Mason Young
Tulsa World OU Sports Reporter
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NORMAN — If Oklahoma’s backup quarterback is anywhere near as good as its backup punter, then the Sooners will be just fine moving forward.
Grayson Miller has been a revelation for No. 5 OU in its last three games, averaging 51 yards per punt, which leads the nation.
Not bad for a reserve who only claimed the starting duties in light of fellow punter Jacob Ulrich’s hamstring injury. Four years ago, Miller wouldn’t have believed he’d be punting for the Sooners on Southeastern Conference Saturdays.
“Freshman year Grayson was just chilling on the bench at (Lubbock Christian University), trying to figure out what he was going to do with his life,” Miller said last week. “He’d be stoked and in disbelief, honestly, if he knew about this right here.”
After graduating from Deer Creek High School in Edmond, where he was the place kicker and punter, Miller began college playing for the soccer team at Division II Lubbock Christian University.
Miller appeared in just two games as a freshman, though, and ultimately transferred back home to Central Oklahoma, where he spent the past two years kicking off and punting for the Bronchos Division II football team.
OU coach Brent Venables said Miller reached out to Sooner special teams coordinator Doug Deakin to see if he could walk on.
Deakin gave Miller a shot and it’s paying off quite nicely for the Sooners and their booming leg. Miller has no doubt he belongs at OU.
“There were lots of signs and dreams that I had of being here,” Miller said. “One of them, on my birthday in 2023, there was a hot air balloon that landed in my mom’s backyard about three weeks after I started praying and asking God if I should be here. As it fell, and the logo of the balloon faced right toward my window, it said OU Sooners on it. I was like, ‘Holy smokes.’
“The very next day, I hit what’s now the second-biggest ball of my life. It was on the cover of my highlight video that got me here. I always felt like I was supposed to be here. That’s where my belief that I should be here lies. The success is really cool and fun. But without it, I still feel like I should be here.”
Miller impressed in OU’s Week 2 win over Michigan, with a longest punt of 59 yards and two punts that settled inside the opposing 20-yard line.
Then Miller booted the biggest kick of his college career in the SEC-opening win over Auburn. He walloped three 50-plus yard punts and, at the start of the second quarter, bopped a 66-yarder that saw Auburn’s return man tackled at the Tigers’ 3-yard line.
Backed up in its own end, Auburn struggled to move the ball. Then its own punter, Oklahoma State transfer Hudson Kaak, fumbled a bad snap, leading to OU’s first touchdown. And it all started with Miller’s swing of the leg.
“I actually woke up that morning sick, didn’t feel good at all,” Miller said. “I was in the hotel, coughing up stuff. I didn’t tell anybody because I didn’t want to make a big deal about it. I was just like, Lord, I need you to provide for me today because I’m not feeling great. Please help me out. It wound up being like the flu game. That was really cool.”
Miller was named the SEC special teams player of the week after that performance. Even better for Miller was that his close friend and former Lubbock Christian teammate, Trevin Walkowski, came to watch the Auburn game and hang out after.
Miller’s still very invested in the places that have helped him get to OU. During the Sooners’ bye week, Miller went back to Deer Creek and shared his journey with his alma mater’s Fellowship of Christian Athletes chapter.
As OU comes out of its bye to face Kent State Saturday, Miller brings encouragement to younger athletes who may be unsure of what their future holds.
“My story, to any of the younger guys, is just go do your thing,” Miller said. “Say lots of prayers and look for opportunities and take advantage of the opportunities you get, because I am the extreme case where I didn’t go to any camps. I did go to camps, but I didn’t go to any national-ranking camps.
“I had no stars coming out of high school and the good Lord provided for me because I just continually sought him. So that’d be my message. Just do the right things and look for opportunities and stay ready.”
mason.young@tulsaworld.com
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Mason Young
Tulsa World OU Sports Reporter
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