By Langston Wertz Jr.
lwertz@charlotteobserver.com
Back in 2008, when Charlotte Christian would ultimately beat Charlotte Latin 15-0 in the state championship game, Christian football coach Jason Estep struck up a friendship with Mike Miller, who was a student at nearby Covenant Day. Miller was buddies with several of Estep’s players and often found himself on campus.
Last year, Miller was a student assistant coach at Clemson, and he worked the national championship game when Clemson lost to Alabama. Miller graduated last December, just before the Alabama game, and was looking for a job after Clemson ended its season. Estep offered him the Knights’ offensive coordinator job after Steve Shaughnessy retired.
Miller, a former quarterback at Ala.-Birmingham, has installed a version of Clemson’s offense that has Christian rolling.
The Knights beat New Covenant 56-0 Friday night and are 7-0. Christian is averaging 45 points, nearly double what the Knights averaged in 2015, when their run of three straight N.C. Independent Schools championships ended in the state semifinals. In fact, this is the most points the Knights have averaged since 1994.
Christian is running an offense that looks similar in formation and approach to what Clemson coach Dabo Swinney’s team runs.
“It was strategic planning to bring him in,” Estep said. “I knew that he knew the personnel we had and we figured it would be a good fit. I just didn’t think it would happen this quick. I thought it might take until next year for it to click. But Mike’s taking things he learned at UAB and things he learned from Clemson. It’s his own deal with a little spin on it.”
How Miller got to Christian is an interesting story.
During the fall of 2014, he met former Alabama quarterback Jay Barker while working a youth football game that Barker was helping coach. Miller told Barker he wanted to coach. A few months later, Barker called Woody McCorvey, Swinney’s old position coach at Alabama, where Swinney was once a walk-on receiver. McCorvey was now Clemson’s associate athletics director for football administration.
"I called Woody and told him about Mike because I thought they might be able to help him," Barker told Fox Sports. "I knew Woody would be impressed with him."
So, Miller ends up at Clemson a few days before the Tigers beat Oklahoma 40-6 in Orlando, Fla., at the Russell Athletic Bowl -- and McCorvey took Miller into Swinney’s office.
Miller told his story of being a walk-on quarterback at UAB, about earning a scholarship, about doing whatever he could to help at Clemson. Miller also told Clemson’s coach that he was staying in the area with family friends who happened to be friends of Swinney.
Miller got an intern job, and with some help from Swinney got a waiver to finish his degree under scholarship from UAB while working as a student assistant at Clemson. Ultimately, Miller became one of several staffers signaling in calls for the Tigers from the sideline.
Now, he’s taking what he learned and trying to help Charlotte Christian return to a state championship game.
“It’s a pretty interesting story,” Estep said. “He grew up in Charlotte and grew up with guys who played with me. We stayed in touch and I knew he was a good coach and we were able to bring him in. His scheme has helped. It’s allowing us to get our athletes the ball in the right spots and it’s a tempo offense, and our quarterback (Garrett Shrader) and running back (Justus Woods) are very good. And even though they were here last year, the scheme plays in their favor.”
lwertz@charlotteobserver.com
Back in 2008, when Charlotte Christian would ultimately beat Charlotte Latin 15-0 in the state championship game, Christian football coach Jason Estep struck up a friendship with Mike Miller, who was a student at nearby Covenant Day. Miller was buddies with several of Estep’s players and often found himself on campus.
Last year, Miller was a student assistant coach at Clemson, and he worked the national championship game when Clemson lost to Alabama. Miller graduated last December, just before the Alabama game, and was looking for a job after Clemson ended its season. Estep offered him the Knights’ offensive coordinator job after Steve Shaughnessy retired.
Miller, a former quarterback at Ala.-Birmingham, has installed a version of Clemson’s offense that has Christian rolling.
The Knights beat New Covenant 56-0 Friday night and are 7-0. Christian is averaging 45 points, nearly double what the Knights averaged in 2015, when their run of three straight N.C. Independent Schools championships ended in the state semifinals. In fact, this is the most points the Knights have averaged since 1994.
Christian is running an offense that looks similar in formation and approach to what Clemson coach Dabo Swinney’s team runs.
“It was strategic planning to bring him in,” Estep said. “I knew that he knew the personnel we had and we figured it would be a good fit. I just didn’t think it would happen this quick. I thought it might take until next year for it to click. But Mike’s taking things he learned at UAB and things he learned from Clemson. It’s his own deal with a little spin on it.”
How Miller got to Christian is an interesting story.
During the fall of 2014, he met former Alabama quarterback Jay Barker while working a youth football game that Barker was helping coach. Miller told Barker he wanted to coach. A few months later, Barker called Woody McCorvey, Swinney’s old position coach at Alabama, where Swinney was once a walk-on receiver. McCorvey was now Clemson’s associate athletics director for football administration.
"I called Woody and told him about Mike because I thought they might be able to help him," Barker told Fox Sports. "I knew Woody would be impressed with him."
So, Miller ends up at Clemson a few days before the Tigers beat Oklahoma 40-6 in Orlando, Fla., at the Russell Athletic Bowl -- and McCorvey took Miller into Swinney’s office.
Miller told his story of being a walk-on quarterback at UAB, about earning a scholarship, about doing whatever he could to help at Clemson. Miller also told Clemson’s coach that he was staying in the area with family friends who happened to be friends of Swinney.
Miller got an intern job, and with some help from Swinney got a waiver to finish his degree under scholarship from UAB while working as a student assistant at Clemson. Ultimately, Miller became one of several staffers signaling in calls for the Tigers from the sideline.
Now, he’s taking what he learned and trying to help Charlotte Christian return to a state championship game.
“It’s a pretty interesting story,” Estep said. “He grew up in Charlotte and grew up with guys who played with me. We stayed in touch and I knew he was a good coach and we were able to bring him in. His scheme has helped. It’s allowing us to get our athletes the ball in the right spots and it’s a tempo offense, and our quarterback (Garrett Shrader) and running back (Justus Woods) are very good. And even though they were here last year, the scheme plays in their favor.”
