ANDREW MILLER
Running back Harding Academy Wildcats
By any measurement, Andrew Miller’s junior season at running back for the Harding Academy Wildcats last year was a breakout performance. Miller was a key cog in the school’s 3A state-championship repeat, racking up nearly 2,000 all-purpose yards and scoring more than 30 times.
But ask the bruising 6-1, 200-pound back about the 2020 campaign, and he’s as deferential as they come, handing out credit with both hands. His humility might come off as cliché until one realizes he’s got three brothers in his family, footballers all, who don’t miss an opportunity to keep him grounded.
“We just always pushed each other when we were kids,” Miller said of his brothers, among whom he is third in line. “We were just always competitive and wanting to outdo each other.”
The other Miller men don’t just talk a good game with Andrew; they have each demonstrated enough skills of their own to warrant his attention. Elder brothers Easton, 22, and Isaac, 20, play for Harding University in Searcy, at running back and receiver, respectively. Even the baby of the bunch, Owen, 15, is already making waves at quarterback for Harding Academy in Searcy.
“They encourage me and criticize me in a good way, too,” Andrew said of his brothers. “And I like that because I like to be coached. They do a good job in coaching me.”
That trait has been apparent ever since Miller joined the Harding Academy squad as a sophomore, where at safety, he recorded 68 tackles, including 2 for loss, plus 3 picks and a fumble recovery. The Wildcats were loaded at running back, but even then, Miller’s offensive potential was enticing. His lone catch that year went for 39 yards and pay dirt.
Then last year, coaches flipped the script for Miller to offense, where he was more than advertised. He rushed 161 times for 1,347 yards and 26 touchdowns and caught 38 passes for 462 yards and 9 more scores. He rounded out his junior campaign with 6 kickoff returns for 126 yards and 17 tackles at corner, 1 for loss, making Miller the Three Rivers Edition Player to Watch for 2021.
Despite all this success, Miller, 18, said he found out what kind of running back he could be — and what kind of team the Wildcats could be — in the squad’s only loss last year, against Briarcrest Christian of Eads, Tennessee.
“Even though it was also our only loss, the offense especially all played really hard, and we fought really hard,” he said. “I didn’t play great in our first game last year, but [against Briarcrest], I was like, ‘All right, I’m kind of in my groove now. I’m ready to go from here on out.’”
“He’s naturally a running back, and he had just a very, very good year last year,” Wildcats head coach Neil Evans said of Miller. “He’s a football junkie. He’s physically an impressive young man, especially for a high-schooler at our level. He’s a complete player; he blocks very well. Obviously, as a running back, he runs it well, but he may be one of our better route runners, too.”
Knowing that a running back is only as good as his offensive line, Miller’s humility extends to his teammates. He said he likes what he sees in that department.
“On offense, I think we’ll have a good run game,” he said. “We have a good O-line up front, even though we lost some guys. It’ll take a little bit of time to get the passing game back up, but we’ll be good there.
“We’ve got a couple of new kids in spots, and they’ve all been good so far. But there’s always room for improvement.”
Miller takes that statement to heart himself, in part to set the example, and in part to improve his game. Though he was coming off a monster year, he spent the summer focused on getting faster.
“I was really trying to improve my routes and get my speed up, just trying to get faster, mainly,” he said. “I’ve done more speed work and not as many weights this offseason.
“I’ve been running routes and stuff with my brothers and getting my youngest brother to throw to me. Seven-on-sevens have definitely helped with that, too. It definitely helps that we’ve been able to practice all summer, versus last summer, when we only were able to practice less than half of it.”
If that sounds like a simple formula for success, it is, just like Miller’s goals for the upcoming season, his last before joining his brothers at Harding University, where he’s committed to play football next year.
“Winning state as a team was definitely the highlight of last season,” he said. “As a team goal, we want to win state again. We want the three-peat. Individually, all I can do is give it my best and do the best I can to help my team.”
For that to happen, he said, Harding has to play like the marked team they are likely to be. He said the squad can’t afford an off game against anybody, and he’s prepared to set the example every night, just like his brothers have done for him his whole life.
“We’re going to do the best we can. We’re just going to take it one game at a time,” he said. “We’ve got to win conference before we can win state and everything.
“I can guarantee you that we’ll play our hardest every week, and we’ll play with discipline.”