The achievement of competing this weekend at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis isn't lost on Shareef Miller.

The former Nittany Lion defensive end, an early entrant to the NFL this offseason, is looking to begin his career at the next level with a strong performance. And he's been through enough through the course of his life, from a rough upbringing in Philadelphia and all it entailed, to understand not so much what's at stake, but rather, what is very much possible thanks to the opportunity at hand.

And he's not viewing it any other way.

"I've been prepared for this. The stuff I had to overcome, this is like nothing for me. And I'm so blessed to be here," Miller told reporters Saturday in advance of his Sunday on-field workout. "So I see guys upset and moping around, I'm just happy to be here. It could be worse. That's what I always say. It could be worse. I could be back in Philly, but I'm in the NFL Scouting Combine. So you gotta put that in perspective."

Miller faced a bit of a setback when he posted 16 reps in the bench press Saturday afternoon, the lowest among 18 NFL-described edge rushers to participate in the event, but even before the bench he said he also understood some of the important attributes scouts are looking to see from him this weekend.

"Some people that scout me say my change of direction, they want to see how athletic I am and stuff like that, so I'm going to showcase that tomorrow," said Miller. "They talk about my hands. Ain't really a lot of hand drills you can do in the combine except for like one drill. So I'm really going to just show my speed and my change of direction."

He also intends to show what he's made of, the product of his mother Tekeya Cook, and how he plans to use that upbringing to reach his goals.

"My mom was real important because she didn't play no games. She was very hard on me, and I just wanted to be different. I had a different mindset," said Miller. "I knew that football was going to take me a lot of places, so I wasn't going to let nobody get in the way of that opportunity. You don't get a lot of chances where I'm from, so when you get that chance you gotta run with it and that's what I did. I run with it and I ain't looking back."