is expected to do, Rogers started his UC career as a preferred walk-on before earning a scholarship the next season as a redshirt freshman.

Tony Miliano Bio >

 

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