Before UND and Southern Utah faced off Saturday in Cedar City, Sioux kicker Zeb Miller approached coach Chris Mussman to chat.
"He said, 'coach, I need to talk to you,' " Mussman said. "Whenever anyone says that, it's usually never good.
"But he wanted to make sure at the coin toss that I factored in that we could have the wind in the fourth quarter and he could hit with the wind from 60 (yards)."
That kind of precise pre-game preparation helps explain how the Ankeny, Iowa, native has emerged as a reliable option just a year after experiencing shaky moments as a freshman.
"I have a better understanding this year of what the kicking game's about," Miller said. "I feel in sync with everyone on the team. As long as everyone does their part, all I have to do is put it between the pipes."
ADVERTISEMENT
Miller's done that with ease this year. He's 6-for-6 on field-goal attempts and 2-for-2 on shots from outside of 40 yards.
Miller's 45-yarder in UND's 26-20 win over Southern Utah played a significant role late in the game.
"His kick on Saturday in the swirling wind was huge," Mussman said. "He's been great. Last year as a redshirt freshman we probably put too much on his plate. We asked him to kick a 49-yarder for the win at Cal Poly. We use to expect that to be automatic with the guys that we've had here.
"I think (Miller) can be that caliber. He can be one of those special guys in the proud history of kickers at the University of North Dakota."
Miller's freshman season wasn't all that bad. UND's kicking expectations are quite high.
Miller, who is 6-foot-1 and 208 pounds, hit 8 of 13 field goals a year ago. He was 5-for-5 from within 39 yards. He was 3 of 6 between 40-49 yards and 0 of 2 from 50-plus.
"The main thing I worked on over the summer was focusing on longer field goals," said Miller, who pegs his Alerus Center range this year at 55 yards. "I worked on being more reliable from distance."
Miller is meticulous in his pregame preparation.
ADVERTISEMENT
"I'm usually one of the first ones out there," Miller said. "From the time I start warming up to the time the game starts and even through the game, I'm figuring out where the wind's blowing, how strong it is and if the wind is causing the ball to rise or push it down. I do a lot of surveying so I can just go out there and kick it and not have any second-guesses about it."
With the way Miller has started this season, he appears set to join the ranks of some of UND's standout kickers.
Over the past 15 years, UND has featured All-American kickers Brandon Hellevang, Jeff Glas and Cameron Peterka.
Mussman doesn't have an explanation for UND's success in recruiting kickers.
"Maybe just luck," he said. "Each guy was a different situation. Josh Kotelnicki has to get the credit on (Miller's) recruiting. We were pretty desperate at the time. We needed a kicker. We got a pretty good one."
Up next
Who: Montana Western at UND.
When: 1 p.m. Saturday, Alerus Center.
ADVERTISEMENT
Radio: The Fox (96.1 FM).
Records: UND 3-2; Montana Western 1-4.
Of note: UND is seeking its first three-game winning streak since the 2008 season.
Miller reports on sports. Reach him at (701) 780-1121; (800) 477-6572, ext. 121; or send e-mail to tmiller@gfherald.com .
