With defenses focusing its efforts on Antonio Harmon, someone on the Kosciusko offense is being left alone.
It seems that person is running back Zavier Miller, the last player to named to the Star-Herald Top 11 Players to Watch for the upcoming football season. Others previously announced to the list are Harmon, Devonte’ Ellis and Paul Wood of Kosciusko High School; Izik Stewart and Lanarkes Davis of Ethel High School; Percy Lewis and Bubba Ward of McAdams High School; Bradley Edwards of French Camp Academy; Wykece Johnson of Central Holmes Christian School and Thomas Costilow of Winona Christian School.
Not long after being chosen for the Star-Herald Eleven To Watch list, Miller suffered a severe shoulder injury while playing basketball and had to have surgery.
Kosciusko head football coach Kelly Causey said he hopes to have Miller back by the middle of the season.
“From the reports I’m getting, he’s ahead of schedule,” Causey said. “It’s looking optimistic that he will be back early. We are hoping to get him back soon. Once he comes back, we will have to work him back in because he has missed so much time. We feel like he will still be a huge asset for us once he comes back.”
Causey said Miller has been at practice when he is not at physical therapy.
“He has been a real leader for us,” Causey said. “He has been at practice trying to motivate the kids and help the ones that are in there. He’s paying attention to what we are doing and has picked that up. I know we will be extremely healthy once he gets back.”
Miller returns for his senior season after leading the Whippets in rushing with 814 yards on 112 carries, an average of 7.3 yards a carry. He also led the Whippets with seven touchdowns. He also had a team-high 23 catches for 372 yards. He had four 100-yard rushing games last year with a season-high 171 yards against New Hope. Miller blossomed as a sophomore when he rushed for 476 yards on 67 carries, including a career-high 216 yards on 12 carries against Florence.
“Zavier has been a running back around here forever,” Causey said. "Ever since he was a little kid, he was the guy. The last two years, he has done a good job for us. Last year as an underclassman, he was our captain. He has a lot of athletic ability and is a good football player. He can play multiple spots on the offense and defense. He is a pretty good tackler on the defensive side of he football, so he is an all-around good football player. He is a very elusive running back and also plays defensive back for us. We have really high expectations for him for his senior season.”
Causey expected Miller’s role will change some this year as the Whippets go from a flexbone offense to a more traditional spread look.
“It will change a little bit with the new offense,” Causey said. “We might be throwing it to him more this year. I think we are going to play him at running back and at slot receiver as well. He does a great job of catching the ball and running routes so we are going to utilize that. We will be more power and that fits him. We went to the I last year at the end of the year and he did fine with that. He is a guy that is not as heavy as you would like to have in the I, but he is a strong kid for his size. He proved to us last year that he could run out of the I.”
Miller said he likes the new offense and thinks it will be good for his stats page.
“I really like the new offense,” Miller said. “I like it better because I like getting the football. I think I should get more touches this year. We are just working on getting everybody on the same page.”
Miller will also play cornerback as well for the Whippets.
“He is a good cornerback,” Causey said. "With him touching the ball as much as he did last year, we had to put some other people in there so he could get a break. He could start at that position just as well. We feel like we have more depth at corner that will be able to give him a break.”
Causey said Miller has done a good job helping the younger players understand what they are supposed to be doing.
“He has had to be a leader for us,” Causey said. "He has been doing a good job for us. He has done a good job of picking up the offense. You know the kids pick it up faster than we do as coaches. Sometimes we get set in our ways in how we call things and do things. We struggle with it; they don’t. Kids are like a sponge at that age and Xavier has done a good job with it.”
Causey said not only is Miller a good football player but is also a good citizen.
“He is a good kid,” Causey said. “He volunteers at the school. He and Antonio (Harmon) were passing out booklets at graduation. He does a lot of that stuff. He works at the Boys and Girls club in the summer and likes working with kids.”
When not playing football, Miller plays point guard on the basketball team for the Whippets and runs track. Miller said when he is not at school, he is a self-proclaimed country kid who likes rabbit and deer hunting and riding four wheelers.
