Miller, Willis Make Presence Known in MSU Secondary

Oct. 22, 2015

By Steve Grinczel, MSUSpartans.com Online Columnist | @GrinzOnGreen

EAST LANSING, Mich. â€" Don't be misled by the term "redshirt."

Michigan State true freshmen defensive backs Grayson Miller and Khari Willis are prime examples that it isn't a license to loaf, a reason to simply go through the motions or an excuse to not be game-ready. Ten weeks ago, neither figured prominently into MSU's plans for the 2015 season. The idea was they would use this year to establish themselves academically, get acclimated to campus life and condition their bodies for the rigors of major college football without the added pressure of having to perform in front of thousands of fans every Saturday.

They were expected to work hard at practice, but in a perfect world they would begin competing for playing time â€" and maybe a starting position â€" next spring while looking forward to four seasons of eligibility ending in 2019.

However, injuries in the defensive secondary accelerated the timetable for both. Head coach Mark Dantonio removed Miller's redshirt in the second game and Willis' in the third. Their roles changed dramatically, from being interested observers to special-teams contributors and emergency backups able to fill in for a player ahead of them on the depth chart at a moment's notice.

Then last week, the competitive readiness factor that has always been in effect under Dantonio prompted him to promote Miller and Willis to the No. 1 defense. They made their first career starts in the always super-heated rivalry game against Michigan, in a hostile environment created by 111,000-plus fans, with MSU's championship aspirations on the line.

Miller and Willis are just the latest in a long line of Spartans showing that Dantonio and his assistant coaches mean it when they say: "best player plays."

Both were solid at the safety positions throughout the game. Miller had six tackles, including one behind the line, and Willis had three while helping MSU limit Michigan to 168 passing yards, its second-lowest total in seven games.

And on the game's astonishing last play, Miller's hit on U-M punter Blake O'Neill sent the ball flying toward Michigan State teammate Jalen Watts-Jackson, whose 38-yard fumble return for a touchdown as time expired gave the Spartans a 27-23 victory for the ages.

In some ways, everything has changed for Miller and Willis. For one, '18 will be their final season if they stay on schedule. "After the game, you have people calling you and texting you that you haven't talked to in forever, which is great," Miller said. "People are watching from back home, wherever it is. And you have people congratulating you in classes and stuff. But as great of a win as it was, it's like you can't quite appreciate it enough because you have to go on to the next week and focus on that." In others, nothing has.

Miller's father, John, put on one of the greatest performances in Michigan State history with four interceptions in a 17-11 win over Michigan in 1987. He also passed a work ethic down to his son that made such a quick transition possible.

"Anyone who's ever known me knows that's just been my mentality; that's something my dad instilled in me," Miller said. "If you go out there and not giving everything you have, then you're just embarrassing yourself and why are you even out there?

"I think that's the mentality with almost everyone on this team. Our scout team busts their butt every single day. My first two weeks, I was on the scout team. My season's been a rollercoaster so far, from not traveling to the first game (at Western Michigan) to where I'm at right now. That's a self-motivation thing. I can't let somebody beat me down because I'm not giving everything I have."

Unlike his father, who came to MSU from Farmington Hills Harrison as the top-rated player in Michigan, Miller was lightly recruited after breaking his leg in the first game of his senior season at Georgetown (Kentucky) Scott County High School. His only scholarship offer, before attending MSU's summer camp, was from Western Kentucky.

Nevertheless, as long as there was even a scintilla of getting on the field this season, Miller wasn't going to let it pass him by because he wasn't prepared.

"As a football player, you always want to play, especially for me because I missed my whole senior year," Miller said. "I really wanted to play (but) I didn't really know exactly how to go about it. You don't want to say one way or another because redshirting is not a bad thing, but if you can play, you need to play.

"They thought I was ready to go and when they asked me if I wanted to do it, I was 100-percent on board…, 150 percent."

Michigan State's depth in the secondary was challenged from the beginning when Darian Hicks, who started 10 games at cornerback last season, came down with mononucleosis in preseason camp. After starting cornerback Vayante Copeland sustained a season-ending neck injury in the second game, against Oregon, co-defensive coordinator and secondary coach Harlon Barnett was rearranging the furniture in the back end in some interesting combinations.

Barnett's third different lineup had junior Demetrious Cox, who began his career as a safety but started the first four games at cornerback, back at safety against Purdue with Hicks returning to his corner spot. But when safety and fifth-year senior leader RJ Williamson tore his biceps against the Boilermakers, Barnett trotted out his fourth different lineup at Rutgers, where Hicks was sidelined indefinitely with a head injury.

Feeling the need to put Cox back at corner against Michigan, Barnett went to work on his fifth starting lineup in seven games.

Enter Miller and Willis, who are cramming for the up-tempo test they'll get on Saturday against high-scoring Indiana.

Willis, rated among the nation's top safeties while at Jackson Lumen Christi last season and a well-seasoned AAU basketball player, wasn't overwhelmed by the moment at Michigan.

"I wasn't a deer in the headlights," he said. "You dream of something so many times you feel like you're living in it. I was really ready for it because I dreamt about it so many times. It wasn't just another game, especially playing against them, but I wasn't nervous or anything like that. I was ready to play."

Miller and Willis could become a recognizable tandem for years to come.

"We talk every day (and) we've got some classes together," Willis said. "We're close and we're getting closer and closer. We're very similar (people). We're both pretty laid back. We don't really do much (outside of football), just kind of chill, school-first, that type of deal.

"Since we've been here, we've looked at each other like we fit and we complement each other. He said that to me in week one â€" he said we're going to have a lot of fun here and I said I agree with you because as soon as we learn this stuff we're gonna be all right."

Willis also maintained a high-alert attitude even when it appeared all of his playing this season would be done on the practice field.

"You just got to work hard and be ready," Willis said. "Coach B told us his story how he didn't expect to play but was ready and when he got in and he was in there ever since. It worked out for him, obviously, when you take a look at his career."

Barnett played sparingly for the Spartans as a red-shirt sophomore backup in '86 but cracked the starting lineup in the fourth game of the following season, playing alongside John Miller. Barnett went from being "perhaps MSU's most under-rated player," according to the 1988 Michigan State Media Guide, to earning All-America honors as a senior and playing seven seasons in the NFL.

"You've just got to be ready," Willis said. "I knew that I had a guy like RJ Williamson ahead of me, but that didn't take away from me working hard. I just wanted to learn. And at this place, it's really like you are playing in a game every day. You don't have a choice because you don't want to look bad."

Willis learned early on that there's no place for the timid or meek on MSU's defense.

"We listen to the older guys, obviously, but we talk and we have to handle it ourselves," he said. "You've got to have a voice and know what you're doing or you can't play. I was comfortable from the get-go (at Michigan) with as much trash as they talk and the crowd â€" that's the type of stuff that gets me going."

Michigan State's secondary has been a key area of concern since long before the injury-bug struck because of the early departure of cornerback Trae Waynes, the No. draft choice of the Minnesota Vikings last spring, and the graduation of safety Kurtis Drummond (Houston Texans: practice squad).

But, things appear to be looking up due to an infusion of new blood.

"I was impressed with how Grayson Miller and Khari Willis played as true freshmen in that environment," Dantonio said. "They are only going to continue to get more accustomed and feel better â€" not as much anxiety, and they are very level-headed. They are both very meticulous people, and they are very tough-minded. "Grayson was valedictorian of his high school class. Khari is an excellent student, as well. Khari was a basketball player, played for AAU teams all over the country and was a mid-major recruit in basketball. He's used to being on a big stage and playing around major college players, so he's not intimidated by the situation at all. He's a very aggressive player. They are active players at a young age, but I think both those guys could be very, very good players for us."