RB Miller commits to Kansas

By Matt Tait     Mar 4, 2010

There may be a Powercat on his high school helmet, but Blue Springs (Mo.) High junior running back Darrian Miller recently made it clear that he prefers Jayhawks.

Late Wednesday night, Miller, 5-foot-10, 180 pounds, posted on his Facebook page that he had committed to Kansas. “Darrian Miller is now a Jayhawk,” the post read. Fifty-seven comments — most of them congratulatory — and 27 “likes” followed.

Early Thursday morning, Rivals.com confirmed that Miller had, in fact, notified KU assistant coach Reggie Mitchell of his decision while attending the KU-Kansas State basketball game Wednesday night.

“It had been on my mind since I went to their Junior Day,” said Miller, the Simone Award runner-up in 2009. “But I just didn’t really know when was a good time (to commit). After talking to coach Mitchell a little more at the game (Wednesday), I just felt there was really no reason to wait. People have asked me about de-commitments and whatnot, but I honestly don’t see that in my future. If I had any doubt in my mind, then I wouldn’t have made the decision. No one pressured me. This was really just me.”

For Miller, a Darren McFadden (Oakland Raiders) type of back, who rushed for 2,798 yards and 37 touchdowns in 14 games during 2009, the decision to commit to Kansas was as much about going with what felt right as it was about keeping the Kansas City-area talent close to home.

“That’s what I’m trying to do,” Miller said. “And I’m trying to bring a few with me.”

For KU coach Turner Gill, Miller represents the first big catch in the Class of 2011. Recruiting analyst Jon Kirby, of Rivals.com, said he expected Miller to be ranked near the top of the list of running backs in Missouri when the rankings for the Class of 2011 are released.

“And let me tell you something,” Kirby added. “It’s a very good class for running backs in Missouri this year.”

In committing to Kansas, Miller follows in the footsteps of Blue Springs High senior Keeston Terry, a four-star wide receiver in the Class of 2010, who signed with KU in February.

The Kansas staff also is recruiting Miller’s teammate, junior cornerback Bernard Thomas.

In addition to Kansas, Miller received offers from Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Kansas State. In the end, Miller said he decided it was time to look into trading in the Powercat.

“Just one more (year of that),” Miller said. “But I can handle it.”

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Written By Matt Tait

A native of Colorado, Matt moved to Lawrence in 1988 and has been in town ever since. He graduated from Lawrence High in 1996 and the University of Kansas in 2000 with a degree in Journalism. After covering KU sports for the University Daily Kansan and Rivals.com, Matt joined the World Company (and later Ogden Publications) in 2001 and has held several positions with the paper and KUsports.com in the past 20+ years. He became the Journal-World Sports Editor in 2018. Throughout his career, Matt has won several local and national awards from both the Associated Press Sports Editors and the Kansas Press Association. In 2021, he was named the Kansas Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. Matt lives in Lawrence with his wife, Allison, and two daughters, Kate and Molly. When he's not covering KU sports, he likes to spend his time playing basketball and golf, listening to and writing music and traveling the world with friends and family.