WILLIS — After he was hired to lead Willis’ football program in mid-April last year, Trent Miller said he and his staff “were going about a million miles an hour.”
They had two weeks to get going before the start of spring football. Introducing a new offense that was essentially a foreign language, from the quarterback to offensive linemen to receivers, was burdensome.
The Wildkats survived a 5-5 2022 season, derailed in the second game of the season by a high ankle sprain to five-star quarterback D.J. Lagway and a torn ACL to promising running back Terri Lawrence III. What began as an expected run to a program-best third straight playoff appearance ended as a season of “playing musical chairs and trying to figure out what kids can and can’t do.”
How frenetic was Miller’s first season in Willis? He did not have time to completely unpack the boxes in his office. They were untouched from when he arrived in April until December, well after the season finished.
The cliché goes, “What a difference a year makes.” But for Miller and Willis? What a difference a year makes.
“It’s night and day for me for how I feel going into this season compared to last season,” Miller said. “It was one thing after another, as far as meeting new people, going to this dinner with this booster club member, meeting with school board members … everything was crazy. Getting comfortable and fitting in where you fit in was one of the biggest obstacles we had as a coaching staff last year.
“Now we’ve had an entire offseason with these kids. We’ve had time to establish our program, build our culture, instill our beliefs. Watching the kids take off with that has been truly amazing.”
The M.O. for Miller last winter into the spring and summer was implementing culture and standards. Miller said expectations had to be established in regard to discipline and accountability, two things that disrupted last season.
“Things are a lot more like a brotherhood now,” sophomore defensive back/receiver Jermaine Bishop Jr. said. “Everybody’s gotten to know each other a lot better. We’re growing. We’re bonding, like a family.”
Miller, too, is more comfortable as a head coach in a one-school town, initially a bit of a culture shock for him.
“The whole one-horse town feel, where everybody wants to know what’s going on, everybody wants to be involved, everybody wants to be around the coach … that was the biggest transition for me, coming over from a bigger district where they hire you to do a job and leave you alone,” said Miller, who previously coached in the Spring and Klein ISDs. “Here, everybody wants to be a part of it, which has been awesome.”
On the field, the big concern last season was protecting the quarterback.
Miller uses an empty formation (no running backs, five receivers) about 75 percent of the time. It is not an easy alignment for offensive linemen and quarterbacks to get acquainted with.
“Physically up front, we weren’t outmatched by anybody but we had protection issues,” Miller said. “Some of that was on the offensive line not knowing how to pick up a blitz or slide one direction or another. Some of that was on the quarterback for not sliding the protection. Some of that was on the receivers for not looking inside and seeing what D.J. was checking to. It was guys understanding what to do when there’s rolling coverages and guys blitz and identifying those things. And now they understand the why of what they’re being asked to do.”
Lagway, a senior and University of Florida commit, now knows why he has to slide protections. His linemen now know where and when to go, and why they’re doing so.
“I feel really comfortable,” said Lagway, whose ailing ankle hindered him almost all of last season and kept him out of a regular season finale loss that had pivotal postseason implications. “I feel like I know everything. It’s like playing a video game out there.”
Lagway said he had to get used to seeing everything more spread out and understanding where defensive players were coming from and where their help was.
He spent time on Zoom calls during the offseason talking to Florida coaches and working the chalkboard with Miller to better understand the offense and sliding protections, learning the weaknesses of different coverages, where the pressure is and where his linemen are supposed to be.
“It’s just a matter of learning it, learning how to take advantage of all the quick plays and deep passes,” senior center/guard Caleb Fletcher said. “We’ve changed a lot.”
Defensively, Willis has a new coordinator in Jeff Slafka. The Wildkats are switching from a 3-4 to 4-3 base.
“It’s an adjustment,” Bishop said. “We have new coverages, new signals, new calls, new plays. Things are more advanced. Last year, we ran Cover 2 a lot. This year is a lot of auto coverages, man coverages.”
Willis averaged 43.4 points per game last year. It allowed 28.7.
Sixteen starters return, eight on each side of the ball. The Wildkats missed the playoffs by one game, with Lagway missing two games because of the ankle.
“A lot of people will tell you it was a rebuilding year,” Miller said. “We started a bunch of young puppies. But for me, the standard is the standard, and 5-5 is unacceptable. Regardless of everything we had to go through, we lost some games we shouldn’t have lost.”
Willis is loaded with talent. All but one of its five skill position players hold NCAA Division I offers.
Juniors Daylion Robinson and Lawrence make for a potent 1-2 duo at running back and slot receiver. Junior receiver Jalen Mickens is a selfless blocker on screens and sets impenetrable edges on sweeps. Senior receiver Imauree Holmes is strong, fast and physical. Senior receiver DeBraun Hampton is powerful. The dynamic Bishop is electric around the ball. Miller said junior offensive lineman Mason Isbell is, pound for pound, the strongest athlete in Montgomery County.
On defense, three-year starter Brock Perry, a senior, and a quick and physical line including seniors Josiah Stephens, Isaac Stafford and Zach Lang make up a forceful front.
And then there’s Lagway, Willis’s finest, fresh off an Elite 11 finals appearance and ranked 18th overall in ESPN’s Top 300 for the Class of 2024.
“The one thing that continues to overwhelmingly jump out at me is his continued growth and leadership,” Miller said. “He’s a real quiet kid, an introvert. But the steps he’s taken this year … he now speaks up and holds his teammates accountable. The biggest adjustment for him has been not just doing it, but walking and talking his teammates through these things.
“It’s all eyes on him, whether it’s his teammates, this town, the state of Texas or the state of Florida. He’s got a heavy chip on his shoulder. He’s embraced that. He’s getting out of his comfort level, and it’s been really cool to watch.”
Miller said if his team can stay healthy and the youngsters “stay the course,” Willis has a shot at something special.
This year’s Wildkats remind Miller of his 2021 Spring team that went 11-2 and made it to the third round of the playoffs. The talent and accountability, Miller said, is similar.
“I think the problem with Willis is there’s that perception of ‘Willis will always be Willis and do Willis things,’” Miller said. “I feel like they’ve been on the cusp of doing something special here for decades but have always found something, whether injuries or a number of things, that has held them back.
“I truly believe this might be the year we get over that hurdle and get past whatever it is that’s holding back the program.”
