As a freshman, Tyce Miller realized playing smart wasn’t going to be enough to ensure playing time.
It’s Rose-Hulman.
Everyone is smart.
“I just kind of worked the way I always have,” said Miller, a cornerback from Franklin and one of two starters for the Fightin’ Engineers football team this season from Johnson County along with linebacker Riley Roberts, a Center Grove product.
“I’ve always been a hard worker, and after four games or so my freshman season, I got to start and took advantage of the opportunity.”
Roberts, a fifth-year senior, is able to make the same claim.
The linebacker, noticeable for his shoulder-length hair — Roberts’ most recent haircut was Thanksgiving break of the 2018-19 school year – has played in a total of 35 games for Rose-Hulman. He began his college football career as a receiver, switched to strong safety and is now a linebacker having also dabbled in special teams play.
Though a year younger, Miller isn’t far behind, having participated in 28 games.
Rose-Hulman football is highly unusual on the Division III football landscape, its current 102-man roster comprised almost entirely of engineering majors (biomedical, chemical, mechanical, civil, electrical) from a jaw-dropping 24 different states.
Miller and Roberts major in mechanical engineering, and both have earned their share of plaudits since arriving on the Terre Haute campus.
The 6-foot, 200-pound Miller was named first team All-Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference and All-Region 4 following his junior season. He has eight career interceptions — six last year and two this season.
Roberts, who’ll letter for the fifth time, was also named first team All-HCAC in 2021. He has 90 career tackles, 15.5 of those for loss.
“I’m very grateful for the opportunity I’ve had academically and athletically,” Roberts said. “To be able to play the game that I love and get a top-class education. This is a very tight-knit community.
“Everyone knows each other. Everyone works together. You have people to lean back on.”
Academically, both players have excelled.
Miller has made Rose-Hulman’s dean’s list every year; Roberts earned CoSIDA academic all-district status in 2020-21 and has also been a frequent visitor to the dean’s list.
Soon enough, both will be putting their Rose-Hulman educations to good use. Preparations are already in place.
Following the 2021-22 school year, Miller served an internship at Caterpillar Remanufacturing in Franklin. He worked at Ring-Co LLC in Trafalgar, a designer and manufacturer of innovative products, this past summer.
Roberts, meanwhile, spent last summer out west, interning as a facilities engineer for Sinclair Oil in Rawlins, Wyoming, a town of 9,300 residents located in the southern part of the state.
The job interviews that will take place later this school year will force Roberts to cut his hair, which he plans to donate to a worthy cause.
But not before the conclusion of football season.
“I’ve really enjoyed it here,” Miller said. “Of course, it’s been a challenge combining academics and football. Even this year I thought would be a little easier, but I still have to time manage.
“I’m appreciative of everything. I feel like a much more efficient worker. Just being more independent and taking it upon myself to set my own goals and achieve those goals.”
