Shawn Miller's return to DelVal has itself been the reward
By Tom Pfaff
DOYLESTOWN, Pa. — Shawn Miller considers himself "fortunate and blessed" at this stage of his Delaware Valley career, drawing interest from NFL scouts ahead of his senior season.
"It doesn't always work out for everybody, and it very well might not have worked out for me," said the 6-3, 220-pound safety Miller, a preseason All-America selection. "It took me two years to get back here, and that's amazing, because for a lot of people, they stay with the whole workforce thing, and I fought my way out of it, little by little, to get back to school."
Miller left the home of the Aggies after freshman year — in the 2012 season, he played all 11 games and accumulated 20 tackles, an interception and a blocked kick — for his home in Laurel, Del.
Adjusting to college life, Miller missed his family.
"I try to keep a positive outlook on things, but sometimes, things aren't always great," Miller said. "It's not as if I come from the wealthiest family, and my mom [Gail] works a lot, and that's where I get my work ethic: She has been doing the same 9-to-5 [manager at a pool equipment and supplies company] for more than 20 years, so you see her struggling. And it can make you struggle, because I'm the only man in the house for my family, and our dad, for me and my two sisters, isn't around. And I never really had a father figure other than [Gail's cousin] my 'Uncle' Brian [Hearn].
"When you don't have another parent and income in the household, it puts a lot of pressure on your family, and with me [at DelVal], it put a lot of stress on my mom and my two sisters. My older sister already had two kids — and that's a lot of family members to support," Miller said. "It was about being there — I was so used to being there for my mom, all the time I was the one she would always talk with — and not being there for them when I needed to be, it kind of hurt. Dealing with that as an 18- or 19-year-old, going away from home and trying to learn to do things on your own, then you hear about things happening at home, it's hard."
Fast-forward about two years, with a semester at Delaware Technical Community College then a 12-month stint in the National Guard that changed Miller's life.
“A lot of people thought I would never come back to school. I had people tell me to my face that I was done.”
- Delaware Valley safety Shawn Miller
"... A lot of people doubted me after [leaving school]: A lot of people thought I would never come back to school," Miller said. "I had people tell me to my face that I was done — this was from older people, adults [near home], and I was 19 years old being told that I was done. So that was the worst thing about leaving and ... then fighting back and getting yourself to a point where you're ready to go back, and that was what I needed to do, so following up on that was the hardest thing, staying consistent and doing the small things."
Miller returned to DelVal before the 2015 season. His body was stronger and bigger by 30 pounds (to 210), his focus sharper.
Since his return, Miller has shown a knack for big plays against elite opponents.
In October 2015, Miller made a second-quarter tackle from behind near the goal line that caused a fumble to roll out of the end zone during an eventual, last-minute 18-15 DelVal home victory against then-undefeated Stevenson. For his efforts, Miller earned MAC Defensive Player of the Week.
In the 2016 season opener at No. 7 Wesley, Miller again earned MAC Defensive Player of the Week with 14 tackles, three interceptions and a sack during a 21-14 victory. Miller finished the year with his second straight first-team All-MAC selection, plus a first-team All-East Region honor.
Heading into 2017 as a second-year co-captain, Miller is grateful that his final DelVal season will be an early audition for the NFL combine or pro-day workouts.
A DelVal teammate, senior running back Devauntay Ellis, reportedly is also being evaluated by NFL scouts, so both players are glad to go through this process together.
But Miller's day-to-day efforts mostly involve giving the Aggies a chance to earn their first MAC championship since 2011.
"Focusing more on myself would be selfish, and it wouldn't get anything done for the program," Miller said. "It would be selfish to think of [the NFL] the whole time; I'm thinking about how DelVal is going to do this year, and what can I do to make us better, not just to make myself better; I do so well, because my teammates do well, they put me in position by making plays, which allows me to make plays on the back end, and that's how the relationship goes, so it would be disappointing if I try to go out of my way to make plays, because it looks better on my resume than to make a play that looks good on DelVal's resume."
For the NFL process, Miller can rely on DelVal alumnus Rasheed Bailey. DelVal's all-time leader in receiving yards (3,138), Bailey would have been the Aggies' receivers coach this year, but he signed Aug. 5 with the Cleveland Browns after spending time on the practice squads of the Jacksonville Jaguars and San Diego Chargers in 2015 and 2016, respectively.
What advice did Bailey, whom Miller called "one of the most-humble guys you'll ever meet," give him?
"The most-influential advice [Bailey] gave me was to lead: I have to be able to stand out on the field, to stand out vocally, to stand out off the field," Miller said. "That's going to be my advantage over a lot of guys, my ability to lead, and that's I want to show people, that I'm a better leader than I am a football player."
If Miller hadn't returned to DelVal, likely none of this happens.