Wharton coach: Miller should stay at USF

Posted Jan 8, 2010 by Nick Williams

Updated Jan 8, 2010 at 06:38 PM

Wharton head football coach David Mitchell said his former running back and USF walk-on Joel Miller should remain with the Bulls.

Miller was thrust into the national spotlight when it was reported former USF head coach Jim Leavitt grabbed him by the throat and struck him twice in the face on Nov. 21 at halftime of the USF-Louisville game at Raymond James Stadium. Leavitt was fired today after investigators concluded he struck Miller and then lied about it.

“You’re [going to have] a new coach coming in, so why leave?” Mitchell said. “He’ll have a clean slate. [Miller] is not the cause of all this. He needs to impress that [new] coach and stay on the field.”

Miller rushed for 1,291 yards and 11 touchdowns his senior year for a 8-2 Wharton squad in 2006. Miller signed with The Citadel, but withdrew after a few months at the school as a freshman. He later enrolled at USF and made the spring roster as a walk-on in 2008. Miller saw time on the field as a special teams player this past season.

“[Miller] is the type of guy who will stop in the middle of the road and help somebody,” Mitchell said. “He’s a good kid.”

Carl Franks, the running backs coach at the University of South Florida, has been named interim head football coach