The Craig Hall Chronicles: Taryn Miller

Soccer question: Does a player's personality predict the position she'll one day play, or is it possible that being put at a certain spot on the field, given that position's role and responsibilities, brings to the surface characteristics that may otherwise have sat dormant?

Last week Jacey Delaney, a self-described adrenaline junky, opened the Craig Hall Chronicles series. She would hardly look out of place in a Mountain Dew ad -- Live the Rush! -- doing a triple backflip off a tire swing into a lake before heading out in a Jeep for a day of rock climbing. Of course she's a forward.

Janessa Fowler's life, from home to the Colorado Rush, has taught her the value of a tightknit unit, where team is everything and everyone succeeds when they are working toward the same goal. Of course she plays a number of positions based on what her team needs. This year: defensive midfielder.

And now along comes Taryn Miller, six feet of brick wall from Greenacres, Wash., who started her youth soccer career at forward, then got moved back to the midfield, then finally to defense. And there probably isn't a personality better suited to a position on this year's team than Taryn Miller, center back.

She has the mien of former Griz Alyssa Nystrom, also a center back, who was nicknamed the Silent Assassin. It's not that Miller doesn't have plenty to talk about. It's just that she approaches an interview like she would a scoring threat. She pretty much shuts it down before it can really get rolling.

Your brother was one of the top punters in the Big Sky Conference last year for Eastern Washington and is getting tryouts this month with NFL teams. Tell me more about ... BAM!

Most of your family, dating back to your great-grandparents, has gone to Eastern Washington. And now you've bucked that trend and have come to Montana. What was that ... POW!

You had a scholarship offer from Minnesota, which would have given you the chance to play soccer in the Big 10. That's really neat, so let's dig deeper. Why didn't you ... SLAM!

An interviewer is left feeling like a forward who dares bring the ball near the goal Miller is defending. The storylines provide a tantalizing look at the goal, the opening is there. Next thing you know you're on the ground looking up at the sky, and Miller has the ball and is going the other way. Thwarted!

None of this is a knock on Miller. She doesn't avoid eye contact. She doesn't lack confidence. She is just guarded, laconic and most comfortable keeping things close to the vest. Why give an answer with 30 words when just a few will get the job done? And why give up more than the question directly asks for?

In fact, she talks about her position on the soccer field the same way she would likely describe her approach to dealing with an interviewer. I love having everything in front of me and being able to see where everyone is moving. She is protective without being cautious, a born soccer defender.

And that's the benefit of doing the preseason Craig Hall Chronicles. What better way to get insight into this year's freshmen before Friday's season opener against Wyoming at South Campus Stadium? Learning their stories early in their careers only enhances the experience of watching their journeys.

Still, this article is now more than 500 words in, and Miller has managed to mostly hold us off. In keeping with her succinctness (one-word topics ahead!), some background on the player who will be starting at center back on Friday evening against the Cowgirls.

Loyalty: She grew up playing for River City, a club in Spokane, and was coached by Mark Lindsay, father of former Griz Shannon Lindsay. By playing up a year, she was teammates with her sister and Griz sophomore defender Ashlee Pedersen.

When Lindsay started his own club, SoccerEdge Academy, Miller stuck with him, even though better opportunities to improve her college prospects existed in Spokane. Eventually even Lindsay told Miller she had to move on. So she did, to Shadow, a team full of college-bound players.

"Mark was a great coach, and I felt like I shouldn't have left him, but the team started going downhill, so I switched clubs my last year. I had to be on a more competitive team if I wanted to be ready for college."

Injuries: Miller has had a long list of them. Ankle, broken arm, concussions, broken nose, a partially torn MCL suffered during regionals her senior year at Central Valley High that kept her from playing on what would be CVHS's second of back-to-back Washington Class 4A state championships.

Thankfully her mom, Julie, is the office manager at a physical therapy clinic. "If I get injured, I know when they have openings."

Eagles: Most of the Millers have gone to Eastern Washington. Her great-grandparents, her grandpa, her dad, her brother (who traded a soccer ball for a football in middle school), her sister (who had to give up soccer in high school after a series of concussions).

Miller was seriously looking at the school as well until George Hageage was let go after the 2013 season.

College: Want a wide-ranging list of schools to attend to play soccer? Here are the college programs Miller was interested in joining: Minnesota, Montana, New Mexico Highlands and Northwest Nazarene, the last two being NCAA Division II programs.

Minnesota? Northwest Nazarene? On the same short list? So atypical. So many questions! Taryn, about that Minnesota offer and opportunity. "It just didn't seem right." And ... the end.

Montana: So she ended up signing with the Grizzlies last winter. "A lot of it appealed to me." What, exactly, appealed to you? "The campus, the girls, the coaches. It's far enough from Spokane but not too far."

Okay, new tack. What about coach Mark Plakorus? Everyone has plenty to say about their coach, right? "He seems to work well with the girls. He's always trying to make us the best we can be." That's it? How about your new teammates then? "The girls are faster, stronger than I'm used to. Just better. I like it."

So, that's everything. As forewarned, Taryn Miller doesn't give up much. Just how you'd want your center back.

University of Montana Athletics

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Jacey Delaney

Janessa Fowler

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