Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

SOLON – Eventually Cody Milliman is going to have a choice to make.

The Solon senior two-way standout has excelled on both sides of the football throughout his career.

A three-year starter for the Spartans, Milliman has caught 43 passes for more than 600 yards as a wide receiver over the past two seasons.

On defense Milliman has racked up 47.5 tackles and four interceptions from his outside linebacker spot.

As Milliman evaluates his football future after high school he will need to make a decision on which side of the ball he wants to play at the college level.

Or maybe not.

“I’ve had some schools say offense and some schools say defense,” Milliman said of his recruiting. “I’ve even had schools talk about splitting to play a little bit of both.”

Milliman has gained attention from a number of Division III programs that like his combination of size, speed and most of all his versatility.

Those characteristics are just part of what makes Milliman a key piece on both sides of the ball for a Solon team seeking to build on an 11-1 season from last year that ended in the 3A semifinals.

Just as he has done for Solon during his prep career Milliman is open to playing on either side of the ball in college.

“I do like receiver better but I like playing defense too,” Milliman said. “I am open to either side of the ball in college if teams want me to play one or the other.”

The 6-foot-2, 200-pound Milliman is one of a number of uniquely talented two-way standouts for the Solon.

Like several of his classmates Milliman gained experienced early on in his career.

Milliman had eight receptions for 94 yards and made 24 tackles with 3.5 for loss and picked off a pass as a sophomore in 2024 helping Solon to an 8-3 record and a 3A quarterfinal appearance.

“When you play (early in your career) I feel like you just have to listen to the coaches and the players above you that have been doing it for a while,” Milliman said. “They will help you out a lot and that definitely helped me.”

The breakthrough for Milliman came last season when he emerged as one of the top two-way players in Class 3A.

As a receiver Milliman used his combination of size and speed to catch 35 passes for 516 yards and four touchdowns.

Defensively Milliman may have been even better a year ago.

He had 23.5 tackles from his outside linebacker spot and showed a knack for making plays near the line of scrimmage and in coverage.

Milliman had two tackles for loss, three interceptions, force a fumble and recovered two fumbles.

This season Milliman figures to be an even bigger piece of the puzzle on both sides of the ball for a Solon team loaded with returning talent.

On defense Milliman anchors a Solon linebacking group that must replace a pair of inside linebackers that ranked first and second on the team in tackles last season.

Offensively he joins seniors Kaden Hoeper and Grant Gordon and junior Owen Bock in a loaded receiving corps that will need to make up for the production of all-stater Maddox Kelley who makes the move to quarterback.
“For offense I am just focused on finishing my routes and getting out of breaks,” Milliman said. “On defense it’  finishing tackles better. Just wrapping up and finishing tackles and just running to the football a little better.”

Milliman may need to make a decision on where he plays eventually but not for now.

Now his focus is on helping Solon return to the UNI-Dome and move past the semifinals.

“The goal is to go further than we did last season,” Milliman said. “That’s what I’m focused on right now is helping our team any way that I can.”

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