Spring Insider: Q&A with Coach Myron Miller

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The Tillers coach takes answers our questions.

Question: How did  your team look this spring?
Myron Miller: I think we're a lot better than last year, I  hope. Last year was the first losing season I've had (in 14 years). We had a couple good kids transfer in that are going to improve the program and a couple freshmen coming off a league championship. I think we'll make the playoffs and be competitive. We weren't last year.

Q: A year ago you had  an accurate sense of how your team would do, do you know this year?
MM: I think that we can compete with every team in the  league. Last year we beat Canyon, the second place team, but then we lost to Brea and El Modena. We can compete without knowing what El Dorado has. The last couple years they've been heads above everybody. I think we can set our goals on making the playoffs and being a factor in the playoffs.

Q: Your team survey  says your team has speed and athleticism but lacks depth and experience. What  are some things you still need to do between now and fall?
MM: These next five weeks will be about becoming the  biggest, strongest athletes we can become. I think the two things we need, most of the lineman graduated last year. But that's something you can coach. And we  have some very fast running backs, that's something you can't coach. If we can develop an offensive line and if we can get a better passing attack we'll be a solid team. Our receivers are always open because we always run the ball. We  just couldn't seem to play catch. We're not very sophisticated in our passing  game. We have to prove to people that when our receivers are wide open we can  play catch.

Q: What are you  looking for out of Anthony Wilkerson this year?
MM: He ran 11.1 in the 100 meters. It's pretty fast for a kid that weighs 210 pounds. I think he's going to be a premier running back. But I  hope I don't have to give him the ball 35 times a games like I did last year. He was hurt all last year. It was one of those high ankle sprains that never really  healed. It just hurt the whole year. He's a real trooper. But I just don't want to do that to the kid. I think I have at least two, maybe three other backs. And we seem to be throwing the ball better this year than the last eight or 10 years. I expect this football team to be better at every position than we were last year. Last year all we could do was pitch (Wilkerson) the ball. Everyone knew it.

Q: With all the  players El Dorado lost, is the Century League open?
MM: I think the Century League goes through El Dorado. Are they more vulnerable than last  year? Probably. They had some of the best defensive lineman I've ever coached  against. But schools like that — they have 2,700 kids in the school, we have  1,700 — they're going to rebuild. They're going to reload. Are they going to be  as good as last year? Maybe they won't win it this year, but they have a bunch of great coaches that will make a strong defense in league and CIF.

Contact the writer: amaya@ocvarsity.com