Anyone who knows Casey Miller knows he’s in this for the kids, and for the right reasons. If they haven’t realized it already, the Utah Islanders are about to find out why he’s so unique, now that Miller’s been named their new offensive coordinator. 

Himself the son of a retired high school biology teacher, Miller followed in his father’s footsteps, teaching the same subject. It is that love for scientific rules, both written and unwritten, that led to one night at Jordan High School, four years ago this September.

Having just scored on a touchdown but missing the two-point conversion, the Cottonwood Colts team Miller was head coach of was trailing by the score of 24-22. What he did next, however, went viral. 

After forcing a three-and-out that pushed Jordan back to its own 5-yard-line, coach Miller told his player to fair-catch Jordan’s punt, leading to the utilization of a largely unknown rule and one of the most-talked-about plays in decades in the state of Utah. 

“There were still 12 seconds on the clock,” said Miller to City Journals. “After the third down sack [to make it fourth down], I called timeout and asked the linesman if he had ever seen a fair-catch-free-kick, and he said no.

“I walked up to the white-hat and said, ‘Hey! I'm sending three guys back on this punt and they are going to be fair catching the ball and I'm gonna win this game with a free-kick!’ He laughed and couldn't believe it. He said he's never seen it, so I told him, ‘you are about to.’”

Miller sent his kickoff team onto the field, and then Cottonwood kicker Jacob Nielson blasted through the uprights a 45-yard field goal with just 12 seconds left to pull off a one-of-a-kind 25-24 upset. 

“My parents are yelling, trying to get me fired in the stands behind me for sending out the kickoff team after making them [Jordan] punt,” said Miller. “It goes in with 12 seconds left and we hold on for the win.”

Faced with the harsh realities of a team that often had to field anywhere from 20, on up to maybe 35 kids if it was a good week, Miller was always forced to rely upon all kinds of unique ways to keep those Colts competitive in his four seasons at the school. 

The fact he did so as a football independent in Miller’s last three years at Cottonwood, and even saw several players from various coaching stops go on to play Division I football, are reasons his recent hiring as Utah Islanders offensive coordinator is likely going to make for must-see football in these parts. 

Miller’s offenses at Cottonwood were innovative—because they always had to be. Prior to his hiring, the Colts were severely shorthanded on players. After one season in charge, in which Miller went 0-10 in year one at Cottonwood, the football program nearly folded; Miller’s suggestion, along with a tough call from late Athletic Director Greg Southwick, to push Cottonwood into independence may have actually saved it. 

In so doing, the next three years of independence saw Miller go 9-19 in charge of the Colts. His final year at Cottonwood resulted in a 2,100-yard passer, three 500-plus yard receivers and a defense that collected 26 sacks, had eight interceptions and ran back a pick six. In addition, six Colts made the 2022 Academic All-State team, and of those, several moved on to top engineering colleges after graduation. 

Miller has also been prominent on the coaching circuit for several decades, even leading the formation of clinics that he held on Cottonwood’s campus while he coached that attracted renowned innovators of the sport such as Noel Mazzone and others. He is currently president of the Utah Coaches Association. 

In his youth, Miller was an All-State quarterback at Cyprus High School, and he followed that up by playing four years of college football at Benedictine College in Kansas before spending over two decades in coaching and teaching in both California and in Utah. 

The fit for Miller here is fairly obvious for those that know him and know what he did for kids at Cottonwood and Hillcrest: The Utah Islanders have been competing as a prep school for several seasons. It is the brainchild of several prominent area businessmen including ex-Utah Utes and NFLer Trevor Reilly, who serves as the team’s general manager. Its purpose is to be an academic and athletic bridge for student-athletes that aspire to compete in higher levels of college and pro football. 

This past January also saw the Islanders sign former fellow Ute standout Brian Blechen as its new head coach. The Islanders finished with a 5-1 record this past fall, losing only to Snow College in their season opener. They notched victories against the St. George Eagles and Ogden Jets that play in the same league as the Islanders and pulled off an impressive win against Air Force Prep as well.