Rich Miller has become ‘kind of the heart’ of what Kansas football’s defense is about

LAWRENCE — When Rich Miller transferred to join Kansas football last year, he didn’t expect to become the leader he has.

Miller, a senior linebacker this fall for the Jayhawks, cautioned Wednesday that it wasn’t as if he doubted himself. Miller, among those who followed head coach Lance Leipold from Buffalo, noted he just wanted to be the best version of himself. Miller had never really been much of a vocal leader, and instead led by example — which he described as akin to breathing.

But as the months went by, Miller has assumed a more significant role on and off the field at Kansas, and is now someone who he said teammates look to during player-led meetings to say something. Whether it’s then, or maybe in the weight room, Miller has seen teammates respond to what he’s had to say. And according to his position coach, Chris Simpson, Miller is a catalyst for their defense and “kind of the heart” of what they are trying to do.

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“As much as anybody, I think (Miller) is,” Jayhawks defensive coordinator Brian Borland concurred. “And just, playing the centerpiece position there at the MIKE linebacker spot a lot of the times. Although, I think he could play any of our linebacker spots equally well. Knows the defense well. Knows what our expectations are.

"I think on the field, off the field, I think he’s the — kind of a good, model citizen. So, in that respect, I think he, Rich Miller, certainly would be kind of at the center of what we’re trying to do.”

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Leipold praised how Miller carries himself off the field and pointed to his ability to do anything they ask of a linebacker, too. Miller is someone who Leipold feels understands the expectations of how Kansas players should practice and handle their business.

The degree to which Miller has expectations for himself and his teammates is what Leipold explained they are striving for as a program.

To hear that type of praise means a lot to Miller, because it shows him the confidence a coach like Simpson — who described the MIKE as the guy who runs the show defensively — has in him. But Miller added he doesn’t take any pressure from it. It actually meant more to him when he missed practice because he was sick and he had teammates reaching out to him to tell him they needed him back soon.

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Miller is a part of a position group that’s much more competitive than it was a year ago, something coaches have said will help with special teams as well, because of improvements made by those who returned and the additions of transfers like super-senior Lorenzo McCaskill (Louisiana), redshirt senior Eriq Gilyard (UCF) and redshirt junior Craig Young (Ohio State). It’s something that had Simpson saying there could be five or six guys he’d feel comfortable starting.

And Miller indicated he’s taken it all in stride.

Miller, who finished second on the team in tackles and sacks in 2021, said he has approached it as a learning opportunity. McCaskill has taught him how to be more efficient using his hands. Gilyard has taught him how to better drop into coverage during a play-action situation.

“If you want to play you’ve got to step your game up, because it’s next man up,” said Miller, who also tied for second in tackles for loss among Jayhawks last season. “Like, that man can do the same thing you can do or maybe even better on some days. So, everybody knew that. Everybody knew you just step your game up.”

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Miller also played a role in helping Kansas add quality transfers from the Detroit area, where he’s from himself. Redshirt junior safety Marvin Grant, whose college career began at Purdue, attended the same high school as Miller. And in addition to those efforts meaning a lot to Leipold, there’s also no doubt it’s helped Miller become more comfortable in his second year with the Jayhawks.

Miller said he’s opened up more than he did in 2021 because there are more people around from where he grew up, like Grant. Miller wanted to bring in athletes from where he’s from because he knows how passionate they are and what they’ve had to go through to reach this point. If Kansas can have a locker room that’s as close as his was in high school, he thinks that’ll only raise the bar of how good the Jayhawks can be.

“We’ve got five dudes from Detroit here, like, that’s all I needed,” said Miller, who noted time helps as well and he’s also more comfortable with the locker room as a whole. “Like, not to say that I couldn’t do it without them or anything like that, but, like, that just sparked even more. Because those guys already know who I am.

"They already know how I am. They know what I stand for, what I’m about. So, it was just so much easier for me to be comfortable.”

Jordan Guskey covers University of Kansas Athletics at The Topeka Capital-Journal. Contact him at jmguskey@gannett.com or on Twitter at @JordanGuskey.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Why Rich Miller is now ‘kind of the heart’ of KU football’s defense