When Glen Miller used to arrive at Michael Locksley’s office, the conversation typically followed a familiar script. Miller had skipped a study hall, was late to practice or partied too much.
So when Locksley told Miller to meet him in his office this summer, Miller was concerned.
“I kind of thought I was in trouble. Like, ‘Dang, what am I going to Locks for? I didn’t do anything’,” Miller said.
This time was different. The Maryland football coach offered Miller the No. 1 jersey.
“You’ve been showing being a leader these last couple offseasons, putting it all on the line,” Miller recalled Locksley saying. “He was like, ‘There’s an open number and we’d be honored to have you wearing it.’”
The defensive back was initially hesitant. He questioned if he deserved the honor.
But Miller, understanding the number’s prestige,, accepted Locksley’s offer. It was the moment he always wanted, it just took longer than he expected.
Miller has finally become the player Maryland coaching staff envisioned when they plucked him out of Orange Park, Florida, in 2019. The versatile defensive back is poised for a breakout year as a redshirt senior, the kind that could land him in the NFL. It took four years, but he’s finally realizing his potential.
Miller will be one of Maryland’s game captains against Michigan State on Saturday in its Big Ten opener.
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“Glen has been a pain in my butt for three years,” Locksley said last year. “He is a poster child for what I hope this program can become for players … Nobody has grown more in this program than Glen Miller has.”
Miller would move from base to base with his mother, Janis Wilson, who served in the military for 15 years, including six years of active duty.
“It was difficult, especially with the kids,” Wilson said. “Glen used to complain that we keep moving.”
The pair made stops in South Carolina, Virginia, Utah, Texas, Arizona, California and Kuwait. Football and Wilson were Miller’s two constants in a nomadic childhood.
It wasn’t until the Millers moved to Orange Park that Glen saw “real football.” He picked Ridgeview High School, where he was First Team All-County on offense and defense his senior year. But collegiate offers were sparse.
The Terps attended his penultimate high school gameand extended his first Power Five offer that summer. He committed shortly after.
Upon his arrival on campus as a freshman, Miller struggled. He was 10 hours away from home, disappointed with his position on the depth chart and missed his mom.
“I’m almost constantly on him,” Wilson said. “I would get a lot of phone calls from a couple of his mentors [at Maryland].”
Conversations between Miller and Locksley became mundane. The coach told him the little things, such as being on time, would make him a better football player. Miller tuned him out.
“I was trying to find a way to go around it, do it my way,” Miller said. “But it wasn’t working that way.”
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Teammates tried to keep him on track. Dante Trader Jr., Miller’s friend and the son of a coach, learned how to be an opportunist a young age. It took Miller longer.
He played just 243 snaps in his first three seasons. Trader, who’s a year younger than Miller, was starting over him.
Something finally clicked when he entered his redshirt junior season. Seeing Beau Brade, Nick Cross and Tarheeb Still actualize their NFL dreams motivated him, he said .
“I think I just started seeing the vision that Locksley is putting out there,” Miller said. “I had to grow up a little bit.”
Miller appeared in all 13 games last season. In the Terps’ bowl game against Auburn, he returned an interception 44 yards for a touchdown.
Miller plays the star position in Maryland’s defense. As a hybrid defensive back, he can cover or blitz on any given snap. It’s a popular role in the NFL.
“The last guy I can remember that had this skill set that you see out of Glendon is [NFL All-Pro safety] Minkah Fitzpatrick,” Locksley said. “He’s a guy that will play on Sundays.”
Miller was Maryland’s highest-graded defender in its season opener against UConn, according to Pro Football Focus. He’s recorded an interception in three consecutive games including last season’s games.
For a long time, nothing clicked for Miller. He was an under-recruited, oft-unprepared player who struggled to break through. Now, the spotlight is on him.
“A couple years ago I probably wouldn’t have been equipped to handle it, but I probably would have wanted to,” Miller said. “So now that it’s here, I think it’s time for me to just put it all out there on the line and see what I could do.”
