LOS ANGELES -- It was a cool afternoon at Howard Jones Field as the USC Trojans on Tuesday, likely a preview of the rainy conditions expected for Saturday’s road test against archrival Notre Dame.
Coming off a dominant 31-13 victory over Michigan in the Coliseum, spirits are high in Troy–perhaps none higher than preferred walk-on King Miller.
The Southern California native had a royal performance in the Coliseum last Saturday finishing with 158 rushing yards and a touchdown in relief of an injured Waymond Jordan and Eli Sanders. Miller’s 158 rushing yards were more than any team had rushed against Michigan all year, and are believed to be the most rushing yards by a Trojan walk-on since at least the 1970s.
Prepping for this weekend’s war against the Irish, the Big Ten Freshman of the Week will have to come up big again. Waymond Jordan will miss four to six weeks with tightrope surgery, and Eli Sanders is out for the season with a knee injury.
“I’m just ready to go out there and do my part, always.” Miller told reporters after practice Tuesday. He added that Jordan and Sanders both “instilled a lot of trust” in him, as well as the team, to give him confidence in the game against Michigan.
Miller’s “stay ready” mentality is one that he’s had since he was a self-described “stocky” running back at Calabasas High School.
“[King Miller's] coaches really bragged on him,” Head Coach Lincoln Riley said. “We did too.”
After keeping tabs on the young running back, Riley and his staff gave Miller a preferred walk-on spot. The young running back, unable to contain his genuine smile, reflected on the moment he learned that he would become a Trojan.
“It was surreal at that moment.”
“We were jumping up and down,” Miller continued, still smiling. “We had to stop the car on the side of the road, and [we were] just, like, going crazy. It’s a pleasure to be here.”
The other athlete celebrating with King? His twin brother and future USC teammate Kaylon Miller.
Kaylon’s good news came first:
“I was literally at our all-star game, coming back from practice, and I got a call from our former O-line coach,” Kaylon Miller told reporters. “At first when I got the call I hung up the phone, I thought it was a spam call.”
When he answered the phone he was ecstatic.
“I literally turned to King, and I was like ‘literally what is life right now?’”
About 30 minutes later, King said he received his offer from USC.
“We would literally just push each other to make sure that we’d both be the best,” Kaylon Miller told reporters. Kaylon is a 290 lbs center and redshirt freshman like his brother. Though he primarily played on the defensive line at Calabasas, Miller has been thrust into a backup center role after an injury to starter Killian O’Connor.
Motivating his twin in practice, Kaylon was his brother’s keeper from day one, but wanted him to forge his own path.
“I don’t want you to follow me because you feel like you want you to be closer to me, I want you to do what’s in your heart,” Kaylon continued, reflecting on his conversations with King about his decision to be a Trojan.
“I just believe if I’m able to contribute,” King continued, “I’m just going to try to do my best to help this team regardless of what it is.”
“I just feel like me and King are something special together,” Kaylon added. “When we are together….we’re a force of nature.”
As the elements calmed down at Howard Jones Field Tuesday afternoon, the Miller twins will both continue to be a force of nature in South Bend, Indiana taking part in one of the most storied rivalries in all of sports.
“At the end of the day, we’re here,” Kaylon finished. “And we’re just loving our story every single day.”