Triple-Threat Time for Miller

Over an eight-minute span in the first half Saturday, USC senior Chris Miller made three plays that not only jump-started the Trojans to their 55-3 victory over Illinois but possibly their season.

--With Illinois ahead, 3-0, and USC’s offense sputtering late in the first quarter, Miller scored the Trojans’ first offensive touchdown of the season when he raced past the Illini secondary to complete an 84-yard pass play from Brad Otton.

--On Illinois’ next possession, Miller again used his speed to block a punt that was recovered by Prentice Hill, who ran 19 yards untouched into the end zone to give USC a 14-3 lead with 31 seconds remaining in the first quarter.

--On USC’s third touchdown, Miller’s name will not show up on the statistics sheet, but it was his block that enabled fullback Marvin Powell III to score on a 13-yard pass from Otton with 7:31 left in the half.

Three key plays made by a player considered the quiet leader of the Trojans, who had been best known until Saturday as the cousin of Keyshawn Johnson.

“I’ve been waiting to have a game like this since I’ve been here,” said Miller, who finished with three catches for a career-high 155 yards. “I guess, I’ve been in the shadow of [Johnson] before, but I thank God that I was able to play well today. Hopefully, I will be able to have games like this every week.”

Miller, who transferred to USC from West Los Angeles College in the spring of 1995, has been waiting a long time to play under the spotlight. After helping Dorsey High to the City Section 4-A title as a senior in 1991, he spent nearly two years traveling around the country on a mission spreading the word of his Muslim faith.

At the urging of Johnson and other former teammates, Miller returned to play football at West L.A. for the 1994 season. He earned All-American junior college honors with 41 receptions for 762 yards and seven touchdowns, which led to a scholarship offer from USC.

Last season, Miller led the Trojans in kickoff returns and, as a backup receiver, he finished with 21 catches for 215 yards and one touchdown. However, as this season began, he was not regarded as a receiver to watch.

“I’m not surprised because we always knew that he had talent,” said USC receivers coach Mike Sanford. “He has such a great attitude and is a great leader of our receiving group. We knew that he was going to have a game like this; it was just a matter of when.”

After he caught four passes for 83 yards in the Trojans’ season-opening loss to Penn State, Illinois was aware of Miller, but did not know his name. All week during practice for USC, Illinois Coach Lou Tepper warned his defensive backs about Miller’s speed.

“We knew that No. 2 was their speed receiver because he flew by Penn State defenders a couple of times, but he only caught one of them in bounds,” Tepper said. “[On his touchdown catch] we had identified from their formation what they were probably going to do, but he just ran by us.”

It’s the blocked punt that Miller will remember most.

“That’s because it was a real key play in the game,” he said. “They were still in it and we needed a touchdown to really take control of the game.”

In two games, Miller has averaged 34 yards per reception with seven catches for 238 yards.

He credits his fast start to an off-season he spent working with USC strength coach James Strom and the birth of his son, Jolani.

“I really worked hard to get ready for this season, and I plan to have more good games,” Miller said. “I just want to keep going out and producing and helping the team to win.”