Kolton Miller is under constant pressure to perform in Raiders training camp. Coaches and peers are pushing the first-round left tackle on the practice field and in meeting rooms.
That’s no accident.
The Raiders are trying to expedite his progress, to refine the athletic lineman’s technique in an important preseason. They want to push Miller’s limits, to see how much he can handle and whether he’ll break.
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That hasn’t happened. Miller’s comfortable in a high-pressure environment. At left tackle, after all, a major mistake can lead to disaster.
“I think I’ve handled it pretty well, but the work’s never done,” Miller said in a one-on-one interview with NBC Sports Bay Area. “I have to re-dive into things (as these games come about).”
Games are coming soon. The Raiders’ exhibition season opens Friday night against Detroit at Oakland Coliseum, after which coaches can gauge Miller’s progress.
Gruden puts pressure on most of his players, trying to best prepare them for the regular season. Quarterback Derek Carr has talked extensively about that.
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Gruden’s pulling out all the stops for the No. 15 overall pick.
“We’ve really encouraged Bruce (Irvin) to give him your best stuff on occasion,” Gruden said last week. “We’ve asked (defensive coordinator) Paul Guenther to give us some tough looks. We’ve asked Derek Carr to change the protection at the last second and see if he can handle the physical and mental part of it.
“We’ve turned up the noise already. Some of this music, I don’t even like, I’m listening to that to try to distract him. He even had to stand up and sing last night in front of his teammates. We’re trying every way we can to get him to buckle under the pressure. But he has responded. When I met his mom, I could see why. He comes from great stock. He has a huge, huge, huge upside.”
Gruden, position coach Tom Cable, Carr and Irvin are trying to extract it and prepare for the possibility he’s starting Week 1.
Pro Bowler Donald Penn remains on the physically unable to perform list recovering from Lisfranc foot surgery. While he’s expected to come back as strong as ever -- he should start in that case -- the Raiders must plan for a rainy day.
So they push and push and push the UCLA product, who manages to keep emotion out of his work. Imperfection doesn’t frustrate him. He’s focused on improvement.
“We want to make sure assignments are right. We want to make sure technique and alignments are right,” Miller said. “I’m constantly reviewing those things, and trying to correct mistakes. You have to evaluate yourself on those things every day. You have to stay on top of things every day.”
Miller has made mistakes in camp, as all rookies do. He seems to learn from them quickly. He fared pretty well in joint practices against Detroit, and enters the preseason slate with increased confidence.
“I feel stronger, but I feel like I’ve really improved fundamentally,” Miller said. “Technique-wise, I think that’s helped a lot. As long as I’m staying focused on technique, it’s going to be hard for guys to go through or around me.”
That last phrase … that’s the maximum amount of swagger Miller’s willing to show. He isn’t an overtly emotional guy, but he’s quietly sure of himself. He knows size and athleticism are on his side. He acknowledges weaknesses and sets to improve them, which is why he added weight and strength during the dead period and is focused on technical improvement during camp.
He knows some questioned his selection at No. 15, but he doesn’t care much about that. He knows some wonder if he’ll be ready to start right away. He’s focused on doing well for those in his corner.
“I want to prove the people who wanted to draft me right,” Miller said. “I want to get the job done for them. I’m not so worried about outside talk or discussion. I want to pay the people back who believed in me.”