By John Shinn
Oklahoma offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson has dealt with injuries all season. With each player who went down, be it quarterback, tight end, offensive lineman, or running back, changes were made.
Finally, a couple weeks ago, Wilson decided enough was enough.
"Leave guys where they are," he said. "We're gaining. Let's gain some confidence."
Sophomore wide receiver Dejuan Miller provided firm evidence that philosophy has worked. He had a career-high nine catches for 94 yards last week against Kansas State.
Calling it a breakout performance is something even Miller agrees with. But it was also something that Miller believes happened because he finally feels settled in on what he's doing.
"I know I'm talented and I know I can play at a high level on any given Saturday," Miller said. "It was just a matter of time and that time came Saturday."
The Sooners need Miller to keep doing what he did Saturday. They know they have a very good receiver in Ryan Broyles, but Miller brings something to the table that OU's missed most of this season.
He's not the small shifty type, who can get the ball close to the line of scrimmage and make several defenders miss.
Miller is a big receiver. He's 6-foot-4 and 225 pounds. He can catch balls over the middle and absorb the hits that come with them. He can also out-jump and out-muscle cornerbacks for balls.
He did those things against Kansas State on a relatively consistent basis, bringing some excitement to the Sooner coaching staff.
"With success, comes confidence. He's practicing better, he's playing better," Wilson said. "It's all snowballing in a real strong way for him."
But similar things were being said after Miller had five catches for 67 yards Oct. 3 against Baylor. Then he was rarely on the field the following week against Texas. The Sooners were still shifting around receivers because they didn't know for sure when they'd have Ryan Broyles back from a broken shoulder blade. Broyles played most of the game, but Miller got lost in the shuffle.
"It was disappointing, frustrating to go through that," Miller admitted.
But that loss to Texas had one positive outcome. Wilson's declaration that OU needed to let its players get settled in and learn one spot had a very positive effect on Miller.
When OU took the field at Kansas Oct. 24, Miller was there with Broyles, having moved outside to complement Broyles' slot-position playmaking. Landry Jones hit Miller for passes on OU's first two plays of what turned into a tone-setting touchdown drive.
That performance led into what he did against the Wildcats.
"I've always had confidence in him," he said of Miller. "I've seen what he does in practice and what he's done since spring. He's a hard-working kid. He's going to make every play for you."
The Sooners are hoping the snowball effect continues Saturday night at Nebraska. Miller has confidence it will.
"I think I really showed OU and everybody that I'm here. I'm ready to play ball," he said.
John Shinn 366-3536 jshinn@normantranscript.com
