When Dean Miller committed to Kansas in the summer of 2022, his film showed a lot of promise. At 6-foot-5, he had the speed and burst coming off the edge in junior college that caught the attention of the coaching staff.

The staff was in the market for a defensive end although it was late in the recruiting process. Miller committed to the Jayhawks in the middle of June, packed and headed for Lawrence to be with the team for summer workouts.

He did not arrive until the end of the month and missed the first month with Matt Gildersleeve and the training staff. Adding weight to his frame was one of the goals when he arrived.

Fast forward to last November as Miller was finishing his second season in the program. He was still fighting to gain weight and there was a conversation with head coach Lance Leipold.

“Dean and I had to have a little heart to heart last November, okay, that he wasn't going to be able to play here if he didn't put on weight,” Leipold said. “And he finally really took it to heart, and he really worked hard at it, and he's worked extremely hard in a lot of areas.”

Miller credited Gildersleeve and nutritionist Katie O’Connor for getting him on a plan and pushing him. He added the weight and got stronger and Leipold was happy to hear they might have to buy Miller a new suit.

The players wear suits and Miller told Leipold his suit does not fit.

“I said, well, okay, we'll get you another one, because you've earned that,” Leipold said. “But because he's worked so hard.”

That hard work paid off in the opener against Lindenwood. Miller recorded the first sack of his career, and it was officially the first of the season for the Jayhawks.

“They called a little pass rush game, allowed me to just get off the ball, hold that edge, just try getting off as fast as I can, and just took a straight line to the quarterback,” Miller said. “It felt amazing. I mean, if you guys saw me, I was pretty hyped after that, throwing a little flex down. I was so excited, I didn't really know what to do, what to celebrate, so I just, you know, just kind of let it out.”

Miller scored a solid grade at 72.9 by PFF and had three tackles and two hurries. It was a good outing for his first start, but said he wants to work on that celebration after his sack.

“I'm going keep my composure a little more,” Miller said. “Next time you might see me throw up something you all haven't seen before. You just gotta stay tuned in.”