Kolton Miller thriving as Raiders left tackle

Kolton Miller knew helium was going to play successful the NFL. He’d heard the buzz. Received the feedback. Warranted by his play astatine UCLA.

But earlier his redshirt sophomore twelvemonth concluded, earlier the pursuit of nonrecreational shot intensified, helium needed support from 1 idiosyncratic successful particular: his younger brother, Chad.

The younger Miller has a uncommon neurological upset and can’t play the crippled that helium loves truthful much. So the older Miller, present the Raiders near tackle, sought to play professionally connected his behalf and solicited his sentiment connected Easter astatine the Kimble Hotel adjacent UCLA’s campus.

“Hey, bro, I mightiness person an accidental to spell to the NFL. What bash you think?” helium asked portion the 2 waited for their mother, Karrie, to prime up meal from a adjacent market.

“Do it!” Chad exclaimed.

“If you privation maine to go, I’ll go,” Kolton said. “I’m going to go. And I’m going to bash this for you, Chad. You perceive me? I’m going to bash this for you.”

Miller isn’t conscionable playing successful the NFL. He’s playing exceptionally well, protecting Raiders backmost Derek Carr’s unsighted side. In six games, the 26-year aged hasn’t allowed a sack and is the third-best pass-blocking tackle successful the league, according to Pro Football Focus.

All portion anchoring a portion successful flux amid younker and injuries to cardinal contributors.

“I convey God for that antheral each day. Like he’s got to beryllium 1 of the best, if not the champion — evidently I’m biased due to the fact that helium protects maine — near tackles successful each of football,” Carr said. “What I loved truthful overmuch was erstwhile we drafted him everyone was mad, and I would sometimes wonderment wherever we would beryllium if we didn’t person him.”

The why

Miller plays present for his teammates. His brethren connected the violative line. Carr. The glut of accomplishment presumption players to whom helium throws. But helium inactive draws inspiration from Chad, who remains his biggest protagonist from afar.

The younger Miller is 7 years Kolton’s inferior and was calved with a uncommon commencement defect called Moebius syndrome. The information is caused by “underdevelopment of the facial nerves that power immoderate of the oculus movements and facial expressions,” according to Johns Hopkins Medicines.

It besides affects code and centrifugal skills, thereby permanently relegating Chad to the sidelines. But helium became his large brother’s muse, opening successful precocious schoolhouse and continuing successful college.

“He was ever determination connected the sidelines, slapping guys hands,” Miller said. “He’s a large motivator arsenic to wherefore I wanted to beryllium arsenic palmy arsenic I americium to cognize successful the backmost of my caput that if I marque it here, him and my household volition ever beryllium taken attraction of.”

Miller was primitively a standout shot player, known for hitting towering location runs retired of the shot fields crossed the suburban Sacramento area, wherever helium grew up. But helium pivoted toward shot successful inferior high, successful portion due to the fact that of the earthy camaraderie the athletics facilitates.

He worked and helium worked and helium worked, archetypal with his father, Dan, and past with renowned violative enactment specializer Jon Osterhout, who doubles arsenic the shot manager astatine inferior assemblage powerfulness American River College successful Sacramento.

Osterhout runs an violative lineman session called Linemen Win Games, and Miller was a pupil — grooming 4 times per week for respective months during the precocious schoolhouse offseason to refine his technique. Osterhout, too, knew wherefore Miller kept coming.

“A batch of things Kolton does are for (Chad),” said Osterhout, who trained Miller during respective offseasons and helped him hole for the 2018 NFL draft. “Where this kid’s been from and wherever he’s headed … this kid is going to play a batch of football. He’s a grown antheral and surely a feline who’s going to beryllium capable to clasp down that spot for a decade-plus.”

Miller blossomed during his inferior twelvemonth of precocious schoolhouse and earned assistance offers from powerhouse programs crossed the country.

Chad would travel him connected his assemblage visits. He’ll be Raiders location games erstwhile helium can.

“They’re brothers,” said Miller’s mother. “But arsenic acold arsenic the thrust that Kolton has, I privation to anticipation successful my bosom that he’s doing this for himself. His enactment ethic is crazy.”

The how

Miller knew during his inferior twelvemonth astatine Roseville (California) High School that helium wanted to play successful the NFL. He wrote down his goals connected a portion of insubstantial that hung successful his locker, speechmaking them each day. Osterhout’s tutelage helped Miller blossom into a Division I player.

A redshirt twelvemonth astatine UCLA helped him make into a three-year starter.

“I truly took that twelvemonth to location successful connected my basal fundamentals, getting utilized to the velocity and strength,” Miller said. “It’s a bigger leap from precocious schoolhouse to assemblage … arsenic opposed to assemblage and the NFL.”

Long hours successful UCLA’s value country and explosive movements similar powerfulness cleans and snatches helped Miller make the requisite halfway and lower-body spot indispensable to enactment his 6-foot-8-inch framework and excel astatine the NFL level. Additional hours studying movie — often 2 oregon 3 aft practices — helped him refine his technique.

He debuted successful 2015 arsenic a close tackle and concluded his assemblage vocation arsenic a near tackle and 1 of the apical violative enactment prospects successful the 2018 draft. The Raiders selected him with the No. 15 wide pick. His rookie play was marred by a nagging genu injury.

He allowed a league-high 16 sacks that twelvemonth on with a league-high 65 pressures.

“I conscionable stayed disconnected societal media and truly conscionable paid attraction to movie and similar ‘OK, I tin set with my technique.’ … Really keeping my focus,” Miller said. “You’ve got to person humility and cognize what you request to enactment on. You person to recognize your body’s mechanics. … In betwixt the lines determination are these important small details successful however your assemblage is positioned, erstwhile you’re striking. Where you’re striking. All these small things to instrumentality into account.”

With that said, Miller’s enactment ethic ne'er wavered. He remained diligent with his movie survey and his spot training, starring to gradual betterment successful 2019 and 2020.

PFF tabbed Miller arsenic the 76th-ranked tackle successful 2018, 44th successful 2019 and 33rd successful 2020. The Raiders rewarded his improvements in March with a lucrative declaration extension, crystallizing his aboriginal arsenic the franchise near tackle.

He’s been adjacent amended this year, ranking 19th among a excavation of 79 tackles. He says he’s playing much freely this twelvemonth with the information the declaration hold provides.

“It helps destruct each uncertainty and beryllium the champion you tin be,” helium said.

Miller’s play this play has been particularly captious connected a portion that features rookie defender Alex Leatherwood, second-year defender John Simpson and third-year halfway Andre James, who is successful his archetypal twelvemonth arsenic a starter. But Miller hasn’t missed a drawback and is doing his portion to support Carr upright.

Raiders violative coordinator Greg Olson said Miller “is who we thought helium would be” erstwhile the Raiders scouted and drafted him much than 3 years ago.

“We look backmost astatine times and we person had respective conversations similar ‘Mom, tin you judge I was a Roseville Tiger and past I went to UCLA,” Karrie Miller said. “And then, helium goes, ‘Would you judge I got drafted by the Raiders?’ … It’s unbelievable, really. And to spot him truthful humbled and travel into a antheral of his own. He’s yet dispersed his wings. We tin instrumentality a measurement backmost present and fto him conscionable go. If helium stays healthy, I deliberation large things are inactive to travel due to the fact that of who helium is.”

Contact newsman Sam Gordon astatine sgordon@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BySamGordon connected Twitter.