Any discussion regarding Colorado junior defensive back Chris Miller should begin with what defensive coordinator Tyson Summers had to say of him in late June.

"We were doing a Zoom donor meeting a couple of weeks ago, and one of the questions I was asked was ‘who do you feel like is going to be a player that really jumps out this season?’ and (Miller) was one of the first names I mentioned," Summers had said.

"I think that Chris is a guy that’s very talented. He’s got size, a lot of god-given ability in his ability to move and run, and he’s in year two of the system. What you’re seeing from him is a tremendous amount of growth and maturity in my opinion over the last 6-8 months."

"His ability gives him the versatility to play a safety position, to play a STAR position and obviously he can go play corner, which is what he’s done in the past."

Miller, despite missing most of the 2019 season due to a torn ACL suffered during last year's contest at Arizona State, has earned much praise from Colorado's coaches and as Summers put it, is a player the Buffs hold high expectations for as an upperclassman.

Thus, there were certainly some questions when Miller appeared at safety within a recently released pencil depth chart. The way Miller put it, Summers initiated his position change, one that the former has so far enjoyed.

“I always talked to coach Summers about wanting to do more when I could and he just called me one day and told me he wanted to see me at (safety) and I’ve just been doing it and learning the plays," Miller said. "The communications is the same for both corners and safeties except the safeties make the calls, so now I have that power and responsibility and I think I love it.”

While Summers had praise for Miller, who is now just shy of 200 pounds, Miller spoke for the entirety of Colorado's defense when discussing Karl Dorrell's move a few months ago to keep Summers in place as defensive coordinator.

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“Everybody on the defense that played (last year), we were all excited that coach Summers is back," Miller said. "I think he’s a great defensive coordinator, in my opinion. All the new coaches that we have, they’ve all brought a whole bunch of new knowledge for us and we’ve all loved it.”

Miller believes the move to safety will enhance the physical aspects to his game. All the while, he's been making sure to remain comfortable at the cornerback position as well as familiarizing himself at STAR.

“(At safety), I’ve got more responsibility when it comes to being in the box, moving around and being physical," he said. "I’m learning to play everything I can right now. As a safety, you have to know what everybody does. I know all the positions, pretty much.”

In going about his position change, Miller has been able to learn from and work with Derrion Rakestraw, Colorado's only returning safety with significant experience under his belt.

“Me and 'Rake' frequently talk to each other and pick each other’s brains when it comes to film. We’re always talking about it and sometimes, we’ll just hang out and watch (film) together.”

Despite Rakestraw being essentially alone in the game experience he brings to the table for Colorado as a senior, Miller expressed confidence in the Buffs' corps of defensive backs.

Some of whom were thrown into the fire last year out of necessity, while others, such as the contingent of 2020 newcomers as well as guys like D.J. Oats and Nigel Bethel, who practiced with the team for all of last season, makes Colorado's DBs room arguably the most competitive position group on the team looking ahead to this season.

“I think there’s a group of us that are hungry and competitive," Miller said. "Since we had injuries (last year), everybody’s played and knows what it feels like to go out there. I think it’s going to be a rising competition (in the secondary) because everyone has played. Experience is a good thing. We can at least know what to expect to get out of people.”

Miller singled out K.J. Trujillo and Tarik Luckett, two freshman standouts from last season, as being particular hard workers since the team began its spring lifting and workout sequences earlier this year.

“Watching from where they’ve come from fall camp (last year), they’ve grown a lot," Miller said. "K.J. works his butt off. He just needs to get bigger, but he’s getting there. I believe in him (and Luckett) and I know that they both know what they have to do. Everybody is taking their responsibilities a lot more serious now and that’s what I like to see from them.”