The call King and Kaylon Miller had been waiting their entire lives came as they were returning from practice at the end of their senior year at Calabasas High.
But Kaylon didn't pick up the phone. His phone marked the call as spam.
Luckily for the twin brothers, their dream came with text. When they called back, former USC offensive line coach Josh Henson had good news. USC wanted both Keylon, an offensive lineman, and King, a running back, to join the team as preferred players.
“We had to stop the car on the side of the road,” King said. “We were going crazy.”
USC offensive lineman Keylon Miller (right) makes a block during a win over Georgia Southern on Sept. 6 at the Coliseum.
(Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
“I turned to King with the question: “What is life like now?” – Kaylon added. “There is no way that opportunity will arise.”
For most casual people, this might be the end of the story, a milestone on the way to four seasons on the scout team. But less than two years later King Miller must become leader as a replacement for a battered No. 20 USC backfield against No. 13 Notre Dame in a high-stakes matchup that could very well define the Trojans' season.
It's the kind of scene Notre Dame's legendary underdog Rudy could only dream of.
However, King Miller always had this moment in the back of his mind. As a child, King dreamed of becoming a runner at the University of Southern California. And it didn’t make sense to offer anything else either.
“It was his mission to get to USC,” says his father, Mark Miller. “King always had his own opinion and did what he wanted.”
But at Calabasas High, no matter what he did or how well he ran, the attention King desired never materialized. Coaches came to watch his teammate, four-star defensive end Aaron Butler, and left wondering about the 6-foot, 210-pound bruise in the backfield.
However, the initial interest, for one reason or another, did not lead to anything significant.
“We ran the offense around him, through him,” Calabasas coach Carey Harris said of King. “We sold it to coaches.”
USC running back King Miller dodges Michigan quarterback Mason Curtis on a 49-yard run Saturday at the Coliseum.
(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)
Only a handful of them—Portland State, San Jose State and Nevada—offered him a scholarship. Other coaches confided in Harris that they didn't think King was fast enough to be a running back in college.
USC coach Lincoln Riley was among those who were waiting in the wings. Riley had been keeping an eye on King for some time, believing it was only a matter of time before a Power Four school made him an offer. Back then, he wasn't too far away from graduating from the University of Southern California, Riley says now.
By the winter of their senior year, neither of the Miller twins knew where they were headed next. King turned his attention to Portland State because they showed the most interest. Kaylon still didn't have an offer.
That's when Henson called. Immediately after that they called their father.
“That phone call was everything,” Mark Miller said. “For them to actually want them, see the potential in them and give them a real chance, that meant everything.”
But moving on also meant paying for his education at one of the most expensive schools in America. This also happened without any guarantees. When they met Henson, a former criminal himself, he was honest. He told them they probably wouldn't play until they started their college careers—if at all.
After this meeting, their parents asked if they really wanted this path.
“They were 100 percent,” Mark Miller said. “No matter what happened, they were going to work and prove they belonged.”
USC running back King Miller carries the ball while running away from Georgia Southern defenders Sept. 6 at the Coliseum.
(Carleen Steele/Los Angeles Times)
Within a year, both brothers made their mark at USC. Kaylon Miller opened the season as a redshirt freshman on the Trojans' second offensive line.
Of the two, King was less likely to find his way onto the field given the depth of USC's backfield. But in Week 1 against Missouri State, he was called upon in the third quarter. On just his third collegiate carry, he exploded into the backfield, creating a hole in the defense. Keylon, playing defense, walled off one side of the hole as King slipped through two defenders for a 75-yard gain.
Running after King as fast as he could was his brother.
“King worked his whole life to get to this point,” Keylon said. “I always knew his day would come one day.”
Those days have continued to come for King ever since. A week later, he threw a 41-yard touchdown in a win over Georgia Southern. Then last week, when the Trojans' top two running backs left the game after halftime, Miller stepped into the starting role with ease.
Against Michigan, which boasted a top-10 defense entering the game, King rushed 18 times for 158 yards.and there was no more impressive moment than when he handed the ball over on third-and-26. Bursting through the hole, he stumbled past one defender and then raced past two others for a 49-yard gain. It was his fourth 40-plus-yard run in just 29 attempts.
And come to think of it, some coaches were worried he wasn't fast enough.
“If I see something, I’ll go,” King said. “I won't let anyone alone bring me down.”
That will be the case on Saturday when Miller takes over. broken trojan backfield into a tumultuous battle in South Bend. Miller leads the nation in yards per carry among running backs with over 25 attempts (10.69), but Notre Dame boasts one of the best run defenses in college football, holding its last two opponents to 2.43 yards per carry.
This is not a stretch that most teams with College Football Playoff aspirations would be willing to take a walkover. But King Miller and his brother Kaylon are not going to stay away for long.
When asked if the King brothers would soon receive football scholarships, Riley responded:
“It’s clearly a matter of when, not if, for these guys.”
