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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Huskies choose Miles

Adam Jude Seattle Times

Cyler Miles will start at quarterback for the Washington Huskies in their home opener Saturday against Eastern Washington.

That shouldn’t be much of a surprise for those who watched Washington’s offense shut down in the second half of their 17-16 season-opening football victory at Hawaii.

Chris Petersen, in his first year as UW coach, announced the quarterback change Monday, two days after Jeff Lindquist’s first collegiate start ended in hold-your-breath fashion.

Miles, a 6-foot-4, 225-pound dual-threat sophomore, didn’t make the trip to Hawaii while serving a one-game suspension for his role in two post-Super Bowl assaults in February. King County prosecutors did not file charges against Miles because of a lack of evidence.

In his only interview since then, Miles apologized for the incidents.

“I messed up big time,” he said Aug. 6, “and I’m willing to face the consequences.”

Miles also missed all of UW’s spring practices while suspended, and he entered fall camp last month with little knowledge of the playbook of the new coaching staff, Petersen said. Miles has made up a lot of ground, but Petersen acknowledged Monday that “there are certain things that we’re still getting him up to speed with.”

“He can put things together pretty quickly, football-wise,” Petersen added. “… For him to get no reps in spring and just get fall with us, he’s very much in tune, as much as other quarterbacks are, and now we get him more reps and see what can happen.”

What can Miles offer that’s different from Lindquist?

“We’ll find out,” Petersen said. “I think he commands the field pretty well. I think he has a really good feel for what’s going on. It always comes down, to me, to decision-making and accuracy.”

Miles made one start as a redshirt freshman last season, leading a 69-27 win at Oregon State.