Indiana University Athletics
DiPrimio: Patience Wins – Miller Grows Into Hoosier Soccer Leader
8/22/2024 2:00:00 PM | Men's Soccer
By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Was it a eureka moment?
Perhaps.
Was defender Jansen Miller just demonstrating continued maturity and development in making two of Indiana's best 2023 postseason soccer plays with a pair of goal-line clearances at Virginia or was it bigger than that. Was it the spark that will propel him to even better moments this season and help the Hoosiers make another national title run?
Hold that thought.
Miller sits in a Tardy Center conference room at Bill Armstrong Stadium. He and his teammates have just completed a college soccer rules test to ensure they understand what is and isn't allowed during matches. At other times, they are tested on IU's tradition-rich history and more. These are among the ways coach Todd Yeagley and his staff prepare the Hoosiers to sustain the program's unprecedented success – eight national titles, nine national runner-up finishes, a record 22 NCAA College Cup appearances. It's a time-tested coaching truth - little things matter; awareness matters; doing the right thing all the time, despite short-cut temptation, matters.
In a highly competitive, parity dominated sport where the difference between winning and losing is razor thin, you need every available edge.
Miller can help provide it.
"He has great winning qualities," Yeagley says. "In the last (year and a half), he's reshuffled his diet and fine-tuned his preparation. That's why he's playing at a high level."
Miller's performance in that 1-0 Sweet 16 win at Virginia defined what that level can be.
"He had a tough first 15 minutes," Yeagley says. "The team was fine, but he wasn't. He rebounded from that really well and made two of the biggest plays of the game just on focus."
It's a teaching point Yeagley continues to emphasize.
"I use that game a lot with him. I tell him, two years ago, you might have unraveled, and the game might have gotten away from you. You didn't let that happen. You clawed your way back into it."
Nine months later, Yeagley still appreciates the significance.
"It's a Sweet 16 game on the road. You can't take him out. We need him. It's a good example of Jansen's growth."
Growth now demands leadership in the manner of Joey Maher, last season's team captain and coach on the field who became the 2024 No. 30 pick in the MLS Superdraft, and who now plays for Saint Louis, IU's season-opening opponent on Friday night.
"Joey had a big voice," Miller says. "He played next to me, so I didn't have to have as big of a voice. With his absence, I've had to step into that role, and do it the same if not better. So, my role has completely changed."
He pauses to reflect on how far he's come – once a playing afterthought after transferring from Xavier, now a key leader for a national title contender.
"I went from not playing to playing, and now I'm a leader on the team. All within a year."
Miller can handle it, Yeagley says.
"The team likes him. He's a leader, but he has to do it when things aren't necessarily going well for him. That was the part where Joey was a good yin-yang for him.
"Jansen sometimes gets caught up in the moment. If his game was great, you'd hear him. If it wasn't great, he'd get quieter. He has to be the guy who has a voice, a presence, no matter what's going on in his game."
Beyond that, Yeagley adds, "On restarts, he can't just know his spot. He has to know the three other roles. We just need more from him."
Miller says he's ready to provide it.
"My teammates respect me. I've been in their shoes. I've been in each role of the team. That helps me relate to them. I've been a guy who hasn't played the whole game. I've been a guy who has traveled and not played. I can tell them, if you put everything into it, if you do things the right way, good things will happen.
"I preach that. I was in that situation. I put my head down and worked. It's worked out so far."
"I want to build on last year. I had a good year, but I want to play better."
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IU has a long history of defensive excellence, partly because of dominant goalkeeping, partly from strong defenders, mostly from a "team defense" culture. Shutouts are always the goal, and when that doesn't happen, it gets personal.
"No defender wants to let in goals," Miller says. "The analogy I like to use is, you're letting them break into your house. We're protecting against that. Goals win games.
"It doesn't really matter what happens in the middle (of the field), what matters is what happens close to your goal."
Giving up a goal used to eat at Miller.
"I still take it personally, but I was worse a couple of years ago. I've matured. You have to be on to the next play. The game doesn't end when the ball goes in the net. You have chances to score."
Even as a defender, the 6-2, 180-pound Miller gets scoring chances. Last season he took nine shots, mostly off set pieces, with one on goal, and had an assist.
"On set pieces, I move up the field. I don't get the chance that attackers do, but being one of the bigger guys, I am featured a lot on set pieces."
IU didn't recruit Miller coming out of the Saint Louis FC USSDA club team as a top-40 national prospect. He was a two-year defensive standout at Xavier before entering the transfer portal. He had size, skill and athleticism elite teams wanted and competitive ferocity that needed fine-tuning.
"We knew him from his club days," Yeagley says. "He was one of those players you liked, but we didn't have a need for another center back. He did a nice job at Xavier, and then our situation changes. He enters the transfer portal, and we need a player of his quality."
What intrigued Miller about IU?
"Everything – the players, the coaches, the tradition. When IU called, that was it for me. Nobody has what IU has to offer on the soccer side, and the school side is very good. There's no place like here."
What intrigued Yeagley about Miller?
"He always had a great competitive edge. He's a great athlete. Where he improved was in being more patient with his defending. Sometimes he would over commit, slide and make challenges that were too ill advised. He was hot under the hood, as we say."
In Miller's case, heat cooled to poise.
"He's able to emotionally control things," Yeagley says. "He's matured. A lot of guys take time. A lot of that (maturity) happened at Xavier and now he's gotten more composed here."
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Miller arrived in in Bloomington in 2022 fit, confident, and ready to play. Then Hoosier reality hit hard as it had to so many newcomers before him:
He sat the bench.
"When I was at Xavier, I played every minute. I came here and thought I would play the same. I didn't. I came in super fit, was playing well, and still didn't get in the first six games.
"At first it was like, what's going on? Then you realize, the coaches have a plan. The players here are better. You have to be patient, or you'll get weeded out. If I cause a ruckus, it's not going to work. If I wasn't patient, I wouldn't have been ready. I would have been so ticked off, that when I got my chance, I would have done badly."
The lesson, Miller adds, is simple – take it one day and one game at a time, and be ready when your time comes.
"That's all you can do. That's all anyone can do, especially this year because we have a lot of talent. We'll have guys who are very good who won't play. It's being ready and staying ready."
It starts Friday night at Saint Louis, the only program with more national titles (10) than IU. The game has extra meaning for Miller given his connections to the city.
Six days later, the Hoosiers host Notre Dame, last year's national runner-up. The Irish edged IU in last season's NCAA tourney Elite Eight PK shootout.
"These are two massive games," Miller says. "Hopefully, we win them and it propels us, ignites a fire."
It's another non-conference challenge for a program that uses difficult early scheduling to prepare for strong late-season finishes. However, avoiding the slow starts from the previous two seasons that nearly cost the Hoosiers NCAA tourney opportunities is a priority.
IU opened 3-3-4 last season and finished 15-4-5. In 2022, it started 3-2-2 and finished 14-5-6, losing to Syracuse in a PK shootout in the national title game.
"We have to focus on one game at a time and make sure everyone is locked in," Miller says about starting fast.
IU projects as a top-seven team in national polls. It is predicted to repeat as the Big Ten Champion. It has three first-team all-conference players in Samuel Sarver, Patrick McDonald and transfer Justin Weiss. Those three also made Top Drawer Soccer's Preseason Top 100 list, along with sophomores Collins Oduro and Alex Barger.
Sarver earned All-America acclaim last season while leading the Hoosiers in goals (eight), assists (six) and points (22). His five game-winning goals ranked second in the Big Ten. He has 52 career points.
McDonald had three goals and five assists last season, giving him six goals and eight assists for his career.
Weiss, who transferred to IU from Northwestern, had 21 points last season.
Also back are All-Big Ten senior goalkeeper JT Harms, senior forward Tommy Mihalic and junior midfielder Jack Wagoner.
Yeagley and his staff must blend them in with 14 newcomers, including Weiss, Tulsa transfer Luke Jeffus, and Louisville transfer Quinton Elliot.
"It's like a totally new team," Miller says. We've added three top transfers along with a highly ranked (freshman) class. They're going to help. The way they've been training, they don't look like freshmen.
"We have so much talent. Only 11 guys can play, but we have way more than 11 who are good enough to play. If we keep that under control, if everyone buys in, we're going to have a very good season."
