Old soul Miles looking to finish strong at USC
It's rare that you'll find Kenny Miles out on the town doing the college party circuit while enjoying the spoils of being one of South Carolina's more recognizable players.
The fifth-year tailback isn't just one of the older and more mature players on the field and in the locker room as that wisdom translates to life away from football where he describes himself as one mellow dude.
“I feel like I'm an old soul you would say,” Miles said during Tuesday's press conference. “I listen to old music and when everybody goes and parties I do sometimes, but most of the time I'm at home watching Netflix and things like that. I guess I am different in a way.”
His viewing tastes run the gamut from horror to action and comedy while his listening pleasures lean toward old-school jams like Earth, Wind & Fire or soothing jazz.
“Anything that's more relaxing,” Miles said. “I listen to a lot of jazz, I think that's cool. I don't listen to too much rap, it's not really appealing to me all that much. I listen to a lot of older stuff.”
The Gamecocks' fatherly figure is now primed to end his time in Columbia the way it began as the team's featured tailback in place of injured star Marcus Lattimore. After redshirting his first season, Miles rushed for a team-leading 626 yards on 117 carries in 2009 but would spend the remainder of his career in a backup role in tallying only 136 rushes for 505 yards following the arrival of Lattimore from Byrnes High School.
It wasn't a seamless transition as Miles had proven he could be a productive SEC back, but with Lattimore's obvious superior skills the old soul knew what was best for the program even as young player.
“I wouldn't say that it was easy, but when Marcus came in he was a great guy who worked hard and I really admired the way he stepped up as a leader and really took on the team,” Miles said. “Of course I still wanted to be the starter, but you've got to think about what's best for the team and at the time that was the best thing for the team. I was happy we were winning and wasn't really worried about me personally as I was the team.”
His consistent team-first attitude has made him a fan favorite as well as a trusted student-athlete by USC coach Steve Spurrier. Miles, who sees time on various special teams and will continue to do so Saturday, shared time with Brandon Wilds last season when Lattimore went down with a knee injury, but Miles was hampered most of the way by a sprained wrist.
Miles was sturdy late with 71 yards on 21 carries in a win against Clemson followed by a 15 rushes for 67 yards and a touchdown while also adding a touchdown catch in a Capital One Bowl victory against Nebraska. Prior to those two outings he'd amassed only 18 rushes for 66 yards over 11 games.
“He's more mature than most of them,” Spurrier said during his weekly press conference. “When Marcus came he didn't get many opportunities until the end of last year. He's been the ultimate team player all the way through this. He came to me and asked if he could come back if he wanted to (for this season) and I said sure. He enjoys it here and is a super Gamecock. I think our fans and all of them Gamecocks appreciate that he's stayed for five years.”
Even when Miles wasn't getting too many carries during games he was piling up the mileage in their aftermath as it isn't uncommon to spy him running the streets adjacent to Williams-Brice not long after games had concluded.
He referred to the post-game runs as equal parts punishment for poor play while also getting a chance to clear his mind. A poor performance usually results in a five-mile gallop while a good showing trims the distance to three miles.
“In the Missouri game I fumbled and wasn't too happy with myself so I got some extra conditioning in. Other games I did well and I just felt like running to kind of clear my head and get away from the adrenaline rush from the game and just kind of relax.”
USC fans will be hoping that Miles ends up only needing the shorter version after the final two home games against Arkansas and Wofford.
link: http://www.goupstate.com/article/20121107/ARTICLES/121109728/1091/sports03?p=1&tc=pg
It's rare that you'll find Kenny Miles out on the town doing the college party circuit while enjoying the spoils of being one of South Carolina's more recognizable players.
The fifth-year tailback isn't just one of the older and more mature players on the field and in the locker room as that wisdom translates to life away from football where he describes himself as one mellow dude.
“I feel like I'm an old soul you would say,” Miles said during Tuesday's press conference. “I listen to old music and when everybody goes and parties I do sometimes, but most of the time I'm at home watching Netflix and things like that. I guess I am different in a way.”
His viewing tastes run the gamut from horror to action and comedy while his listening pleasures lean toward old-school jams like Earth, Wind & Fire or soothing jazz.
“Anything that's more relaxing,” Miles said. “I listen to a lot of jazz, I think that's cool. I don't listen to too much rap, it's not really appealing to me all that much. I listen to a lot of older stuff.”
The Gamecocks' fatherly figure is now primed to end his time in Columbia the way it began as the team's featured tailback in place of injured star Marcus Lattimore. After redshirting his first season, Miles rushed for a team-leading 626 yards on 117 carries in 2009 but would spend the remainder of his career in a backup role in tallying only 136 rushes for 505 yards following the arrival of Lattimore from Byrnes High School.
It wasn't a seamless transition as Miles had proven he could be a productive SEC back, but with Lattimore's obvious superior skills the old soul knew what was best for the program even as young player.
“I wouldn't say that it was easy, but when Marcus came in he was a great guy who worked hard and I really admired the way he stepped up as a leader and really took on the team,” Miles said. “Of course I still wanted to be the starter, but you've got to think about what's best for the team and at the time that was the best thing for the team. I was happy we were winning and wasn't really worried about me personally as I was the team.”
His consistent team-first attitude has made him a fan favorite as well as a trusted student-athlete by USC coach Steve Spurrier. Miles, who sees time on various special teams and will continue to do so Saturday, shared time with Brandon Wilds last season when Lattimore went down with a knee injury, but Miles was hampered most of the way by a sprained wrist.
Miles was sturdy late with 71 yards on 21 carries in a win against Clemson followed by a 15 rushes for 67 yards and a touchdown while also adding a touchdown catch in a Capital One Bowl victory against Nebraska. Prior to those two outings he'd amassed only 18 rushes for 66 yards over 11 games.
“He's more mature than most of them,” Spurrier said during his weekly press conference. “When Marcus came he didn't get many opportunities until the end of last year. He's been the ultimate team player all the way through this. He came to me and asked if he could come back if he wanted to (for this season) and I said sure. He enjoys it here and is a super Gamecock. I think our fans and all of them Gamecocks appreciate that he's stayed for five years.”
Even when Miles wasn't getting too many carries during games he was piling up the mileage in their aftermath as it isn't uncommon to spy him running the streets adjacent to Williams-Brice not long after games had concluded.
He referred to the post-game runs as equal parts punishment for poor play while also getting a chance to clear his mind. A poor performance usually results in a five-mile gallop while a good showing trims the distance to three miles.
“In the Missouri game I fumbled and wasn't too happy with myself so I got some extra conditioning in. Other games I did well and I just felt like running to kind of clear my head and get away from the adrenaline rush from the game and just kind of relax.”
USC fans will be hoping that Miles ends up only needing the shorter version after the final two home games against Arkansas and Wofford.
link: http://www.goupstate.com/article/20121107/ARTICLES/121109728/1091/sports03?p=1&tc=pg
