USC’s King of the walk-ons

CEDAR RAPIDS - USC boasts 11 Heisman Trophy winners. Five of them were tailbacks.

You’ve got Mike Garrett, O.J. Simpson and Charles White. Add Marcus Allen and Reggie Bush.

Obviously a great list from a storied college football program.

Which makes the Trojans’ leading rusher this season surprising. Quite an anomaly.

King Miller is a walk-on, of all things, believe it or not. Southern California hosts the Iowa Hawkeyes at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles at 2:30 p.m. Saturday (Big Ten Network).

“I wake up and don't even think things are real still,” Miller told USC Trojans on SI recently. “I just try to wake up and just be where my feet are. I just try to go get recovery, whatever it may be that day and be a normal student-athlete every single day.”

He’s anything but that.

Miller got only feelers from FCS schools like Portland State as a senior at Calabassas High School in the L.A. area, but the Trojans coaching staff eventually phoned and offered him and his twin brother, Kaylon, a chance to be preferred walk-ons. Kaylon Miller is an offensive lineman.

The Miller brothers always had wanted to play at USC and jumped at the opportunity.

“That was his mission, to get to USC,” Mark Miller, the boys’ father, told the Los Angeles Times. “King has always had a mind of his own and does what he wants to do.”

“It kind of didn't even feel real at that moment,” recalled Miller. “Kaylon and I were going back and forth, like, ‘Did you get that call too?’ We were instantly filled with joy because this is what we always had dreamed of.”

Miller (and his brother) red-shirted as a true freshman and began this season as fourth-string tailback. He made his debut in mop-up time in USC’s season-opening 73-13 blowout of Missouri State, running for a 75-yard touchdown.

The following week in a lopsided win over Georgia Southern, he scored on a 41-yard run late in the game. Then a rash of injuries to others kept bumping him up the depth chart.

His big splash came in Southern California’s sixth game, a 31-13 win over Michigan. Miller rushed 18 times for 158 yards and a touchdown.

A star and a great story were born.

“He’s a classic story of a guy that has talent,” said USC Coach Lincoln Riley. “He gets here. He works hard. He’s humble. Every single rep to him has been valuable, whether it’s a scout team rep or (if it) was in the weight room or anything. He never complains.”

What’s there to complain about?

OK, maybe that someone else on the team also wears jersey number 30, and that guy (safety Marquis Gallegos) actually has a scholarship. On that end, recently said that will be taken care of eventually.

That’s for both brothers, as Kaylon, is seeing the field as well.

“Those guys are clearly a matter of when, not if,” Riley said.

King Miller got his first college start at tailback Oct. 18 at Notre Dame and started Nov. 1 at Nebraska and last week at home against Northwestern. He had 131 yards rushing and a touchdown against Nebraska and 127 and one against Northwestern.

This week, he was named a finalist for the Burlsworth Trophy, which goes to the top player in the country who began his career as a walk-on.

“It’s just different preparation for the game (for me) now,” Miller said. “I think just going in there against Michigan, I was just trying to go in there and trying to get ready for what I was supposed to do that day (originally), which was catching kicks. But now it’s just game planning and preparing. Definitely easier going out there.”

USC’s offense is averaging 503.2 yards per game, including 303 through the air. Quarterback Jayden Maiava has emerged as a big-time passer in Riley’s high-octane offense, and Makai Lemon has a Big Ten Conference-high 61 receptions.

But Iowa also will have to worry about the powerful running style of Miller. The Hawkeyes did allow 261 yards rushing last week to Oregon.

“They’re a good team. You can’t discredit them, for sure,” Miller said. “I think we’ve just got to have a great week of preparation ... I think our offensive line has just got to go out there and do what they do. I don’t think there’s really too much to go into. I believe in these dudes.”

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