Linebacker Brit Miller typically played about 40 snaps per game as a junior. In 2008 he expects to be on the field about twice as much as he moves to middle linebacker for J Leman.

So Miller went about dropping some weight during the offseason and started training camp this week in the 238- to 240-pound range. He has lost about 22 pounds since the Rose Bowl.

“I’ve leveled out now,” he said. “I’m getting my metabolism right again. I feel good, like a better athlete out there, like I can play a lot more ball.”

In the past, Miller would leave the game when the nickel package was inserted. Now he’ll be part of that package.

“Last year I was able to get as big as I wanted because I played a physical position,” he said. “I had to go against a lot of linemen.”

His next challenge is to take over for a consensus All-American who is in camp with the Minnesota Vikings. But as he chomped on a ham sandwich, Miller said he never considered taking over Leman’s diet, which included heavy helpings of raw eggs and olive oil.

“I don’t think my stomach would like me any more,” he said. “Oil and eggs are not for me.”