When 165-pound senior Will Miller stepped on campus in 2021 after a whirlwind experience that was the recruiting cycle in 2020 and 2021, people imagined he would find success. However, he couldn’t picture the leader and champion he is now. 

“I remember his freshman year, he kind of looked like a frat dude. He didn’t take his diet or his training seriously, but now he’s bought in,” said 141-pound sixth-year redshirt senior Sean Carter. 

Miller, who is from Helena, Alabama, was a two-time 7A state champion at both 152-lbs and 160-lbs respectively. Miller also went 189-19 during his time at Thompson High School, including a perfect 34-0 senior season. 

“When Will came to us in his junior season, he had hit a growth spurt which caused him to go up two weight classes,” said Miller’s high school coach Riley Pike. “Thankfully for us and himself, that growth spurt put him into a class where he flourished and ended up winning states and eventually placing second at nationals.”

Recruiting in 2020 and 2021 was altered, as head coach JohnMark Bentley and Miller both pointed out. Due to restrictions, student-athletes could not visit campus, and all visits were through Zoom, but Miller still found the meetings to be just as beneficial as a regular visit.

“Looking back on it, I guess it was pretty weird, but at the same time I was never recruited much in high school so when a coach would reach out I knew that this was my shot and I had to take it,” Miller said. “I was always excited for the Zoom calls because every opportunity with coach Bentley, I tried to use it to the best of my advantage.”

After those online visits, Miller knew App State was going to put him in the best position to succeed. 

“I saw all the resources that App State offered me. I had a lot of opportunity up here and I knew that I was always going to be supported through, no matter what I went through,” Miller said. “My teachers, coaches, academic advisors, athletic trainers and just everyone here are all helping me and pushing me to be the best that I can be.”

Miller saw little action in his freshman season at 165-lbs as three-time NCAA qualifier Will Formato was the team’s everyday starter at the 165-lbs weight class. Later, Miller found himself competing at opens and invitationals throughout the year. His season was highlighted by a second-place finish at the Southeast Open. 

Sophomore year, Miller moved up to the 174-lbs weight class and entered the team’s starting lineup. Every weight in the NCAA is competitive, but 174-lbs is arguably one of the sport’s strongest fields. 

“He’s extremely talented in all aspects of athleticism, not just in wrestling but really anything. You go out and play pickup basketball with him or go out and play spikeball, he’s gonna beat you just based off his abilities,” Pike said. “It’s allowed him to develop this unique style of wrestling that has made him grow and learn technically in the sport.”

Miller didn’t let the field scare him. He went toe to toe with Mekhi Lewis of Virginia Tech, the 2019 national champion at that weight, in a legendary match. Miller came seconds of riding time away from putting away the National Champion in regulation time, but Lewis escaped the takedown with seven seconds left and won the match. 

Lewis was not the only highly touted 174-lbs wrestler Miller faced in the 2022-23 season. 

“It’s always a fun time, you know, competing against higher ranked opponents. I feel like we show up more in those matches rather than against conference opponents,” Miller said. “We’re not facing those level of opponents all the time so when you get the chance make sure you take it.”

Miller faced off against All-American Cade Lautt from UNC in a match he eventually won 7-5 after a takedown with less than 40 seconds remaining put him in a position to win the match. This win catapulted Miller to finish the final 23 matches 18-5 on his way to an NCAA championship berth after finishing second at the SoCon championships. 

Miller’s run at the championship was short-lived as the No. 32 seed in his weight class. He faced off against No. 33 John Worthing from Clarion and No. 30 Jackson Turley of Rutgers. He lost both matches, 8-4 vs. Worthing and 12-6 vs. Turley. 

“More than anything, it kind of introduced him to a higher level of thinking,” said Bentley on Miller’s first appearance at the NCAA championships. “He probably didn’t wrestle the tournament we think he would have, but it gave him the experience for the subsequent years.”

Miller moved back to 165-lbs at the start of his junior year, citing an opening in the lineup for his preferred weight and the coaching staff’s opinion. This move catapulted him to the top of his class and gave him the confidence to get to a position where it’d be easier to list what he did not accomplish last season.

“I think I wrestle better at 165 and I was a little undersized at 174,” Miller said. “I perform better at 165 and to be able to compete and reach my goals, I need to be at this weight.”

He achieved all-SoCon, went 25-8 overall and 8-0 in conference, won the SoCon 165-pound championship, finished the year on a 15-match winning streak and won his first match at the NCAA Championships. 

Miller’s second NCAA Championship went better than his first. He won his first match against No. 17 seed Indiana’s Tyler Lillard in a 5-0 shutout.

Miller then ran into No. 1 seed, eventual All-American and third-place finisher Keegan O’Toole from Missouri, losing by fall in the first period. In the consolation bracket, Miller ran into Northwestern’s No. 31 seed Maxx Mayfield, who went 17-17 on the year and lost the match 9-8. 

In June, Miller, along with 14 other Mountaineer wrestlers, wrestled at the U.S. Under 23 national competition in Geneva, Ohio. Miller placed fourth, becoming App State’s sixth U23 All-American in the last three years. Miller went 7-2 in the event only losing to Minnesota’s Clayton Whiting in the fourth place match. Two of Miller’s wins came against NCAA qualifiers. 

“Taking fourth at U23’s was a huge deal for him after falling short at a couple of those freestyle and offseason events before,” Pike said. “I think it’s just validation for him and all the work he’s put in and it should show this upcoming collegiate season.”

Miller has come into his senior season as one of the most dependable wrestlers on the team in one of the most competitive weight classes in the conference.

“The growth he’s experienced, he’s one of the best guys on the team and it showed last year. Now, I look up to him for support and skill and he’s super skillful and I’m always in awe of what he can do on the mat.” Carter said.

He’s one of two Mountaineer wrestlers to be picked on the SoCon’s all-conference team and was ranked the 7th best 165-lbs wrestler in the nation by FloWrestling in their most recent rankings, which were released on Jan. 13. 

Since being picked to finish first at 165-pounds in the SoCon, Miller has gone 117-1 since the start of the season. He’s taken down two top-20 wrestlers in Minnesota’s No. 11 Andrew Sparks and N.C. State’s No. 19 Derek Fields. Miller has gone 8-0 in two open tournaments taking the 165-pound title in both the Mountaineer Invitational and the Wilkes Open.

“I think the biggest thing that Will has grown at is his maturity level. Just being focused on his goals now,” Bentley said. “Even in the classroom as well as on the mat, he’s super focused on what he wants to achieve and what he wants to accomplish before his time’s done here.”