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Samdup Miller returning to Northwestern

DE Samdup Miller has started 35 games for Northwestern.
DE Samdup Miller has started 35 games for Northwestern. (AP Images)

Defensive end Samdup Miller said he enjoyed watching his former teammates at Northwestern win the Big Ten West championship in 2020.

But he likes playing with them a lot better.

Miller, a three-year starter who opted out of the 2020 season, told WildcatReport that he will return for his "super senior" year and play for the Wildcats next season.

"I want to play one more year with the guys on the team," said Miller, who will have one season of eligibility left. "They mean so much to me. We've been through so much together."

Miller is a big addition to Northwestern, which has several holes to fill for the upcoming season. The Wildcats have lost seven players to the transfer portal since the end of the regular season, and one (Greg Newsome II) who will leave a year early for the NFL Draft. Meanwhile, they've brought in just two transfers thus far.

At defensive end, the Wildcats lost 2020 sack leader Eku Leota to the portal, as well as Earnest Brown IV, a starter who decided to enter the NFL Draft instead of playing another year for Northwestern.

So Miller's return will be a big boost to the defensive line. It's not very often that a team can add a player of Miller's caliber.

Miller started every game he played for Northwestern through three seasons, starting 35 straight until an injury forced him to miss the last four games of the 2019 season. He was a Freshman All-America in 2017, when he started all 13 games as a true freshman.

In all, he amassed 114 tackles, 17.5 TFL and 7.5 sacks for the Wildcats. He figures to resume his starting role, opposite Adetomiwa Adebawore.

Miller said that he opted out of the 2020 season for personal, and not football reasons. "I had some things to take care of, and I took care of them," is how he put it.

He also spent a lot of time watching the Wildcats play on television and keeping in touch with several members of the team, in particular the defensive linemen.

But Miller came to realize that it wasn't the same as being there, even if he "was there in spirit."

"I'd be watching the guys play and everything, but it sucked (not playing)," said Miler. "I was really proud of them, but decided that I had to get back out there and do my thing."

Miller said that watching the Wildcats in the Big Ten championship game against Ohio State on Dec. 19 was what finally tipped the scales and convinced him that he had to play one more year for NU.

"It was a weird experience, even though I was so excited for the guys," he said. "I couldn't get over how fast the defense looked. That secured my decision to come back."

Miller lived with his parents in Houston this fall while taking his classes online through Northwestern. He also worked out at a sports performance center near his home to stay in shape and says that he's still at his playing weight of 6-foot-3 and 265 pounds.

Miller just returned to Evanston for winter quarter, which began on Jan. 4. He is now taking classes and going through winter workouts with the team.

An Academic All-Big Ten selection in 2018, Miller will get his degree in Communication Studies in March, a quarter early. He plans to begin a post-Baccalaureate program in the spring, though he isn't sure yet what program it will be.

Entering his fourth year as a starter, Miller says he is prepared to be a leader in the defensive line room this season. He hopes to impart the wisdom to younger players that was handed down to him four years ago from his older brother Alex, who graduated last June, as well as Wildcat alums like Tyler Lancaster, Jordan Thompson, Fred Wyatt, Joe Gaziano and Trent Goens.

"We've got a lot of young guys who are really talented football players," he said. "I want to give them an understanding of what it takes to be a college football player."

After spending a year away from football for the first time since eighth grade, Miller is happy to be a college football player again, too.

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