Aggies' Miller will be back on familiar ground Saturday

By John Dell, JOURNAL REPORTER

The N.C. A&T Aggies might be down, but they won’t let themselves be counted out.

That’s the message that quarterback Herb Miller and his teammates have discussed at length in the preseason.

Miller, a redshirt sophomore quarterback from Winston-Salem, will lead A&T against rival Winston-Salem State at 6 p.m. Saturday at Bowman Gray Stadium. Miller is familiar with Bowman Gray, having played there twice during his career at Carver High School.

“I’m looking forward to coming home and playing,” said Miller, whose 2006 season ended Oct. 21, when he tore two knee ligaments in a game against Howard.

Miller’s season wasn’t the only one ruined. The Aggies, in Coach Lee Fobbs’ first year, struggled in every facet of the game and finished 0-11.

“There’s no doubt it was a tough year, but we aren’t worried about the past,” Miller said.

After Miller had multiple surgeries on his knee, doctors told him he would need nearly nine months to recover. He wasn’t expected back for spring practice, but he worked at his rehabilitation and returned in four months. He is expected to be A&T’s main quarterback after Wayne Campbell was declared academically ineligible in the spring.

“I was a little sore in spring ball, but now I’m 100 percent and ready to go,” Miller said. “I don’t feel it at all, so I must have rehabbed it pretty well.”

Another Aggie who has some experience at Bowman Gray is center Tim Bess, a redshirt junior. He played for Parkland in those games against Carver, and he remembers the two victories well.
“Yeah, we beat Carver pretty good back in the day,” he said.

Bess said that coming home to play in a meaningful game is important, especially for bragging rights. Two of his former high-school teammates, Monte Purvis and Jed Bines, play for WSSU.

“This is huge for me right here,” Bess said. “Myself and Herb will have a lot of family and friends at the game, so we want to go out and represent.”

The Aggies have a 16-game losing streak, and they lost to the Rams 41-14 last season.

If A&T is to improve, Miller and the rest of the offense must cut back on mistakes. The Aggies scored just 17 touchdowns last season and averaged 10.4 points a game while allowing 43.2. They had 28 turnovers, with Campbell and Miller combining to throw 19 interceptions.

“It’s a different feel for me because I am a little wiser,” Miller said. “It was tough when the injury hit, but I was able to sit back and watch a little, and I think that helped.”

Miller also said that if he doesn’t play well, Shelton Morgan, a redshirt freshman from Elizabeth City, is pushing for playing time.

“I feel a whole lot more comfortable going into this season,” Miller said. “And I think that’s going to make a difference.”

Miller said that last year’s team had mostly individuals but that this year’s team is different.

“We come to practice together,” he said. “We are more cohesive and more of a team.”

Try as the Aggies might, Miller said that putting the winless season behind hasn’t been easy.

“You know it’s there in the back of your mind, but we are moving ahead to the future,” he said. “We can’t live in the past. That’s something all the coaches have stressed to us.”