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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Cyler Miles will start in return to Colorado

Sophomore quarterback Cyler Miles came to Washington as a four-star recruit out of Colorado. (Associated Press)
Adam Jude Seattle Times

SEATTLE – For a team that has lost two games in a row, and for an offense that ranks as the worst in the Pac-12 Conference, the Huskies are optimistic entering Saturday’s game against Colorado.

John Ross III credits Cyler Miles for that.

“He never gets down or anything. And if he does, we can’t tell,” said Ross, Washington’s sophomore receiver. “He always shows his best. If we make a mistake, he tells us, ‘I’m coming back to you,’ and he does. And we build from there. We feed off of him.”

In his homecoming to Colorado, Miles will return as UW’s starting quarterback for Saturday’s gaem in Boulder. Miles, a 6-foot-4, 225-pound sophomore in his first season as the Huskies’ starter, sat out last Saturday’s loss to Arizona State because of a concussion suffered a week earlier in UW’s loss at Oregon.

“He’s been solid (this week). He’s been working at it,” UW offensive coordinator Jonathan Smith said. “He’ll definitely be ready to go.”

The Huskies (5-3, 1-3 Pac-12) are 4-2 in Miles’ starts this season. In those six games, the UW offense has been responsible for 28.3 points per game — with a high of 59 points against Eastern Washington and a low of six points in the loss to Stanford. In the other two games, the UW offense has been responsible for 20 points total. To be fair, UW coach Chris Petersen said he doesn’t put much stock in Troy Williams’ debut as starting quarterback in the loss to Arizona State, given the extreme wind and rain.

Still, Petersen didn’t hesitate on Monday to turn to Miles.

This offense, inconsistent as its been, is again putting its faith in Miles.

“There’s definitely a comfort factor because he does have that experience,” UW senior receiver DiAndre Campbell said. “We know that he knows what he’s doing.”

Miles, as the junior quarterback, led Mullen High in Denver to a 14-0 record and a state championship, throwing for 20 touchdowns against two interceptions that season.

A four-star recruit, some considered him Colorado’s best quarterback prospect in a decade. Despite a late push from USC, Miles stuck to his commitment to then-UW coach Steve Sarkisian and the Huskies on signing day in 2012.

UW has only sporadically made Miles available for interviews this season.

“He keeps a lot of things to himself,” Ross said. “But I can tell he’s excited to get back out there.”