Gators LB Ventrell Miller Ready for "Revenge Year" After Lost 2021 Campaign

Florida Gators linebacker Ventrell Miller enters his final season at Florida as a sixth-year senior.

Photo: Ventrell Miller; Credit: Florida Gators Creative Media 

It was a tough season for Florida Gators linebacker Ventrell Miller in 2021. Just two games into the season at Florida, Miller would find out some bad news - he'd torn his biceps tendon and would be out for the remainder of the season.

The injury to Miller's biceps came during practice just prior to the team's victory of the USF Bulls. Miller would play in the game with the injury, but after making a tackle early in the contest, he felt weird and decided to sit out the remainder of the game with Alabama set to enter The Swamp the following week.

It was devastating, Miller said when asked about it during SEC Media Days last week, he was excited to start a year that likely would have ended with him declaring for the 2022 NFL Draft.  

"It was devastating, just to watch the rest of the year from the sidelines or from home with the TV, it wasn't the best feeling. But like I said, I'm just looking forward to this year, just showcasing to everybody what I can do this year," he added.

Miller is entering his sixth and final season at Florida after first stepping foot on campus as a highly-touted recruit in 2017.

Though he's had some ups and downs in his collegiate career, Miller has quickly become the team's leader on defense, earning significant playing time in 2019 and never looking back as the team's starter in the middle of the defense.

This year, he's looking to take his talent to the next level, now fully recovered from the biceps injury that gave him plenty to reflect on.

"I feel pretty good. Just having the opportunity to showcase to the new coaching staff what I can do, and showcase to my teammates as well what to look forward to this year. So, I feel pretty good about it and I'm looking forward to the season."

There was an opportunity for Miller to declare for the draft even while having missed the previous season. It is even likely he would have been drafted or maybe signed as an undrafted free agent following the draft.

The talent is there. But, he ultimately felt he had something left to prove, something to show during his final year of college ball.

"I spoke with my family [about declaring for the draft]. They, in a sense, wanted me to go [to the draft]. But like I said I felt like I had unfinished business here, so I just made a decision to go ahead and come back.”

Miller is entering a 2022 season with a brand-new coaching staff led up by head coach Billy Napier. The energy within the program is at an all-time high with the fresh smell of "newness" in the air, something that the program needed after a disappointing 6-7 finish in the last year under former head coach Dan Mullen.

Miller's confidence in the defense has him excited for what's next to come. 

“I'm definitely excited," he said. "I feel like we have a great group of guys surrounding me. I'm looking forward to going out with them boys and showing the world.”

The new scheme under co-defensive coordinator Patrick Toney puts players in some unique positions, even giving Miller the opportunity to rush the passer a bit more, wreaking havoc in the offensive backfield.

Over the past four years, Miller has accounted for 15 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks. In his best season, 2020, Miller racked up 7.5 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks. That might balloon this year as the team looks to find unique ways to affect the quarterback.  

Ultimately, this year will be a revenge season for Miller, he said. He's expecting big things out of himself and his teammates as Florida looks to get back on track as one of the best teams in the nation.

“Yeah, it’s definitely a revenge year," Miller said. "I think just coming out and being hurt all last year, I feel like I have a lot of personal gains. I’m trying to get in and try to do good things. It’s a personal year for me.”

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