Huskies Patiently Waiting For Miller Time in Montlake

If there was a hypothetical trade involved, the University of Washington football team effectively shipped Denzel Boston off to Ohio in exchange for Bodpegn Miller, with players to be named later coming from elsewhere.

It was one 6-foot-4 wide receiver for another.

One polished pass-catcher for a guy wearing training wheels.

It was Boston delivered to the Cleveland Browns through the NFL Draft for Miller pulled from the transfer portal away from Ohio State and Mansfield, Ohio, before that.

The extremely long and lean Miller -- affectionately known as "BP" matching the lead syllables in his Ethiopian first name -- showed up in Montlake this spring along with Kennesaw State transfer Christian Moss and Texas high schooler Jordan Clay, with each looking to replace Boston, who was flanked outside.

"I like the height," UW coach Jedd Fisch said. "We wanted to make sure that when we lost Denzel that we were able to find guys who fit certain measurables. I thought that Christian, who's 6-3; BP, who's close to 6-4; and Jordan Clay, who's close to 6-4, all being in that in X wide receiver position will really help us continue to be able to do what we did in that spot."

Bodpegn Miller arrived from Ohio State to join the UW this spring. | Dave Sizer photo

This is one in a series of articles -- going from 0 to 99 on the Husky roster -- examining what each scholarship player and leading walk-on did in spring practice and what to expect from them going into fall camp.

The unusual circumstances surrounding the three aforementioned receivers is each came up lame during UW spring practice and missed a large portion of it, with a pulled hamstring muscle largely to blame in most instances.

Miller, a redshirt freshman and a converted quarterback from high school, missed the first three weeks of practice before he received medical clearance to take part in the April activities.

Bodpegn Miller transferred from Ohio State to the UW. | Dave Sizer photo

He didn't show up in scrimmage play until the Huskies' 11th practice, when he caught a look-in pass from Elijah Brown for 8 yards, four plays before everything ended that day.

Miller, who was born in Ethiopia, adopted and brought to the U.S. when he was 5, initially was part of a second-team UW receiving corps that included freshmen Mason James and Trez Davis, with everyone new to Montlake.

In the 12th practice, Miller was targeted four times as the Huskies really tried to see what he could do.

Redshirt freshman quarterback Kini McMillan threw one his way, but the new guy was held on the play by cornerback Elias Johnson, who got away with, and the ball fell incomplete.

Miller next caught a 6-yard pass from Brown and took a hard hit, then circled back to catch a 31-yarder from the same QB -- his spring breakthrough moment -- to put the offense on the 2-yard line.

Looking to take advantage of his height, Brown next lobbed one to the back of the end zone for Miller, but freshmen corner Elijah Durr and safety Gavin Day knocked the ball away.

Still, the possibilities look endless for this Midwest kid originally from the Middle East.

What he's done: Miller spent the 2025 season at Ohio State making the conversion from QB to WR and didn't appear in any Buckeyes games. On the high school level, he had a proven track record at Mansfield's Ontario High School as a big-play performer over two seasons by passing for 4,544 yards and 39 touchdowns and rushing for 2,991 yards and 38 scores. He also played in the secondary and intercepted 3 passes and punted and kicked off.

Starter or not: He's got a ways to go before he's a finished product and receives game-day snaps, but he has four seasons of eligibility remaining. A reasonable goal for him to shoot for would be to become a starter or a significant passing-game contributor by the 2028 season, when the Huskies travel to Ohio State for the next game between the schools.

Add us as a preferred source on Google