Bryan Millard (born December 2, 1960) is an American former professional football player who was an offensive lineman in the

United States Football League The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...

(USFL) and

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He played college football for the Texas Longhorns. He began his pro career with the USFL's

New Jersey Generals The New Jersey Generals were a franchise of the United States Football League (USFL) established in 1982 to begin play in the spring and summer of 1983. The team played three seasons from 1983 to 1985, winning 31 regular season games and losing ...

. From 1984 until 1991, Millard played primarily at

offensive guard Offensive may refer to: * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Offensive (military), an attack * Offensive language ** Fighting words or insulting language, words that by their very utterance inflict in ...

for the NFL's Seattle Seahawks.

Career

Millard started in 1981 and 1982 for UT-Austin, helping the Longhorns compile two consecutive second-place finishes in the

Southwest Conference The Southwest Conference (SWC) was an NCAA Division I college athletic conference in the United States that existed from 1914 to 1996. Composed primarily of schools from Texas, at various times the conference included schools from Oklahoma ...

. In 1981, Millard's team won the

Cotton Bowl Classic The Cotton Bowl Classic (also known as the Cotton Bowl) is an American college football bowl game that has been held annually in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex since January 1, 1937. The game was originally played at its namesake stadium i ...

and received a #2 national ranking in the final AP Poll. His 1982 team lost the Sun Bowl and ranked #17 in the final AP Poll, but Millard won recognition as a first-team all-conference tackle.Our Almost Hall of Fame Page
/ref> Millard went undrafted by the NFL in 1983, but the New Jersey Generals of the USFL drafted him in the 12th round. As a rookie, Millard helped Herschel Walker run for 1,812 yards, though a knee injury sidelined Millard in midseaso

In 1984, Millard's blocking helped Walker compile 1,339 rushing yards, while Fullback (American football), fullback Maurice Carthon also gained more than a thousand yards on the ground. The Generals made the playoffs that year, but after the USFL's spring season ended, Millard left the team and joined the Seahawks in the NFL that fall. After riding the pine in 1984, Millard started 9 games at left tackle in 1985. In 1986, the Seahawks moved him to right guard, where he started until his retirement after the 1991 season.Bryan Millard Statistics - Pro-Football-Reference.com
/ref> Millard's blocking helped make the Seahawks an offensive powerhouse, featuring the

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

talents of

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

Dave Krieg, wide receiver

Steve Largent Stephen Michael Largent (born September 28, 1954) is an American former football wide receiver and politician who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons with the Seattle Seahawks. A member of the Republican Party, he serve ...

, tailback

Curt Warner Curtis Edward Warner (born March 18, 1961) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL). A two-time All-American at Penn State University, Warner was drafted by the Seattle Se ...

and fullback John L. Williams. NFL scouts at the time considered him one of the most underrated offensive linemen in the gam

but Millard won individual recognition as a second-team all-conference guard in the 1988

United Press International United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20t ...

poll. As the starting right guard, he helped the Seahawks post winning records in 1986, 1987, 1988 and 1990, and to make the playoffs in 1987 and 1988. He is also the player to give Dave Krieg his nickname, Mudbone. Injuries forced Millard to retire after the 1991 season. Since retiring from football, he has worked as a pharmaceutical salesman and now owns a chain of gas stations in

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

. In 1997, an NFL.com poll named him the greatest offensive lineman in Seahawks history.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Millard, Bryan 1960 births Living people American football offensive linemen Seattle Seahawks players Texas Longhorns football players New Jersey Generals players