Carved into the hair of University of Miami redshirt freshman Lamar Miller is his last name, followed by a clock.
Get it? It's Miller time.
One of the fastest players on a team full of sprinters, Miller showed off his speed when he returned a first-quarter kickoff 88 yards for a touchdown in the Hurricanes' 36-24 loss to Ohio State last Saturday.
Miller caught Drew Basil's kickoff at the 12-yard line, made one nifty move to his left and flew by the rest of Ohio State's coverage for UM's first touchdown on a kickoff return since Riviera Beach's Devin Hester ran one back 100 yards against North Carolina State on Oct. 23, 2004.
"Nobody's going to catch him,"
ESPN announcer Brad Nessler said even though Miller still had another 40 yards to go.
"The blockers did a great job,"
said the 5-foot-11, 210-pound Miller. "I saw a crease and ran as fast as I could."
Miller, a tailback, has played in only two games for the Hurricanes, but he's already made his mark. In the season-opening 45-0 rout of Florida A&M, Miller led all rushers with 65 yards on 11 carries and a touchdown. He also caught an 8-yard pass, returned a punt for 15 yards and added a 34-yard kickoff return while earning ACC Rookie of the Week honors.
Through two games, Miller ranks fifth nationally in kickoff returns with a 44.7-yard average.
"All he needs is the ball in his hands,"
sophomore tailback Mike James said of Miller. "He has great speed and he knows what to do with it. I knew it was coming; just a matter of time."
Many thought it was Miller's time last year. As a senior at Miami Killian in 2008, Miller was regarded as one of the nation's top high school running backs after he led Miami-Dade County with 1,749 rushing yards.
Miller was impressive after arriving at UM, but got lost on the depth chart behind several veteran running backs and was redshirted.
Instead of griping, Miller made a name for himself on the scout team and on the Hurricanes' track team. In February, he finished sixth (6.86 seconds) in the 60 meters at the ACC Indoor Championships despite little preparation.
Miller returned to football for spring practice and turned in another strong showing. In one scrimmage, he rushed for 63 yards and two touchdowns, including a 44-yard touchdown that led coach Randy Shannon to compare Miller to former Hurricane greats Clinton Portis and Willis McGahee.
"I think it helped me out,"
Miller said of sitting out last season. "I wasn't sad. It helped me be around the older guys - Javarris James, Graig Cooper and Damien Berry. They taught me well and it shows on the field."
Judging by his performance Saturday, Miller learned his lesson well. He appeared unfazed by the Ohio Stadium crowd of 105,454.
"That just got me excited to show people what I got,"
Miller said.
