Miller’s return big boost to Buffaloes’ secondary

BOULDER» Knowing he wasn’t going to play, yet also understanding any knowledge and improvements he filed away would be critical to his Colorado football career, Chris Miller spent his entire redshirt season last year absorbing information from the sideline.

So when Miller went down with a hamstring injury last month, derailing what to that point had been a stellar preseason camp for the redshirt freshman cornerback, Miller knew the routine. If he was going to be forced to the sideline, he was going to make the best of the situation.

Expected to be a key figure in the Buffaloes’ defensive backfield this year, Miller’s official CU debut was delayed until his hamstring healed. After getting his first taste of action two weeks ago against New Hampshire, Miller is eager to make a bigger impact as the Buffs open their Pac12 schedule with a Friday night showdown at home against UCLA (7 p.m., FS1).

“At first (in 2017) I was really pushing to play and it was kind of upsetting,” Miller said. “But then when I thought about it, it was really good for me, the redshirt. If I had to do it over again, I’d redshirt. Back in high school, I didn’t have a true corners coach, so I didn’t get to learn all the techniques and stuff. I took that time to learn. Better my technique, learn the defense more, learn my leverages and just work on my craft.”

A 6foot cornerback out of Denton, Texas, Miller was on track to potentially start the season opener for the Buffs until the hamstring injury during the sec ond week of August set him back. At first Miller didn’t believe the injury was serious, but after feeling better about a week later, Miller put himself through a weightlifting routine that ultimately set him back several more weeks.

In his absence, Dante Wigley and Delrick Abrams earned the starts at either cornerback spot for each of the first three games, while Trey Udoffia (80 total snaps) filled the third corner position. Miller returned to participate in 24 plays during the win against New Hampshire two weeks ago, recording two tackles, and cornerbacks coach Ashley Ambrose believes Miller has worked his way back to the high level of play he was displaying in early August prior to the hamstring injury.

“The thing I will say about him is that he has stayed focused,” Ambrose said.