Chris Carter was telling me that story the other day. He swears that Miller ran a 10.8 in that race. That's hard to believe, that a guy could fall down out of the blocks and still run a 10.8, but maybe he did. Miller's dad told me he ran a 10.8 in high school, so maybe that was it, although it's still hard to believe that a guy's personal record could be the race that he fell down. Although you'll notice you don't ever see Miller get run down from behind on the football field.

I wrote a column about Carter this week, the defensive end who has been marvelous for Fresno State so far this year. He has provided pretty much all the pressure on any opposing quarterback, and he's done it with a broken finger and a club on one hand. He leads the team in sacks and tackles for loss and celebrations. With Lorne Bell out, he is the one thing to be really excited about on the Fresno State defense. He is the pass rush they have so desperately needed the last few years.

During my interview with Carter, I was reminded that he and Miller were also high school teammates, which led to the stories about high school track and about Miller's father, Lonyae Sr., who is a remarkable story himself. More on that in a second. I've been thinking about the younger Miller more as this season has gone on, mostly because I feel bad for him. He is, by my estimation, one of the best college running backs in the country. And the numbers back me up. Of all current Division I football players, he ranks 13th in yards per carry at 5.62. That's all players who've had at least 300 carries, and Miller is well beyond that now. He has 1,845 yards and 17 touchdowns at Fresno State. Oh, and 5.62 yards per carry. Did I mention that? You could definitely make a living running the ball 5.62 yards every time someone handed it to you, and I suspect Lonyae will get a decent shot with an NFL team next year. If he runs well at the NFL combine, he might get drafted. Five-point-six-two. That's all I'm saying.

And yet, he can't get on the field. He only has 22 carries so far this season. He is simply stuck behind a phenomenal talent in Ryan Mathews. I talked with Lonyae Sr. and not once did he complain about his son's playing time. What can you say? Mathews is just on another level. He basically leads the nation in rushing. There are two players ahead of him now, Stanford's Toby Gerhart and Marshall's Darius Marshall, but they've both played an extra game. Fresno State was on a bye this week. Part of what got Miller so many carries the last two years was Mathews being hurt a lot, and so far this year it hasn't happened.

The other problem for Miller -- if you can call having a talented freshman from San Diego a problem -- is Robbie Rouse. He started out playing when option quarterback Ebahn Feathers came into the game, but now he's getting playing time pretty regularly. It's easy to see why. He's quick and a different sort of back for a defense to worry about. He's small and shifty, more likely to run to the outside. It helps the potential true-freshman-getting-carries-over-seniors tension that according to several Bulldogs, Rouse is a really likable guy. As Carter says, "How could you ever be mad at Robbie? He's so little. You just want to give him a hug."

Still, it has to be disappointing for Miller to have worked all these years, to have balanced football and school and raising a son, and to see his production sliding downward at the end. I remember doing a column about Miller before the 2007 season and he was telling me all about his goals, how he wanted to rush for 1,000 yards that season and then break the Fresno State single game rushing record (Dwayne Wright: 295 yards) and then break the career rushing record (Ron Rivers: 3,473 yards). He has done none of those things. He rushed for 609 yards in 2007 and then 812 last year. Good numbers, but surely not what he had envisioned.

Don't get me wrong, it's been a good career. He is the only player in Fresno State history with two runs over 80 yards. And he has a third that was 72 yards. Again, he's fast. Which leads us back to Miller's father, Lonyae Sr. I hope that before this season is over, I can write a column about their relationship and hopefully this won't spoil it too much.

Lonyae Sr. had a fairly rough upbringing, got in some trouble, ran with the wrong crowd, all those things, but he says that after he had Lonyae Jr., he decided to really work at being a father. He went back to school to get a teaching degree. He went to court to get custody. He had been a great athlete in L.A. and was determined to help his son be the same. I'm not sure what his credentials are for athletic training, but he started training his son after school, and then a couple other kids. It just kept growing and now there are at dozen or so Division I athletes who have been trained by Lonyae Miller Sr., who is a special education teacher at Kaiser High.

Carter trained with Lonyae and his dad and they all went to college combines together. It was pretty intense, it sounds like, but there were rules. All homework had to be done before training. No one could take steroids or even supplements. Not even legal ones. No Creatine or protein shakes. Nothing.

Carter has a great story about how the first days he trained with the Millers, Lonyae Sr. made him put on those weird shoes basketball players use to increase their vertical leaps. The ones that make you walk with your heel off the ground. Carter was recovering from serious ankle surgery and was really looking forward to running again, to getting out there with the other guys Miller was Lonyae Sr. was training. But instead, Miller made him walk around the track for hours in those stupid shoes. It was pretty much exactly like "The Karate Kid," when he doesn't really understand what Mr. Miyagi is trying to do, even starts to despise Mr. Miyagi, but then it all comes together and there is trust and respect and the credits roll. All that.

Those sessions walking around the track, keeping his balance in goofy shoes, led to what you see now, Chris Carter the defensive end racing around the end of the line trying to get to the quarterback. Because of a broken ankle and someone else's dad wanting more out of life and, well, I'm not really sure where I was going with that.

Anyway, it's going to be a great column. Or maybe it'll just stay this feeling in my gut that it's a shame that a guy as fast and good as Miller can't get more than a couple carries a game. That's it. Wish there was an answer or a solution or a better explanation beyond, Life isn't always fair. But it isn't. So you work hard and keep after it, even through disappointments, which is exactly what Lonyae Miller has done. Those are lessons you learn from a father. You pick yourself up off the track and run as hard as you can.

Can't wait to see how his latest race ends.