Brit Miller entered Michigan Stadium for the first time Saturday and made a sizeable impression.

The senior linebacker, who already leads the Illini in tackles this season, had nine total tackles and sacked Michigan quarterback Steven Threet on back-to-back plays midway through the third quarter.

It was an effort that headlined an encouraging performance from the Illini defense. Threet was sacked a total of four times and the Wolverines could muster only 69 total rushing yards.

Like the coaching staff, Miller was quick to point out the stellar play of the defensive line and a solid performance by the secondary. But more than anything, he credited a brief visit on the sideline from Dana Howard, a former Butkus Award winning linebacker who played at Illinois from 1991 to 1994.

“He touched me,” Miller said, gesturing to his side. “He came up right behind me and said, ‘Break your feet down.’ I said, ‘It makes sense now.'”

Miller joked that somehow, the advice from Howard resonated more with the lifelong Illini fan than the instruction his coaches had been giving him all season.

“They say it every day, but when Dana Howard says something, you just do it,” Miller said.

Keeping a close eye on his footwork allowed the senior to slide through the Wolverine offensive line not just once, but twice.

“I think that was probably one of my better days blitzing,” Miller said. “I was smarter about it, I didn’t just run in there like a wild bull in a china shop, as Coach Zook says.”

Co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Dan Disch said Miller set the bar for the Illini defense’s performance.

“He had been talking about Michigan for a while, coming in here, giving us a chance to win and get this thing going a little bit,” Disch said. “Leadership’s not about what you say, it’s about what you do, and he made some plays today that got us going.”

Cumberland’s return

It’s just about impossible for a wide receiver to run on a bad foot, and Jeff Cumberland knows it better than anyone. The 6-foot-5 junior had been battling a foot injury since the preseason and had played sporadically prior to last weekend, but made his presence known in a big way against Michigan.

At the start of the third quarter, Juice Williams uncorked a deep pass down the left sideline on third and long. Cumberland made a waist-high catch and, after his nearest defender fell trying to break up the pass, motored into the end zone.

The 77-yard completion was a career long for Williams on a stellar passing day, and it was the first touchdown reception of the year for Cumberland.

“I had been telling Juice that I was open all night on the go route,” Cumberland said.

The catch made up for the preceding play, in which Cumberland was called for holding. Head coach Ron Zook said Cumberland will likely see more playing time at receiver after his performance Saturday.

“I think you’re going to see more and more things from Jeff,” Zook said. “When you’re out of football like he was for three weeks, you want him just to come right back and that’s usually not how it is. He’s back, and I think it’s going to be a big boost for his confidence.”