A look at Dee Miller – Ohio State Buckeyes
9/19/1998 12:00:00 AM | Football
September 19, 1998
COLUMBUS, Ohio – True story. A late afternoon snack brought about an interesting conversation between two opposing coaches at the Big Ten Kickoff luncheon recently.
“Ohio State should really be able to put the ball in the air this year,” said the first, we’ll call him Coach A.
“Yeah, they’ve got some weapons. Germaine is really accurate, and David Boston is a big-time receiver,” Coach B chimed in.
“And they’ve got that other receiver,” Coach A said in the tone of voice that makes you think he was trying to remember his third grade gym teacher. “He really came on last year. Darn it, what’s his name?”
After being Ohio State’s ‘other receiver’ for three years that seemed like a lifetime, it’s Dee Miller’s turn to shine. He came within 57 feet of 1,000 yards receiving last year, and is one-half of the best receiving tandem in the nation this season.
If you hadn’t heard much about him going into last year, join the crowd. If you haven’t heard of him heading into this fall, the sports section of your newspaper is only used to start your fireplace.
“You have to get in where you fit in,” Miller says plainly. “People are starting to realize that Ohio State has more than one good receiver. After a couple more games, I think I’ll open up even more eyes.”
Miller’s football career is right where he wants it to be. His 981 receiving yards last season were the third most in school history. His 58 receptions were the fourth most at OSU. He’s the starting wide receiver for the No. 1-ranked team in the nation. Things are going good, and they’re only getting better.
But life wasn’t always this easy.
Dee Miller came to Ohio State in 1994. His recruiting class included Orlando Pace and Damon Moore, but Miller was the ten-carat jewel. A strong, athletic receiver that was named to everyone’s high school All-American team, Miller was compared to Cris Carter at the ripe age of 17. Newspapers picked him to start as a true freshman next to Joey Galloway – and ahead of current NFLers Chris Sanders and Terry Glenn. A 36 touchdown, 2,000 yard high school career equals that kind of pressure. And it got to him. It started with an injury. During fall practice of his rookie season, Miller suffered a slight knee injury that sidelined him for around six weeks. To a prize recruit at a big-time college football program, that means a redshirt year. The wideout dubbed as the next Cris Carter didn’t even get his cleats dirty as a freshman.
Miller came back the next year out of shape and full of attitude. He managed to play in all 13 games, but didn’t catch a pass. He hadn’t nearly blossomed into the player that everyone had expected, or, at times, demanded.
The hits kept on coming during his third year at Ohio State. Thoughts of a starting job opposite Dimitrious Stanley were prevalent over the summer, but just as hope started to resurface, enter David Boston. Prior to the season opener, Boston had worked his way to the top of the depth chart, and Miller was, for the third straight year, relegated to the sidelines. When Boston caught the game-winning touchdown with seconds remaining in the Rose Bowl, Miller could only watch. His celebration was bittersweet. The critics started to doubt him, and worse than that, he started to doubt himself. He was labeled a bust, and rumors started flying that he was considering transferring.
“There were times when I felt like I should pack my bags up and just go home,” Miller said. “When things aren’t going your way, you start pouting around and trying to show people that you don’t care. People are telling you that you’re still young, but that’s not what you want to hear.”
After the Rose Bowl, Miller was forced into self-evaluation. After three years, he had caught more criticism than he had passes. With the graduation of Stanley a starting spot was open opposite Boston. But Ohio State had landed a prized high school wide receiver named Ken Yon Rambo, who some said had the ability to play right away. Miller was at a crossroads.
Fortunately, Ohio State strength and conditioning coach Dave Kennedy had a road map.
“I can remember thinking I was working hard,” Miller said. “Coach Kennedy thought I could work harder. He told me if I was working as hard as I could, Dave (Boston) wouldn’t have moved ahead of me on the depth chart. He challenged me to not let that happen again.”
Kennedy, one of the nation’s most respected strength coaches and an icon to Ohio State players, pitted Miller against the best. When former Buckeyes and current NFL stars like Joey Galloway, Eddie George, Robert Smith, and Shawn Springs returned to Columbus for summer workouts, he sent Miller out to train with them.
“Dee came in as a freshman as highly touted as anyone we have ever had,” Kennedy said. “People don’t realize how much pressure is on a high school kid that is a USA Today All-American. Everyone expects him to be a superstar right away.”
During months where, for the past three years, he had taken time off, Miller was now competing against some of the finest athletes in the world. Trying to keep up with Joey Galloway in sprints. Trying to do a quickness drill quicker than Robert Smith. Trying to build more endurance than Eddie George. Competing against your training partners as fiercely as you do an opponent. Feeling pressure from everyone not to lose. Hearing about it when you fall behind. “If you can’t step up to their level, they become ruthless,” Kennedy said of the NFL stars.
Miller’s speed increased. His confidence soared. His fitness level peaked. After three years, he became what everyone was banking on – only better. He was more than just a mass of athleticism now. He had become a perfectionist. He watched more game film. His routes were crisper, and always at the proper depth. His concentration became unbreakable.
“Some people come in and adapt real well to college football,” he said. “I think it just took me a couple years longer. I could have quit, but I never would have been able to look at myself in the mirror. You have to face adversity in your life. I’m a better man because of it.”
And a better receiver. No ball seems to be uncatchable for Miller. He consistently makes the difficult catch look routine. At his current pace, Miller will rank third at Ohio State in all-time receiving yards when his career ends.
If things had worked the way everyone had expected them to, you wouldn’t be reading this story right now. Dee Miller would have exhausted his eligibility last season. His career at Ohio State would vanish into a note in someone’s scrapbook. Maybe he’d be finishing up school, or out trying to land a job, or even giving the NFL a shot. Undoubtedly, he’d still be trying to prove himself. Instead, he’s one of the nation’s top receivers on the nation’s top team.
“My pastor back home always used to tell me that the man upstairs was doing everything for a reason. I didn’t used to want to listen to him. But to be on this team right now, the number one team with all sorts of weapons, I’m starting to believe him.”
