Miles to be Inducted into CFL Hall of Fame

Barron Miles played football with a confident, fearless attitude, something he tries to instill in his players today.

Sports in general, Miles said, should have players playing with passion, understanding and aggressiveness.

The Nebraska teams he played on from 1992-94 had all of that, and then some.

“And we had great athletes,” Miles said, “so that’s icing on the cake.”

Miles, a native of Roselle, New Jersey, set Nebraska season records in pass breakups and blocked kicks, including a memorable punt block and recovery for a touchdown in coach Tom Osborne’s 200th career victory at Oklahoma State in 1993.

The following season, Miles helped deliver Osborne his first of three national championships. A two-time All-Big Eight player and sixth-round NFL Draft pick by the Pittsburgh Steelers, Miles eventually played 12 seasons in the Canadian Football League, and is the CFL’s all-time leader with 13 career blocked kicks.

In September, Miles, now an assistant coach with the CFL’s Edmonton Eskimos, will be inducted into the CFL Hall of Fame. He learned of his nomination last week.

“I wasn’t surprised, but you never know,” Miles said. “I think with my stats and everything comparable to the guys who did get in, I always assumed. It’s an honor, so I’m going to take it and run with it.”

Miles, a 5-foot-8 cornerback, still holds the Nebraska record for most blocked kicks in a season, with four, and most blocked kicks in a career, with seven. His 13 pass breakups in a season were a school record until DeJuan Groce broke up 17 passes in 2000, a record that still holds.

The most memorable of Miles’ blocked kicks, at least among Nebraska fans, came in the fourth quarter of a 1993 game at Oklahoma State, when Miles blocked a punt and recovered it in the end zone for a touchdown.

That broke a 13-13 tie in a game the Huskers had trailed 13-3 and won 27-13. Miles’ block was the CNN/ESPN Play of The Week.

More memorable for Miles, though, were his two blocked punts against Pacific – before he took a seat for good midway through the first quarter of a 70-21 rout. He also singled out his block of Scott Blanton’s 33-yard field goal attempt early in the second quarter of the 1994 game at Oklahoma. It came with Nebraska leading 3-0 in a game the Huskers won 13-3 to preserve an undefeated regular season en route to a national championship.

“That was huge, because that was momentum, that was a turnaround,” Miles said in a phone interview Tuesday. “And it’s the Oklahoma-Nebraska game. To make plays in that game is huge.”

Why did Miles develop such a knack for blocking kicks?

Simple, he said.

Because he wanted to.

“I wanted to go in there, put my body on the line and block the kick,” Miles said. “I was quick enough, my ability allowed me to get to that point, but the willingness to say, ‘You know what? I’m going balls out and I’m going for it.' "

He wasn’t afraid of roughing the kicker, either, something he believes affects players attempting to block kicks.

“I’m getting the ball, no matter what,” Miles said, “and if I miss, I’m not going to hit him anyway, because my launch point was great, and I understood where I needed to be in order to not hit the kicker.

“When I went, I went 100 miles an hour and with no fear of hitting the kicker.”

Not once did Miles rough the kicker or punter, in college or the CFL. Once in the CFL, he was flagged for roughing the kicker, but film proved what Miles said at the time – that a teammate had hit the kicker, not Miles.

“They went back and reviewed and said, ‘Well, yeah, you’re right.’ ”

Miles has been retired from playing since 2009 and has been coaching since then in the CFL ranks, with stops in British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Winnipeg and now Edmonton, where he’s beginning his third season as defensive backs coach.

In addition to his national championship at Nebraska, Miles won four Grey Cups – two as a player, two as a coach – in the CFL.

His championship mindset, he said, was instilled during his time in Lincoln under Osborne.

“The biggest thing is the way we competed, day-in and day-out, the willingness to win and the wanting to win,” Miles said. “We had that confidence. We had that bravado of when we stepped on the field, we knew the outcome before it happened.

“We knew what we were capable of doing, and the guys trained in the offseason to prepare for any situation. We were coached to play in any situation. That’s what stands out to me, because I preach it to my kids, I preach it to guys I coach. It’s a culture. If you don’t want to win, you’re not likely to win.”

Osborne and his staff also preached player accountability as part of Nebraska’s winning culture. It’s something that’s been a point of emphasis with current players and as they work to atone for last year’s problems with a new staff.

Miles remembers his senior season when Osborne wanted freshman cornerback Leslie Dennis to gain some valuable playing experience.

“He comes to me and says, ‘You know, Barron, we’ve got young guys, we need them to get experience. I understand it’s your senior year and you need to stay on the field, but we need to try to get Leslie on the field,’ ” Miles said.

Osborne always emphasized being a team player, so Miles had no issue with taking some plays off and getting some rest, if it meant meaningful playing time for a young player. After all, that’s how Osborne’s program stayed consistent and built a winning culture.

After Nebraska had built a lead, it came time for Miles to exit and Dennis to enter. Miles stood on the sideline and watched, with Osborne nearby. After Dennis allowed a pass completed against him, Osborne looked at Miles, didn’t say anything and walked away. Two more passes were completed against Dennis. Again, Osborne looked at Miles, this time a bit longer, but walked away without a word.

When yet another pass was completed against Dennis, Osborne finally said, “Barron, you don’t need to be on the sideline anymore, get back in the game.”

All those previous looks, Miles learned, were Osborne's hint for Miles to take ownership of the situation and insert himself.

Miles said he talks to Osborne now and then, always on his birthday. Osborne asks about his children, now ages 21, 17 and 15.

“It’s a great relationship, and I owe him a lot,” said Miles, who lives in Phoenix with his wife, Jennifer.

He last spoke with Osborne the day Nebraska introduced Scott Frost as football coach. Miles said he believes Frost has what it takes to return Nebraska to the program he remembers, mainly because, like Miles, Frost has been there, and knows the formula for success.

“He understands what winning takes,” Miles said. “It’s not going to take just one person. It’s going to take everybody to build that culture and believe in it and jump on board. It’s going to take the fans to see it’s not going to happen overnight, it’s going to take a little bit. But you’re also going to need the fans to come to every home game and back them and make sure they make that crowd noise and be the fans that Nebraska fans are.”

Reach Brian at brosenthal@huskers.com or follow him on Twitter @GBRosenthal.