Husky Roster Review: Linebacker Strives for More Miller Time

The many layers of University of Washington football are not hard to explain.

Of the 100-plus athletes who will show up for fall camp, scholarship or no scholarship, all should be considered exceptional athletes in their own right, having been all-something somewhere. They have to be in order to draw a uniform and be able to receive practice time.

Next are the guys who eventually find their way onto the field on game day, no matter the circumstances, whether it's as a special-teams player or in mop-up duty or something far more extended and meaningful.

Finally, there are the starters or rotational players who pull a lot of game snaps and have a big hand in determining the outcome on Saturday.

For Griffin Miller, two out of three make it worth for him. Now entering his fourth season as a walk-on linebacker in Montlake, he is one of just four non-scholarship players on the roster who have appeared in a Husky game, which 20 years from now he can hold up as a proud badge of honor to anyone who asks about his college days.

Typical of his take-whatever-scraps-he-can existence, the 6-foot-2, 227-pound Miller played against Colorado as a freshman in 2022 and got on the field against Tulsa, Michigan State and California as a sophomore in 2023. He didn't play a snap this past season, yet he keeps coming back.

Jonathan Epperson and Griffin Miller tangle in a linebacker drill. | Skylar Lin Visuals

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 this past spring and what to expect from them going forward.

Miller came to the UW from Eastlake High School, where he was a first-team All-KingCo selection at both linebacker and tight end for a 4A state semifinalist team. Further demonstrating his athleticism, he also played for Eastlake's typically high-profile baseball program.

For spring football, Miller typically took the field with the third-team defense. While he might have been a step slower or not nearly as nimble as the players ahead of him, he was to be commended for playing fearlessly in practice, sometimes taking a beating.

Rewarded during his freshman campaign, he was twice named special-teams scout player of the week following wins over Jedd Fisch's Arizona team and Colorado in 2022.

After playing in games in his first two seasons and then not at all last fall, Miller's immediate goal should be to convince Fisch's staff that he's worthy of Saturday snaps again.

Griffin Miller looks on t the East field during spring practice. | Skylar Lin Visuals

GRIFFIN MILLER FILE:

What he's done: Again, Miller's four appearances make him one of four walk-ons on the roster to receive game time, along with edge rusher Milton Hopkins Jr. (18), safety Tristan Warner (5) and wide receiver Luke Luchini (2). He has 4 career tackles, with 3 coming in the Huskies' 43-10 victory over Tulsa in 2023.

Starter or not: No, he won't be a college starter unless he drops down a level. No shame in that. He seems to enjoy being part of the UW football program. In Brian Odom, he has his third different linebackers coach in three seasons, which means there's no pre-conceived notions about what kind of player he is and always a chance to get into games again.

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