Freshman QB continues to show promise for Wittenberg after strong finish last fall

Miller, a Williamsburg High School graduate from east of Cincinnati, made strides during spring practice, which concluded last week.

“He’s grown a lot,” Collins said. “When you get thrown into that as a freshman, your head’s kind of spinning. Since then, he has spent a lot of time in the offseason, watching film and studying the game, as well as hitting the weight room really hard in the winter, doing all the things you’re able to do with The Steamer to improve. And it showed in the spring.”

In the last four weeks, Miller helped lead Wittenberg to victories against Oberlin, Wooster and Hiram — three teams at the bottom of the North Coast Athletic Conference standings. He also helped engineer a near upset of Wabash, completing 21 of 28 passes with three passing touchdowns and one rushing touchdowns. The Tigers lost 31-28 when Wabash scored a go-ahead touchdown in the final minute.

In his six starts after replacing returning starter Max Milton, Miller completed 97 of 147 passes for 1,596 yards with 17 touchdowns and no interceptions. He rushed 62 times for 230 yards and three touchdowns.

“He’s dynamic,” Collins said. “He’s a dual threat. He’s accurate. He knows what to do with the football. He’s got the type of arm where he can make all the throws, but he’s also explosive as a runner. He had some really explosive runs last year. He was always very athletic. He’s got quick feet. The other part of it is he’s aggressive from a running standpoint. He’s not afraid to take off and fight for extra yardage.”

Wittenberg finished 6-4 overall and 4-3 in the NCAC in 2024, Collins’ third season, after a 7-3 record (6-2 NCAC) in 2023 and 5-5 record (4-4 NCAC) in 2022.

Wittenberg hasn’t won or shared the NCAC title since 2019. It’s the program’s longest drought since joining the conference in 1989. Collins enters his fourth season with a group hungry to return to championship form.

“I think our culture and our chemistry is strong,” he said. “It’s a group that understands Wittenberg tradition and Wittenberg football and is very unsatisfied with how the overall record was last year. We started playing a lot better in the second half of the season. Even though we lost that Wabash game, you saw something there. You saw a spark that maybe wasn’t there a little bit earlier in the season. There’s a lot of growth that happened. We’ve had a great offseason building momentum.”

Wittenberg returns key offensive players around Miller, including leading rushers Christian Manville, Omar Holloway and T.J. Meeks, plus Josiah Payne, who missed the season with an injury.

On defense, Wittenberg returns its leading tackler, linebacker Tyre Smith, and lineman Dalton Allen, who set a school record with five sacks against Kenyon.

“(Allen) had a great spring,” Collins said, “and he’s really emerged as a leader on that defense.”

Collins mentioned linebackers Andrew Stamps and Aiden Dawson and defensive backs Luke Jackson and Brady Ridder as other players who played well in the spring.

Wittenberg players will report to campus for fall camp on Aug. 12 and start practice two days later. The Tigers open the season at home against Baldwin Wallace on Sept. 6. Baldwin Wallace. Wittenberg lost 24-14 at Baldwin Wallace in the 2024 opener, which was the first meeting between the former Ohio Athletic Conference rivals since 1999.

Wittenberg will play another former OAC rival in the 2025 season. John Carroll enters the NCAC this season. It finished second behind perennial national powerhouse Mount Union in its last five seasons in the OAC, not counting the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. John Carroll plays at Wittenberg on Oct. 11.

In other Wittenberg news, Collins has added several new coaches to his staff, including former Shawnee High School head coach Rick Meeks, who will serve as a volunteer assistant, and Scott Browning, a former head coach at Edinboro.

“He’s got a lot of experience and a lot of passion and a lot of energy,” Collins said, “and he’s taken over as the O-line coach. He had a great spring with those guys.”