Miller a dependable force for WVU defense

MORGANTOWN — Julian Miller is just like any other college football fan, having to endure the constant hype that comes with the Southeastern Conference.

West Virginia will step out of the Big East this season and play SEC foe LSU, and Miller said the Mountaineers will be looking to make their mark against a top-ranked team playing in one of the toughest stadiums for visitors in the sport.

“You don’t really get tired of hearing it,” said Miller, a junior defensive end for the Mountaineers. “They have good schools, they produce, they are in the top rankings almost every year, but it is something that drives you and pushes you to go out there and try to fight and have your team recognized as well amongst other good teams.”

They’ll get that opportunity this season at LSU on Sept. 25, but Miller isn’t worried about that game just yet. There are three others games on the schedule first, beginning on Sept. 4 with Coastal Carolina, followed by Marshall and Maryland, a trio that will be underdogs to the Mountaineers.

“With the first couple of games that we have, we have opportunities to grow,” Miller said. “When that game actually does come we will be ready for any kind of situation, crowd-wise and anything else going on.”

It will help having Miller on their side. An All-Big East performer last year and an All-America candidate in ‘10, the second year starter at defensive end is a playmaker on a defense full of them.

Miller led the Mountaineers last season with 53 tackles, 14 tackles for loss and nine sacks, all big numbers, but he’s expecting to make an even larger impact this time around.

“You want to come into the season from a mental aspect that it can be done,” Miller said. “I am definitely going to try and build upon that, whatever you did the year before you want to try and do better.

“That is basically one of the main goals that I am going to try to do this year is do better than I do last year and continue to produce for the team.”

He did that last season, having perhaps his best performance in a close 17-9 over Louisville, accumulating three sacks, six tackles and a pass breakup for the Mountaineers. Doing that every week is the task ahead.

“I would just say it was kind of my goal coming into the season,” said the 6-foot-4, 260-pound Miller. “I wanted to make an impact amongst not only the defensive line because that is one of the things where it was my first year being a full-time starter, but, also, I wanted to make an impact toward the defense and the whole team.

“I wanted to show everybody that I could make the play when I was needed and I could be depending upon.”

West Virginia has a veteran defense, with six seniors expected to start. While Miller isn’t one of them, he accepts his role as a leader on a defensive line that includes productive Scooter Berry and Chris Neild.

“With my situation I am in now, I like to lead by example, “ Miller said. “Those guys know that is the type person I am, but they could easily come up and ask me a question so it’s not always them going up to Scooter or Neild because I am the defensive end.

“Guys that are playing the same position definitely come up and ask me, but as far as the whole team, I think I am put in that leader role, but I just play my part and try to show it on the field.”

Miller isn’t the only Mountaineer receiving preseason watch honors. Robert Sands, a 6-foot-5 safety, is on the Bednarik Award list, which goes to the top defensive player in America. He is one of 60 players receiving initial consideration for the award.

“That just lets us know that as teammates and definitely as a defense that we’ve got a guy like that and he is representing our defense as well as we are going to represent him so we are going to go out there and play hard, Miller said. “Something like that could bring recognition to our defense so we can show the nation how good a defense we have.

“We’ve got a guy on a award list such as that, we must have a potentially good defense, but for us to go out there and play to our potential could make us a great defense. Having him recognized for that award is definitely something would help us to get our recognition out there as a defense.”

Yet, much like Sands, Miller isn’t that concerned with awards. He would rather win games.

“It’s good to see that you are being recognized, but in the long run you are just here playing football and having fun,” Miller said, “doing what you love to do and that is what I like to do.”

With nine starters back on defense, Miller is confident in a unit that benefits from practicing against the high-powered West Virginia offense.

“It helps a lot because there are so many weapons on that other side of the ball and practicing against those weapons definitely helps you in the long run,” Miller said. “It puts you in situations where you go up against certain teams running the power or just the full spread-out offense.

“I think every year coming in and coming out, we have the potential to be the best defense (in the league), but it takes more than just us talking. We actually have to go out there and prove it to ourselves. I think if we just all get on the same page and continue to grow as a defense, we will make it there.”

With the start of the season slowly approaching, Miller wasn’t looking ahead to anyone other than Coastal Carolina, but he is looking forward to visiting LSU, playing at night where the Tigers are 215-60-4 mark over the years, as compared to a losing record when playing during the day.

Bring them on, the Mountaineers will be ready, competed and won against the SEC in recent seasons, defeating Georgia, Auburn and Mississippi State in recent seasons.

“I would guess it wouldn’t be too much different from actually playing Auburn at Auburn, it is another SEC opponent, but we don’t want to look too far ahead,” Miller said. “You want to take care of these first games first, but definitely the hype and potential to that game will be pretty big and good for us....

“We enjoy actually going out of conference and playing any school...It is definitely fun to play against another conference, especially a conference toward the Big East that may seen stronger or tougher of a power until we can prove to everybody else in the nation that we are a tough conference too.”

Still, ruling in the Big East is the top goal for the Mountaineers. It hasn’t happened since Miller was a freshman, who didn’t play in 2007.

“That is what you come here to West Virginia for is to win the Big East championship and hopefully get that BCS bid,” Miller said. “Ever since my freshman year and having that experience, it is something you just hunger for and you really want every year coming in.”

—Contact Brian Woodson

at bwoodson@bdtonline.com

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