Grind City Football: From walk-on to program’s all-time most prolific receiver, Miller’s playmaking fueling Tigers’ nationally ranked ride
Michael WallaceBy Phil Stukenborg
Grind City Media CorrespondentMEMPHIS – With every reception – from the routine to the acrobatic – Anthony Miller is chasing history.
A year ago, Miller established University of Memphis single-season records for receptions (95), touchdowns (14), 100-yard games (8) and receiving yards. His 1,434 yards last season allowed him to comfortably surpass the mark set by former NFL Pro Bowl wideout Isaac Bruce in the 1990s.
Earlier this season, Miller knocked Carlos Singleton from atop the career touchdown receptions list. Singleton had 22 while playing for coach Tommy West from 2006 to 2009, while Miller has 28 scoring grabs in 32 career games.
I feel like the train is on the tracks and it’s rolling pretty good. I don’t see us slowing down at all.
— Anthony MillerWhen the 24th-ranked Tigers play host to Tulane on Friday night at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium, Miller will find two additional records, both career marks, within reach. Miller needs 15 catches and 69 receiving yards to eclipse Duke Calhoun and become the program’s all-time leader in those categories.
It’s been a remarkably productive career for Miller, the former walk-on who impressed the Tigers’ staff as a football camp attendee while at Christian Brothers High School, and he’s continued to impress.
“He’s grown, he’s developed, he’s matured,” said Tigers’ offensive coordinator Darrell Dickey. “But from Day One it was almost like he had a chip on his shoulder, or something to prove.”
Dickey said he and former Memphis receivers coach Holmon Wiggins convinced ex-Tiger coach Justin Fuente to take a chance on Miller, who was ranked by 247Sports as only the 42nd-best prep prospect in the city and 1,749th in the country.
Now, Miller has shown two staffs the value of that conviction and has rendered those ratings moot.
Memphis Tigers receiver Anthony Miller (No. 3) has come a long way since entering college as a walk-on after being ranked the 1,749th-best prep prospect while attending Christian Brothers High School. Photo Credit: Joe Murphy/Getty Images
“I love coaching Anthony because he wants to be coached, he wants to be pushed,” said Memphis coach Mike Norvell. “There are no off days when he steps on that field. If there is something he’s not doing to our standard, I make sure he hears about it. But he embraces that.”
So far this season, Norvell has offered Miller more congratulatory high-fives than admonishment. Miller had a career-best four touchdown catches in a lopsided win at UConn earlier this month, and two key scoring grabs in a win over nationally ranked Navy a week later.
While he didn’t have a touchdown catch in last week’s dramatic comeback victory at Houston, he finished with 10 catches for 178 yards. Miller has had double-digit receptions in three consecutive games. Nationally, he ranks in the Top 10 in multiple receiving categories, including a tie for second with nine touchdown catches. He is third nationally with 112 receiving yards per game and fifth in receptions at eight per game.
“The first couple of games, mostly because of weather, we couldn’t get the offense going,” said Miller, listed at 5-11 and 190 pounds. “Now I feel like the train is on the tracks and it’s rolling pretty good. I don’t see us slowing down at all.”
Miller said it was difficult to have a significant impact in the opener because of heavy rains and winds associated with the remnants of a hurricane. Miller was limited to two catches for 23 yards in a 37-29 win Aug. 31 over Louisiana-Monroe.
Since then, he’s averaged nine catches and 127 yards per game.
“I like to produce,” Miller said. “But at the end of the day, it’s all about wins.”
Both are happening at a rapid pace for Memphis these days.
The Tigers (6-1) became bowl eligible with their 42-38 win at Houston, a wild affair in which Memphis overcame a 17-point, second-half deficit by scoring all 42 points after halftime. Miller’s fingertips were all over the comeback. He had a 36-yard reception to the Houston 26 to extend the third Memphis touchdown drive, and he drew a pass-interference call that gave the Tigers a first down at the Houston 14 on Memphis’ fourth touchdown march.
On the Tigers’ following possession, Miller had a 52-yard catch to the Houston 10-yard line.
Tigers receiver Anthony Miller already owns Memphis’ career record for touchdown receptions with 28 and counting entering Friday’s game against Tulane. Photo Credit: Joe Murphy/Getty Images
“When the game is on the line, I don’t mind plays being called for me,” Miller said. “I love those opportunities. I love the bright lights. I love the pressure being put on me.”
His contributions have the Tigers in position to win the West Division and reach the American Athletic Conference championship game, which would be a program first. If Miller maintains his production level, he’s projected to match, or slightly exceed, last year’s record-setting totals for receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns.
As unique as it has been for a former walk-on to become the most successful receiver in the program’s history, Dickey, who was a member of the previous staff when Miller attended that camp, hasn’t been surprised by Miller’s ascent.
“He came to that football camp and he was just fabulous,” Dickey recalled. “You could see his work ethic and his personality and that he loved to play and compete. And what I remember most from his first (year) here had nothing to do with his pass catching. He was probably the most vicious blocker for a wide receiver I’d ever seen. He’s just had a passion for this since the first time we saw him in camp.”
The contents of this page have not been reviewed or endorsed by the Memphis Grizzlies. All opinions expressed by Michael Wallace and/or Phil Stukenborg are solely his own and do not reflect the opinions of the Memphis Grizzlies or its Basketball Operations staff, owners, parent companies, partners or sponsors. His sources are not known to the Memphis Grizzlies and he has no special access to information beyond the access and privileges that go along with being an NBA accredited member of the media.
Published on Oct 27, 2016
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