Antoine Miles is a pass-rushing defensive lineman from Purdue who got the call which invited him to go to the Colts minicamp, starting on May 10th. I was lucky enough to get an interview with him over the phone and I converted the call to text. Now, on to to the interview!
Sears: Before we start the actual interview, do you want to say anything about yourself or what being invited to the Colts minicamp means to you?
Miles: To me, it means opportunity, for me to not have started this year and split reps with another senior it’s great to be given this opportunity when the Colts did not have to give it. They saw something in me so now I’m just ready to go to work and earn a spot wherever they need me at.
Sears: What would you say is your biggest strength that will help you make an NFL roster if not the Colts?
Miles: I would say my ability to rush the passer is my biggest strength, rather than be off the edge, inside or coming from depth, I think I do a good job using my hands, my explosiveness, and my quickness to get around or go through Offensive Lineman and just to get to the quarterback in general.
Teams always need pass rushers, they always need guys that are going to come in with energy and get to the quarterback and that’s what I pride myself on and that’s the biggest thing that’s going to help me be successful ok the next level.
Sears: What would you say is your biggest weakness that you’ll have to show the Colts that you can get better at and overcome?
Miles: I would like to get stronger. I wouldn’t want to get too much bigger but I would like to get stronger in my lower body to help become a more dominant player when it comes to stopping the run. A lot of that comes with learning techniques and through experience. Those are the things that I can use to develop into a dominant run stopper.
Sears: What was going through your head the entire time of the draft and even after the fact getting the call that you are invited to the Colts minicamp?
Miles: I had a pretty good idea that I was not going to get drafted just because at Purdue playing behind another guy this season didn’t leave me with enough film so I knew I wasn’t going to get drafted but I always knew I had the ability to play at a higher level so to me this was just a matter of getting the right opportunity. Just the opportunity alone was what I was hoping to get out of it. Getting drafted didn’t really matter to me. I was more concerned with getting an opportunity to go & prove myself.
Sears: What is it like winning Defensive MVP for the American Team in the SPIRAL Tropical Bowl in Daytona Beach and what did you take away from winning that?
Miles: It was like going in and doing a two day camp where we went out and practiced then after that started one on ones with the offensive lineman. Going up against those guys for those couple days was challenging , There were some pretty good offensive linemen on our team so I just tried to dominate those guys and go out there and prove that I’m the best defensive lineman and pass rusher on the field hands down.
When it came to the game I just carried it over. I wanted to get a few sacks, a few TFLs (tackles for loss) and be very disruptive throughout the game; play with a high motor, high energy & ultimately just have fun out there. I’m not sure who saw, but my efforts definitely didn’t go unnoticed. An award is an award, i appreciate the recognition, but I was more excited for the team win & a successful weekend with some really cool players & coaches that I got a chance to meet!
Sears: Have you talked with any other rookies or any other Colts players to give you any advice?
Miles: Nope, people in my circle like my family, but no I haven’t talked with anyone on the Colts or anything like that. I’ve just been getting in shape, getting my body right to be ready for camp.
FPC Colts wishes Antoine Miles the best of luck in making the Colts’ roster come minicamp.
