Heath Miller
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Heath Miller | |
|---|---|
| Date of birth | October 22, 1982 (age 24) |
| Place of birth |  Richlands, Virginia |
| Position(s) | Tight end |
| College | Virginia |
| NFL Draft | 2005 / Round 1/ Pick 30 |
| Statistics | |
| Team(s) | |
| 2005-present | Pittsburgh Steelers |
Earl Heath Miller, Jr. (born October 22, 1982 in Richlands, Virginia) is an American football tight end for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the NFL. He was selected as the 30th overall pick of the 2005 NFL Draft out of the University of Virginia. Some consider him to be the greatest tight end in Atlantic Coast Conference history. Miller attended Honaker High School in Honaker, Virginia.
Contents |
[edit] High School career
Miller rewrote the school record book at Honaker, while playing under head coach Doug Hubbard. A quarterback and safety, Miller starred on the two most successful teams in school history. As a senior in 2000, Miller guided the Tigers to the Virginia High School League Group A, Division 2 state championship game where they lost to King William High School. Miller was also a standout baseball and basketball player.
[edit] College career
Nicknamed “Big Money” for his ability to gain first downs and touchdowns, Heath Miller was a three-year starter at tight end (TE) for the University of Virginia. He led ACC TEs in receiving every year of his career (2002-2004), and he was the 2004 recipient of the John Mackey Award, presented annually by the Nassau County Sports Commission to the top tight end of the season.
Originally signed to play quarterback, Miller made the transition to the tight end position during his redshirt freshman year. He did throw one pass during his college career, hooking up with fellow tight end Patrick Estes for a score in a prime-time game against South Carolina.
In his freshman season, Heath set an ACC record for freshmen TEs with 9 touchdown receptions in a season. He followed that up with a sophomore campaign that saw him set ACC TE records for receptions (70) and yards (835) in a season. In his junior season, Heath was awarded the John Mackey Award and was only the second player in Virginia history to be a unanimous All American.
Heath concluded his career holding ACC records for most career receptions (144), yards (1703) and touchdowns (20) by a tight end. In Virginia history, these totals place Heath 2nd in receptions, 7th in yards, and 4th in touchdown receptions, regardless of position. He also shares the school record for most 100-yard games by a TE (3), and he caught at least one pass in 32 of his final 33 games.
[edit] NFL career
In his rookie season with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Heath Miller finished with 39 receptions for 459 yards and 6 touchdowns. He is also the second John Mackey Award recipient to win a Super Bowl. (The other is Daniel Graham of the New England Patriots.) During a four game stretch in his rookie season, he caught 5 touchdown passes and was considered a strong candidate for the Offensive Rookie of the Year award. Though he cooled off, he remained a solid contributor in the Steelers' 2005 Super Bowl run. Miller caught 3 passes for 61 yards and 1 touchdown in the Steelers 21-18 upset win over top seeded Indianapolis Colts in the divisional playoff round.
In the Steelers opening game of the 2006 season, Miller caught 3 passes for 101 yards, including an 87-yard touchdown reception, the longest touchdown catch by a tight end in a regular season game since 1974. It was also the longest catch ever recorded in the Steelers home stadium, Heinz Field. Replays showed that he should have been marked out of bounds at about the 1 yard line, but the play was not challenged by Miami Dolphins coach Nick Saban quickly enough. Miller finished the season with 34 catches for 393 yards and 5 touchdowns.
