Miles Capers: Last man standing – The Vanderbilt Hustler

“Was this meant to be or something?” 
That’s the question that entered Miles Capers’ mind as Clark Lea took the head coaching job at Vanderbilt in December of 2020. 
Lea began his coaching career with UCLA in 2006 as a graduate assistant. He went on to work with South Dakota State, Bowling Green, Syracuse and Wake Forest in assistant coaching roles. But he truly stepped into the spotlight in 2018 after taking over Mike Elko’s job as the defensive coordinator for Notre Dame. There, Lea helped coach one of the best programs in the nation, finishing 12-1, 11-2 and 10-2 across his three seasons, respectively. 
Capers was first introduced to Lea during his high school career while Lea was still with Notre Dame, though their first interactions brought some confusion for Capers. 
“It really started when I was in high school,” Capers said. “[Lea] was at Notre Dame, and he came to talk to me. It was a long talk, and it was like he was playing mind games with me, but I didn’t know if he was playing mind games with me. He was asking me a lot of questions, but I was young. I didn’t know how to answer some questions yet.” 
It was clear why Capers garnered such high-level interest throughout his high school career, particularly during his senior season. The Sumter, South Carolina, native helped lead his team to an 8-1 record — good for the No. 9 rank in the state. As a 6’5, 220-pound outside linebacker, Capers totaled 57 tackles, 7.5 tackles-for-loss and 1.5 sacks. 
Despite a strange recruiting season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Capers accumulated 14 offers from collegiate programs — nine of which came from then-Power 5 schools. But these offers weren’t exactly what they seemed at face value. 
“I had a lot of offers,” Capers said. “But I got recruited during COVID, so we couldn’t take visits or anything. I would have the offers, but people would commit, and then the spots would fill up.” 
It took some time for Capers to evaluate these offers and determine whether he wanted to attend any of these schools to continue his football career. 
“My last three schools — Tennessee, Mississippi State, and [Vanderbilt] — Tennessee got all the people they needed,” Capers said. “I really didn’t want to go to Mississippi State, and then South Carolina [offered me but] wanted me to wait after signing day to commit.” 
I always had a chip on my shoulder. I wasn’t recruited how I wanted to be recruited in high school, and that really drove me.
— Miles Capers
Capers didn’t love any of these options. But then he thought back to some conversations that he had with a particular Notre Dame defensive coordinator: Clark Lea. 
“I remember talking to Coach Lea because he recruited me at Notre Dame,” Capers said. “He took the job at Vanderbilt, and he [told me that] he wanted me to come with him to Vanderbilt, and I ended up here.” 
The main thing that Capers was looking for during his recruiting process was a school that wanted him as much as he wanted it. And Vanderbilt happened to be exactly that, as he determined after a few phone conversations with some important people in its athletics department. 
“What really got me was when [athletic director] Candice Lee called me and had a conversation with me,” Capers said. “[She was] telling me how much she wanted me here, and Coach Lea called me, and that really solidified where I wanted to go. That was my goal: to go to a school that really wanted me.” 
Vanderbilt certainly fit that bill. Lea, especially, was adamant about getting Capers to come with him during his coaching transition. After speaking with Lea at Notre Dame, Capers knew Nashville, Tennessee, was the place for him. 
“It made me think when [Lea] took the job at Vanderbilt,” Capers said. “I thought, ‘Was this meant to be or something?’ Then he gave me his old football number (No. 29), and I was like, ‘What?’ I don’t know. I still don’t know.” 
From that moment on, Lea and Capers would work to foster a special relationship between coach and player. In fact, Capers is the only Class of 2021 recruit left on the team, making him the final player from Lea’s original recruiting class with the Commodores. 
“We have a good relationship,” Capers said. “When I first got here, [Lea] actually said it was meant to be.” 
Life wasn’t so easy for Capers after getting to campus. He was struggling with his mental health, partially due to his father getting sick with COVID. Lea was there for him, though, and made sure he felt at home. 
“I went through a lot of stuff my freshman year,” Capers said. “I remember [Lea] talking to me, and I had to go talk to like therapists and stuff because I was going through a lot. My dad had COVID after his heart transplant, and that’s really what brought us closer. While I was going through those tough times, [Lea] was there, and it really made me open up to people more. When I came [to Vanderbilt], I didn’t talk as much, and I’m really opening up to people more every year because of the messages he gave me, and I just learned a lot from it.” 
Another person who Capers felt particularly close with was safety Marlen Sewell. The two came to Vanderbilt, both as members of the 2021 recruiting class, and stayed at Vanderbilt for their entire collegiate careers.
“[Sewell] played a big part in my early career, too,” Capers said. “We came in together, and we stuck it out with each other. We stayed the whole time. He was a big reason why I stayed and why I kept pushing, too, because we both wanted to win here, and we got it.” 
Sewell ended his Vanderbilt career on a high note and has since moved on to the NFL, where he is currently rostered on the Chicago Bears. He came in as a middle-of-the-pack recruit for the Commodores but proved he was worth much more than that. 
Capers, similarly, felt more motivated than ever to prove the doubters wrong after he arrived on campus. In Lea’s inaugural recruiting class, Capers was one of the lower-rated prospects, receiving just three stars from both On3/Rivals and 247 Sports. 
“I always had a chip on my shoulder,” Capers said. “I wasn’t recruited how I wanted to be recruited in high school, and that really drove me. Obviously, I wanted to play my freshman year, so I was trying to beat out anybody in front of me. It lit a fire under me because I wanted to prove people that I wasn’t [just a three-star].” 
With that goal in mind, Capers succeeded, as he did in fact play during his freshman season. While he only appeared in four games and accumulated three total tackles, it was clear that his impact would carry over into the next season after finishing just 2-10 in 2021. 
Unfortunately, that was put on hold after an ACL tear sidelined him for the entirety of his sophomore year. Capers didn’t view this injury as a setback, though. He used it to work on the other aspects of his life that would help improve him as a person and a football player. 
“I feel like I really needed that year because I was ready, but I wasn’t ready at the same time to step in that role that I need to step in,” Capers said. “Having that year off really helped me mentally because I had a lot of mental health issues back then. It taught me patience and process. I connected with a lot of people in this program. I got closer with academics, athletic trainers and recruiting people. It strengthened my relationships with people. Instead of me being all tucked away and depressed, I connected more with other people while I was injured.” 
Capers used that year off to improve his football skills, as well. He came back stronger than ever and appeared in all 12 games as a junior, recording 29 tackles, 3.5 TFLs and a sack. 
His true breakout didn’t come until his senior season, though. Capers once again appeared in all 12 games — this time starting every single one of them. He made 46 tackles, 8 of which went for a loss, along with 3 sacks, 3 forced fumbles and an interception. One of those plays was particularly special — a blindside hit and forced fumble on Jalen Milroe in Vanderbilt’s historic upset over then-No. 1 Alabama. 
17 days until kickoff
Miles Capers (1) forces a fumble against Alabama which Yilanan Ouattara (1) recoverspic.twitter.com/Bjm40DZdPI
— Barstool Vandy (@BarstoolVandy) August 13, 2025

Progression isn’t always linear; in fact, it rarely is. That’s why it was so important for Capers to see his hard work finally pay off and come to fruition in 2024. 
“It meant a lot,” Capers said. “We brought in some people with the same mindset that I had, so that really played a big part. Khordae [Sydnor], Randon [Fontenette], Diego [Pavia], Eli [Stowers] — when you’re around people like that, it just gives you more to strive for. That year was a good year for everybody to be honest. That’s really when people realized that Vanderbilt was not the old Vanderbilt anymore.” 
Capers is right — that’s undoubtedly the season that put Vanderbilt on the map. Finishing 6-6 in the regular season, along with a win over Georgia Tech in the Birmingham Bowl, set the program up for success in the following season. 
But the success that Capers and his teammates found in 2025 was unprecedented for fans and media. Vanderbilt finished 10-2 in the regular season, with its only losses coming on the road to Alabama and Texas — two ranked teams. The ’Dores finished the season ranked No. 14 in the AP Poll and the CFP Rankings, just missing out on a potential College Football Playoff berth. 
This outcome didn’t come as any surprise to Capers. “Team Four,” as he calls the 2024 team that represented his fourth season in college, paved the way for “Team Five,” the next season’s team. 
“Team Five was just a build-off of Team Four,” Capers said. “We had chemistry, and we didn’t want to deviate from where we were the year before. We wanted to keep going up, and that’s still the goal. With the playoff stuff, we could have easily been there, but we lost two games that we should have won. It’s nothing we can dwell on, but we have to do better this year.” 
The graduate student is now holding up his end of the bargain. Capers is on pace for his best statistical season yet, already racking up 14 tackles, 5 TFLs, a sack, a forced fumble and an interception through just four games. He hasn’t done anything new to achieve these numbers, though; it’s just consistency. 
“I really just stand in my process,” Capers said. “I’m not stat chasing. I’m just playing within the structure [of the defense] and with my teammates and having fun. I feel like when we play together, everybody can make plays, and that’s really it: playing together and continuing to stack wins on Saturdays.” 
Winning on Saturdays is the primary goal of any college football team in America, and Capers shares this goal with every other member of the team, especially with Lea. 
Together, the two have transformed a program that was 2-10 when they first arrived to one that finished 10-2 last year and is no longer the laughingstock of the SEC. That’s always been Capers’ vision. 
“I always had the vision of winning,” Capers said. “When I first signed the papers, I thought, ‘We have to win.’ I told [Lea] that we were going to beat [Alabama] when we were on that first phone call and look where we are now. We both had the same mindset of changing the program. I didn’t come here to lose or bow down to anybody, and he didn’t either, so I feel that’s why we click instantly.” 
Winning is of paramount importance to Capers, but he still has goals for himself. 
“I got goals, and I strive for them every day,” Capers said. “Whether I hit them or not, I’ll be proud because I put my all into this program, and I won’t have any regrets regardless of if I hit them or not.” 
Commodore Faithful can rest assured that Capers will always give his all to this program, just as he has done over the past four seasons and counting. Loyalty, perseverance and faith in himself and his teammates are just a few of the things that have helped guide Capers to such a successful tenure as a member of the Black and Gold. 
His time isn’t quite over, either — Vanderbilt currently sits at 3-1 (0-1 SEC) after losing its first conference game to Auburn, but it has eight games remaining to turn 2026 into another historic season for the program. That all starts in Athens, Georgia, on Saturday, Oct. 3, when Capers and the ’Dores will look to pull off one of the unlikeliest upsets of the college football season thus far. 
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