Kaylon Miller was at the six-yard line in the fourth quarter, blocking a punt. USC run to play when he sees King Millerhis running back and twin brother rushes past him.
“Run, run, run, run!” he remembers screaming as King knocked him outside and across the Nebraska goal line for the go-ahead touchdown that ultimately won the game for the Trojans. Big Ten win 21–17 last Saturday in Lincoln.
As King spun into the end zone, his brother was the first to greet him; the two brothers shared a moment as their masks collided with each other. Both move on. Both are finding opportunities to get on the field as redshirt freshmen — and both are making the most of those opportunities.
“You owe me a hamburger,” King remembers Keylon saying.
Kaylon was pleased to see his brother's success – King Miller was forced into duty last month due to injuries, and he responded big games against Michigan And Our Lady – but he continued to wait for his moment. Then in the first quarter against the Cornhuskers, right guard Alani Noah went down with an injury. Keylon stood next to USC offensive line coach Zach Hanson, who turned to him.
“This is your opportunity,” Hanson told him. “Let's go.”
It was Kaylon's turn.
“Honestly, it’s just a great story to tell when I’m older,” he said. “Obviously everyone wants the opportunity to go out and play and you just have to be ready when your number is called. It just so happened that mine was supposed to be that night.
“I just knew that when I got this opportunity, I would make the most of it.”
And make the most of it. Despite spending all of his practice reps at center that week, Miller stepped in on defense and didn't just hold it – he elevated the o-line in a low-scoring game against a tough Nebraska defense.
Allowing zero pressures on the night, Miller recorded a pass block grade of 88.2, third-best in the Big Ten last week and sixth-best among Power Four defensive backs.
“Played amazing. Really,” Trojans coach Lincoln Riley said. “He was physical, he was a good passer. He was really physical in his pulling game, was really astute in his assignments, which – I know I've mentioned a few times already – was all the more impressive because he really couldn't get a lot of practice reps on defense. Very impressed.”
While Miller still says he feels more confident when tackling the ball due to the more compact nature of the playing center, he attributes his success at right back to being able to rely on his teammates. The O-line, especially in guarding, is a symbiotic relationship. A lot depends on the tackles and the help center (and vice versa), and Miller had 100 percent confidence in his teammates around him.
Things could have gone south if it was Miller's first time playing in a tight road environment at Memorial Stadium. The Huskers and the 86,529 fans in attendance wore all black. Every time Nebraska scored a goal, the crowd released black balloons. But between series, left tackle Elijah Page, who returned from a knee injury he suffered in Week 4 against Michigan State, kept Miller sane.
“Just treat it like practice,” Paige said. “Obviously it's a pretty hostile environment. It's one of the best environments in the world. Obviously it can get to you, the noise can get to you, everything can get to you. But I just tell him to focus and act like it's Tuesday or Wednesday practice.”
As the Trojans prepare to host Northwestern on a short week, Miller tries to think too much about what happened last week; he knows that opportunities can be taken away as quickly as they are earned. He likes to rely on a saying he constantly repeats to his twin brother:
“Never look back at any situation you've ever been in, just look forward, because nothing you've done in the past can be undone. You can only tunnel vision forward.”
As for the hamburger King still owes him?
“I can’t give it to him yet, but I have to,” King said with a laugh. “I don’t know when that will happen, he’ll probably keep asking me about it, but one day I caught him.”
