Chris Miller is taking on more responsibility in 2020

BOULDER — Earlier this offseason Colorado defensive coordinator Tyson Summers called cornerback Chris Miller. Miller had told Summers that he wanted to do more for the Buffs’ defense in his junior year and Summers found a way to make that happen:

Miller was going to try playing safety.

“I have more responsibility,” Miller told reporters a little over a week ago. “I can play in the box, can get around and be physical.”

Mikial Onu ran out of eligibility after last year and Aaron Maddox transferred to Southern Illinois halfway through the season. That left Derrion Rakestraw as the only safety on the roster with meaningful experience playing safety.

Meanwhile, the Buffs’ cornerbacks room was overflowing; Miller missed most of the season with a knee injury, as did Mehki Blackmon. In their absence, a handful of young corners — like K.J. Trujillo, Tarik Luckett and Dylan Thomas — showed they had the talent to play Pac-12 football.

But the numbers game wasn’t the only reason Summers wanted Miller to play safety; his physicality played a part in the decision also, as did his understanding of the defense.

“The communication is the same for both corners and safeties, except the safeties make the calls,” Miller said. “So, now I have that power. I think I love it.”

Senior linebacker Nate Landman will continue to direct the front-seven, but Miller’s fingerprints will be all over the coverages for CU in 2020. Before each play, he must ask himself a list of questions, like:

• “Which is the strong side of the formation?”
• “How many receivers are on each side of the field?”
• “How wide are the receivers split?”

Then, based on the answers to those questions, he needs to remember what the defense’s rules dictate what the coverage should be and what techniques should be used. Miller then communicates those “checks” to his defensive backs.

That should be easier to do in Year Two of the Buffs new defensive scheme.

“We were all excited to have Coach Summers back,” Miller said. “He is a great D.C., in my opinion. And all the new coaches that we’ve had, they have all brought a bunch of new knowledge to us and we’ve all loved it.”

If all goes well, Miller and the rest of the Buffs’ defense will combine the continuity with the new blood to take a step forward this season.

“Everybody is taking their responsibility (more) seriously now,” Miller said. “That is what I like to see out of them.”