Just as many anticipated when word of his name entering the transfer portal became public knowledge earlier this week, Ben Miles found his new football home at the University of Kansas.
Formerly a fullback at Texas A & M, the son of KU head coach Les Miles officially joined the Jayhawks on Thursday, the first day of preseason camp.
Following KU’s first August practice on Friday, the man who has known Ben all of his life, his father and head coach, indicated the newest Miles on campus could contribute this season, as he will be immediately eligible.
“I think he’s a pretty talented athlete. He came from a place with pretty talented players. So I think he can help,” Les Miles said of Ben, a walk-on with the Jayhawks. “I think he comes with a great disposition. I think he’s a football player. I think he’s a competitor. Talent? We’ll have to see. I think he’s pretty talented.”
KU’s head coach also revealed that his son, Ben, will be eligible to play this season. The NCAA passed legislation that allows student-athletes who aren’t on athletic scholarship at their previous school to become immediately eligible once they join a program at a different school. Ben walked on at A & M and will do the same at KU, clearing his path to play instead of sitting out a year.
Listed at 6-foot-2 and 240 pounds on KU’s roster, Ben Miles was considered one of the top fullbacks in the nation in the Class of 2017 and rated a three-star prospect by Rivals. He signed with Nebraska after completing his prep career at Catholic High, in Baton Rouge, La. At the time, he reportedly picked up scholarship offers from programs such as Boston College, Michigan State and Purdue.
The youngest son in the Miles family redshirted with the Cornhuskers in 2017 before transferring to A & M, where he was a walk-on and only appeared in one game in 2018.
It seems a larger role could be in store for him at KU, although there are other fullbacks, of course, whom Miles would have to beat out during camp to make that happen. The latest KU roster lists four fullbacks: Miles, senior Hudson Hall, sophomore Sam Schroeder and redshirt freshman Spencer Roe, a Free State High graduate who this past spring played nose tackle on the defensive line.
Ben Miles joins his older brother, Manny, in playing for their father at Kansas. Earlier this year, Manny Miles, a former walk-on quarterback at North Carolina, entered the portal as a graduate transfer and eventually enrolled at KU.
Les Miles said Friday he looks forward to having both of his sons around. Although he admitted coaching them came with some hesitation at the team’s first preseason practice, when he went to grab one of them for a “teaching” moment.
“And I didn’t know if it was exactly what I should do,” the head coach shared, “or be like, ‘Hey, somebody else coach this kid, would you?’ But it’s a joy to be honest with you. They get no advantage. But it’s fun for dad to see those two big boys running around and competing.”
A reserve quarterback and potential holder for KU on special teams, Manny joined the program earlier this summer and is listed at 6-2 and 240 pounds.
Ben will wear No. 29 for the Jayhawks, and Manny will play in No. 14.
???? is back!! Happy 1st day of practice to my boys of Fall ???? pic.twitter.com/QSU1dDeJ52
— Smacker Miles (@smackermiles) August 2, 2019