The Caller-Times will be previewing area high school football teams in the month of August as part of the Two-A-Days series. For previous stories in the series go to caller.com.
Miller Buccaneers
District: 14-5A Division II
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2024 Record: 11-3
Head coach: Justen Evans, ninth season
Top returners
LB Jayden Vela, DB Khalil Davis, DL Deion Jones, WR Roderick Taylor, WR Izaiah Gidrey
What to know for 2025
The Miller football team has been known for its explosive offense during the Justen Evans era, but the excitement this season centers around a defensive unit that may be the best in a decade at the school. The Bucs have playmakers at all three levels of the defense including Jayden Vela, Khalil Davis (5 INT) and Deion Jones. The offense will have new faces at quarterback and running back but bring back some production at receiver with Roderick Taylor, Izaiah Gidrey and Dexter Brantley.
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Miller coach Justen Evans on the 2025 season
“To see the maturation process from this young men from the spring and through two scimmages — we’ve gotten better every single day. I am excited to see how the product looks. We are playing a physical brand of football on the defensive side. We know the defense is a little bit ahead. At the end of the day, it is about complimentary football — we have to make sure we are solid in all phases. Our first five games are a gauntlet — five physical teams — so we want to stay healthy and hopefully find those hidden gems in your program you’ve developed and can add to your depth.”
Miller safety Khalil Davis on the Bucs’ defense
“We reloaded and a lot of guys came back. We have a lot of young guys, new guys on the defense, and we’re trying to teach them how to move around and the Miller way. We can shut down some teams this year. We have defensive ends coming off the edge, and our secondary … the standards go up every year.”
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Two-a-day Preview Series
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This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Miller football expects to ride defense while young offense matures