Faith, Family & Football: Miles Fox’s Story Inspires All

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- As defensive tackle Miles Fox began his senior campaign at Old Dominion in 2018, his journey to play one final collegiate season at Wake Forest in 2021 was completely beyond his comprehension.

The next three years after the conclusion of his final season at ODU included plantar plate surgery, a trip through the NCAA Transfer Portal, a ruptured Achilles, several months of community service back home in Georgia, the COVID-19 pandemic, and an All-ACC performance in his return to the gridiron in 2020 for the Demon Deacons.

It's an unlikely winding path that has allowed Fox the opportunity to suit up this fall for Wake Forest, as he seeks to lead the Deacs to a special season while also providing himself the opportunity to maximize his professional football aspirations. It is a season of destiny only possible because Fox persevered through multiple injuries and heartache by focusing on what drives him — his faith in God and love of family.

"I think we have the potential to be the best defensive line in the ACC," Fox said. "We have so many talented pieces coming back. We have depth and that's really the key."

The NCAA allowed an extra year of eligibility for everyone who played through the 2020 COVID-impacted season, so Fox decided to return to Wake Forest this year.

"I love my teammates and I love my coaches," he said. "I would like to have a normal season as my final one in college, and not one cut short. And I want to boost my draft stock and show these scouts I can put together two good seasons in the ACC."

Despite starting his collegiate career at Old Dominion, Fox camped and visited Wake Forest as a Collins High School (Suwanee, GA) 2015 class prospect.

"He came here for an unofficial visit during a junior day," Wake Forest defensive line coach Dave Cohen said. "He came and we really liked him. I am not sure why we did not end up offering him, but he had a killer senior year. Then we checked back in with him, and he had committed to Old Dominion and was telling other schools that he was not interested in looking at new offers."

By his junior season, Fox had progressed to an All-Conference performer with the Monarchs, starting all 12 games while leading their defensive line with 57 tackles, nine tackles-for-loss and 5.5 sacks. He was all but assured of having a stellar senior season in 2018. But that's where things start to take a different turn than expected for Fox.

"My last year at Old Dominion was a rough one," he said. "Going into camp I was dealing with back spasms and missed the first two days. When I came back, I had heat exhaustion, so I essentially missed the entire first week of camp. Later in the third week of camp, I had a teammate fall on my ankle. So, I missed some more time and going into the first game I did not feel like I was as prepared as I needed to be."

He played in the first two games of the season, but then got injured while diving to block a field goal.

"I was determined to keep playing, because it was my last year and I needed to push through it," Fox said.

Fox counted on 2018 being his last season — interesting how things work out as circumstances change.

Fox played on special teams in the Old Dominion 49-35 win over Virginia Tech, but was not able to walk after the game. It was his fourth contest of the season, and an MRI showed he had a ruptured big toe which effectively shut his season down.

"That was hard to deal with," Fox said. "That hurt and I had a lot of emotions going through my head. That is when I decided I was going to put my name in the portal. I was very fortunate that I did not do something stupid and play the fifth game instead of just four."

It was not long after entering his name in the NCAA Transfer Portal before Fox found some assurance, he would be a wanted contributor.

"Being in the portal was terrifying," Fox said. "It was scary, but Wake Forest was the first school to hit me up. I had a relationship with Coach Cohen. When they were the first team to reach out, it was good to see how much they wanted me.

"It is good to feel wanted, so I knew off the start I wanted to come here. The great educational opportunity just sweetened the pot. Me and Coach Cohen go way back. He was teaching me technique in the old defensive line room when I was a high school prospect, so it's pretty neat to see it come full circle."

When Fox took his visit to Winston-Salem as a transfer candidate, he was still rehabbing from the plantar plate surgery.

"I love Coach Cohen and Denise (Dave Cohen's wife) too," said Cheryl Fox, Miles' mother. "He made us feel so good about everything. It was a seamless transition, taking an injured player who was still in his walking boot. It was refreshing. Coach Cohen stepped up and made us feel great about it.

"I'm really thankful that Wake Forest found a way for him to come home and do what he needed to do to allow him to come back and play another year. I am extremely proud of him. He now has his bachelor's degree from ODU and a master's from Wake Forest."

Although a few other schools got in the mix, Miles decided to transfer to Wake Forest and arrived on campus in January 2019, still rehabbing from his toe injury. Spring football started in March and Fox was eventually cleared to start working out — beginning with individuals before moving on to actual work on the field with the team.

Three days after he was cleared to start individual workouts, Fox tore his Achilles tendon, an injury that normally takes about a year to recover.

"That was a breaking point for me," Fox recalled. "I was depressed. I was hurt. I wanted to quit, but I am so glad I did not. My mom called me and told me I was stupid to even think about it. She told me I had worked too hard and came too far to just throw it away."

The tear was close to the muscle, and Fox is 6-foot-1, 286 pounds.

"With me being a bigger guy, they expected me to be back closer to a year," he said. "I was cleared about 14 months after my surgery. It was a tough process. I had to really look myself in the mirror and tell myself why I was doing this. I wanted to be great. I did not want to look back and wonder what if. What if I had kept playing? What if I had not quit?"

A source of motivation and inspiration for Fox is his younger brother Jackson, who is autistic.

"One of the main reasons I work so hard is not only because I love football, but I do it for my little brother Jackson," Miles said. "He has autism, so he can't play sports and has always had a tough time. I have a normal life, so I feel like I must work that much harder. He struggles every day."

Fox started a children's book series for his Capstone Project at Wake Forest. "Joyful Jamal!" is based on his brother Jackson and the everyday struggles he faces as a young autistic child. The first book in that series is "Hi, My Name is Jamal!"

"He always wondered why he's so different when he was young," Miles said. "Why can't I have a normal life? Why can't I be like Miles? Struggle making friends. He is not that confident. He struggles making conversation with people and making friends.

"He can't play football because we don't know what a possible concussion would do to him. That is why I work so hard, because I know he can't do these things."

According to Cheryl Fox, Miles plans to build a non-profit that will partially benefit families with autistic children.

"He's at a very good stage with his autism," Cheryl said of Jackson. "He does everything on his own. He is very independent. But Miles sees that he has got opportunities that Jackson does not have. That is something that drives him a lot.

"Jackson is very proud of his brother, and Miles is very protective of his brother."

With the 2019 season wiped off the board because of the Achilles injury, Fox went back home to Georgia to rehab, spending 20 hours a week in community service working at North Metro Baptist Church with Dr. Frank Cox.

"We fed underprivileged children in the summer, giving them lunches," Fox said. "Then I helped with youth ministry. I was also working with my old high school and our rival. I was keeping my head in the game of football, while also getting closer to God. That really helped me realize my purpose. Everything happens for a reason. That helped me gain peace for what happened. It helped me out so much and prepared me for when I got back to school."

In addition to being pastor at North Metro since 1980, Cox was also Chaplin for the Collins Hill High School football team, so he already had a great relationship with Fox.

"Miles by nature is a positive guy," Cox said. "But anytime you have a dream out there, and that dream becomes shaky. Am I going to be able to fulfill this dream? I have talked with him and prayed with him about it. But he always kept his focus. He knew what his dream was and what his goals were. He had the spiritual fortitude to get back to what he loved the most.

"What Miles grew to understand is that each one of us is here for a reason. God gave us all a purpose. During that time when he was out of football, he was focused on the purpose God had for him, and that's going to sustain him throughout his life."

While the 2020 college football season was certainly full of twists and turns, Fox did his best to capitalize on the opportunities he earned. Despite Carlos "Boogie" Basham grabbing the bulk of the headlines on the defensive line and eventually being selected 50th overall in the 2021 NFL Draft by the Buffalo Bills, it was Fox who led the Demon Deacons in tackles-for-loss (10.5). He had 24 total stops and 3.5 sacks in the nine-game 2020 season.

"Miles was a productive player for us last year," Cohen said. "For him to have never played in the ACC and not played football in two years. He was named by the coaches in the conference as All-ACC. Now, we knew he had the potential to be a very good football player, but it is not like we were pushing him for awards or did he have his name around for a while. He earned that because of the plays he made."

Fox made his mark early, coming through the middle in the first game of the season to take down eventual No. 1 draft pick Trevor Lawrence of top-ranked Clemson.

"Being two years removed from the last game I had played in, I did not know what to expect," Fox said. "I did not have a celebration in mind, as I did not expect to sack him at all. That was a tough game but leaving with that gave me a ton of confidence heading into the next few games.

"When I go back and watch that game, I just cringe. There was so much that went wrong. I do not do those things on a normal basis. I know it was rust. It was the No. 1 team in the nation, but I cannot use that as an excuse. It makes me mad, but it makes me want to take another shot at them."

That shot comes later this year, as the Demon Deacons seek to play meaningful games in November to fight their way up the conference rankings — with Fox being a leader on the defensive line.

"He knows he has more gas in the tank," Cohen said. "He knows if he wants to make a run at playing beyond college, he's now gotten his name out a bit and had success. He wants to take his game to the next level and make himself more marketable for the NFL."

Despite the winding road filled with injury and disappointment, Fox will finish his career this season as a defensive tackle for the Demon Deacons.

"Everything happens for a reason, so I'm glad everything turned out the way it did," Fox said in closing.

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Faith, Family & Football: Miles Fox’s Story Inspires All

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