The Center of An Offensive Line Rebuild: Carter Miller

Taking a look at UCF’s center Carter Miller’s journey to UCF and what has led him to becoming the likely starter for the Knights heading into 2025.

Carter Miller during UCF’s offseason training program aka “The Program” PC: UCF Athletics

ORLANDO, FL - In just over two weeks the UCF Knights will be back on the football field with Scott Frost returning to lead the program, as he and his new-look staff attempt to revitalize a team that spent the last few seasons underachieving their goals. Part of that new-look staff is offensive line coach Shawn Clark, who after five years as the head coach of his alma mater Appalachian State, but was relieved of his duties after the team missed out on a bowl game for the first time during his tenure. That move should be to UCF’s benefit as they land one of the best offensive line coaches in the country with significant experience and entering his age 50 season. Clark’s expertise has been needed this offseason as the Knights saw the departure of the majority of the program’s experienced linemen. At the center of both his portal recruiting efforts and his new offensive line unit is Louisiana-Monroe transfer Carter Miller who spent the past season as one of the best interior linemen at the Group of Five. Joining the program in the Winter transfer portal, Miller has established himself as one of the key pieces of an offense that is being built from the ground up as they return only one full-time starter.

Carter Miller (left) & Keegan Smith (right) during Meet The Knights Ep. 1 PC: Stephen Leonard

Earlier this Summer, Sean Green and Nick Geddes of Charge On: A UCF Football Podcast and myself got the opportunity to spend time with Miller and his fellow offensive lineman Keegan Smith, getting to know to know them as both football players and people. (Link to Ep. 1 of Meet The Knights) The twist, it was a competitive golf outing with Miller not being much of a golfer which led to some hilarious moments on the course. Miller took the challenge in stride, knocking out 25 push-ups quickly after having the shortest drive on the first hole. He continued on and eventually hit two great shots that set Smith up to win the game and showcased both his ability to learn and the humility to accept the limitations of his golf game. It was something that showed me why Clark made him a priority in the portal and why he’s so important to the program heading into a season of change.

Carter Miller (50) leads out ULM’s offense against Texas PC: ULM Athletics

The highest rated offensive transfer in program history, Miller was initially committed to Colorado and following a coaching change there was expected to flip to Mississippi State. Instead though, he chose to commit to UCF in a bit of a shocking move to people outside of the program. Following the round of golf he talked about why he chose the Knights saying, “I believed in what Coach Frost had to say; I trusted him. And, I knew from being in the Sun Belt with two schools, I was a big fan of Coach Clark. I had a lot of respect for what he did at ‘App State,’ so I was excited to come play for them.” Miller spent the entirety of Spring Camp with “the gold group” a term that Clark and Frost have used to designate the first unit, and impressed a lot of people during his first few practices in Orlando. Now as the season approaches he will be responsible as one of the most important positions on the field and is excited for the chance to prove himself at the Power Four level. During our conversation with him he talked about his commitment to the university and appreciation for the opportunity; “This place changed my life, I just got a big ole’ knight tatted on my stomach just to represent this place, I absolutely love it. I mean my goal as a kid was to play Power Four football and this place got me the opportunity to do that and I’m so grateful for that. So I just want to represent UCF and do the best I can.”

Carter Miller (50) heads out onto the field for James Madison in a 2023 game PC: JMU Athletics

So what led Miller to this moment? Born in Dallas-Fort Worth area of Texas, he would move to Nashville, Tennessee in the middle of his prep career, and didn’t become a heralded recruit in high school. Committing and enrolling early with James Madison in the class of 2022, Miller held offers from only 12 programs with only FCS and Group of Five schools targeting him. Spending his true-freshman season redshirting to develop he’d appear in four games for the Dukes as the team played their first season of football at the FBS level. He’d play a bigger role in 2023, making 8 starts at left guard in 11 appearances for one of the best offensive lines at the Group of Five level, helping the Dukes to an 11-1 regular season record and finishing in the top thirty nationally in six different statistical categories. That season led to former Dukes head coach Curt Cignetti taking the same role at Indiana, causing a mass exodus at James Madison with Miller staying in the Sun Belt with Louisiana-Monroe. He would be named as an honorable mention for the All-SBC team as he started all 12 games at center for the Warhawks, grading with an excellent 76.7 pass-blocking grade per Pro Football Focus. Miller was ranked as the 19th best interior offensive lineman transfer this window, and was the second best interior lineman according to 247Sports. If Miller can make the transition to the Big 12 level as many around the country and inside the program believe he will, the Knights will have no drop off over the next two seasons in the middle of the offense and have the ultimate culture-leader with Miller.

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