Westlake Quarterback Forges Personal Comeback From Alcohol Abuse

Forgive Cory Miles if he sheds a tear or two next month when he accepts an award from the San Fernando Valley chapter of the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame for having the most improved grade-point average.

His GPA the first semester of his freshman year at Westlake High was 0.20. His GPA in the first semester of his senior year was 3.50. Going from failing every class but football to receiving A’s in most of them is a stunning turnaround.

“I have changed,” he said proudly.

Miles, 17, has a story to tell. It’s not to impress anyone or make excuses but to set the record straight and perhaps warn teenagers about the pitfalls of irresponsible behavior.

He arrived at Westlake as a highly touted freshman quarterback who was more interested in partying than studying. He was already on the at-risk list--his parents were going through a divorce.

By his sophomore year, Miles’ weight had ballooned to 225 pounds, and it wasn’t from lifting weights or eating protein supplements.

“It was a beer belly,” he said.

Miles said he went on drinking binges, getting drunk on beer, wine, hard liquor or whatever he could buy with his fake I.D.

“I got a bad reputation because that’s the way I was,” he said. “It was nothing extreme, like going out and getting into fights, but going to parties and drinking and not being the way I should have been.”

It cost him a girlfriend, left his grades in shambles and his family life in turmoil. He was out of shape and didn’t feel good.

By the spring semester of his junior year, Miles sought help. He transferred to a continuation school in Thousand Oaks and received guidance from assistant football coach Darryl Smith.

“People came up to me and said, ‘There’s no way Cory’s ever going to play, be eligible and stay out of trouble,’ ” Smith said. “I said, ‘I’ll take all your bets.’ We had eyes everywhere on Cory to keep him in line and keep him focused. Then, more and more, we didn’t have to.”

Miles stopped drinking and started studying. He lost 25 pounds. He got a job. He met new friends. He made up with his mother.

“I have seen so many stories of athletes in high school doing things with drugs, alcohol and going to jail and I really don’t want to be that way,” he said. “I want to go to college and try to be something.”

He became Westlake’s starting quarterback last season but broke a bone in his left leg in the second game, forcing him to the sideline for six weeks.

Would the disappointment cause him to return to drinking? No, but he had a relapse after having an argument with his former girlfriend. He called Smith, confessed to drinking and accepted his punishment--a one-game suspension and 40 hours of community service.

Miles said he hasn’t had a drink since.

“I’m one of those people that can get hit twice as hard and I could become an alcoholic because it’s in the genes and I don’t want to be that way,” he said. “I’ve seen what it has done to my family and it’s not the way I want to live my life.”

Ask Miles what lessons he has learned and he answers the way every parent would hope.

“You don’t have to drink to have fun,” he said. “I hang out with people now where you can go somewhere, dancing or do something, and not have to worry about alcohol. It’s just not worth looking bad or not feeling right about yourself. It’s not healthy, it makes you fat, you ruin relationships, you ruin friendships and can ruin your family, too.”

College coaches wondering what a sober, fit Miles could do in football only need to watch film of Westlake’s first-round playoff victory over Santa Barbara, when he completed all 13 of his passes for 233 yards and four touchdowns.

He’s 6 feet 2, a solid 195 pounds and every local junior college coach would do somersaults if they could lure Miles to their campus next fall.

On March 8, at the Odyssey Restaurant in Granada Hills, Miles will wear a tuxedo to receive his GPA award. He’ll be honored, along with 51 scholar-athletes from the region, for their football and academic achievements.

It will be an important moment for Miles, because the award is tangible proof that he has changed.

“When you’re not drinking and you have friends, people can trust you more,” he said. “You can tell the truth and people will believe you.”

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Eric Sondheimer’s column appears Wednesday and Sunday. He can be reached at (818) 772-3422 or eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.