Blake Randolph Miller (born August 23, 1968) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

center and coach who played one season in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) for the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

LSU Tigers The LSU Tigers and Lady Tigers (also known as the Fighting Tigers) are the athletic teams representing Louisiana State University (LSU), a state university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. LSU competes in Division I of the National Collegiat ...

and also had stints with the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

and

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

. He later was a coach.

Early life

Miller was born on August 23, 1968, in

Alexandria, Louisiana Alexandria is the ninth-largest city in the state of Louisiana and is the parish seat and largest city of Rapides Parish, Louisiana, Rapides Parish, Louisiana, United States. It lies on the south bank of the Red River of the South, Red River ...

. He attended Alexandria Senior High School, where he won two

varsity letter A varsity letter (or monogram) is an award earned in the United States for excellence in school activities. A varsity letter signifies that its recipient was a qualified varsity team member, awarded after a certain standard was met. A person who ...

s and was a starting

offensive tackle Offensive may refer to: * Offensive (military), type of military operation * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Fighting words, spoken words which would have a tendency to cause acts of violence by the ...

and

long snapper In gridiron football, the long snapper (or deep snapper) is a Center (gridiron football), center on American football positions#Special teams, special teams whose duty is to Snap (gridiron football), snap the football over a longer distance, ty ...

. As a

senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

, he was named first-team Class AAAA All-State. He was named one of the top 24 recruits in the state by the '' Baton Rouge Morning Advocate'' and committed to play

for the

over a number of other offers.

College career

Miller noted that he arrived at LSU in poor shape and "didn't know what hard work was." He initially performed poorly in school and had difficulty listening to the coaches. However, he then was told by coach Pete Mangurian that "You're never going to play if you don't learn how to work," and Miller became motivated to improve, starting a "turnaround" with him improving his grades and getting in better shape. Considered small for tackle at and , he moved to

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison gu ...

and also practiced at center as a

freshman A freshman, fresher, first year, or colloquially frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational in ...

in 1986. He

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

that year. In spring practice prior to the 1987 season, Miller began as the first-team center due to injuries to several others at the position. He ultimately returned to guard before the season began and played in 10 games as a backup, also serving as backup center but not seeing any action in that role. He helped them reach the 1987 Gator Bowl, where the Tigers defeated the

South Carolina Gamecocks The South Carolina Gamecocks represent the University of South Carolina in the NCAA Division I. The University of South Carolina uses "Gamecocks" as its official nickname and mascot. While the men's teams were traditionally known as the Fight ...

. Miller moved permanently to center prior to the 1988 season and became a backup to Todd Coutee. He ultimately played in seven games that season, which included a start against the

Florida Gators The Florida Gators are the College sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Florida, located in Gainesville, Florida, Gainesville. The University of Florida, its athletic program, its alumni an ...

when Coutee was injured. After Coutee graduated in 1989, Miller became LSU's full-time starter at center. He started all but one of the team's games and helped them reach a bowl game. He entered the 1990 season as the team's only returning starter from the 1986 class. He started all 11 games in the 1990 season and blocked for future first-round

NFL draft The NFL draft, officially known as the Annual Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the most common source of player recruitment in the National Football League. Each team is given a position in the drafting order in reve ...

pick Harvey Williams, earning

All-Southeastern Conference The All-SEC football team is an annual Southeastern Conference (SEC) honor bestowed on the best players in the conference following every college football season. Seasons

Following is a list of all-conference teams in the history of the SEC: ...

(SEC) honors from the league's coaches and second-team honors from the

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(AP). He was invited to the

Blue–Gray Football Classic The Blue–Gray Football Classic was an annual American college football all-star game held in Alabama, usually in late December and often on Christmas Day. The brainchild of Alabama college football legend Champ Pickens, the contest began in ...

, the East–West Shrine Bowl, and the

NFL Scouting Combine The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Foot ...

. He graduated from LSU with a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

in general studies and ended his college football career having been twice named the Tigers' offensive lineman of the year.

Professional career

Miller was selected in the seventh round (168th overall) of the

1991 NFL draft The 1991 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 21–22, 1991, at the Marriott Ma ...

by the

. He was released as part of the team's final roster cuts. He was re-signed to the team on their

practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

shortly after. He appeared in no games for the team and became a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

after the season. Miller was signed by the

in April 1992. He started in preseason and ultimately made the final roster. Initially a backup, he saw action as a starter following an injury to Kevin Glover. His season ended in mid-December when he was placed on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in ...

as a result of a sprained ankle. He appeared in a total of 14 games, five as a starter, during the 1992 season for the Lions. He was

waived A waiver is the voluntary relinquishment or surrender of some known right or privilege. A waiver is often written, such as a disclaimer that has been accepted, but it may also be spoken between two or more parties. When the right to hold a p ...

by the Lions in early May 1993 and was then claimed by the

, although they later released him in August 1993, ending his playing career.

Coaching career

Miller began coaching after his playing career, assisting at the Episcopal School of Baton Rouge and Kilgore High School between 1994 and 1996. He then joined the Northwestern State Demons and was their offensive line coach from 1997 to 1999, helping them win two conference championships. He then joined the Southwest Texas State Bobcats as offensive line coach in 2000 and rose to

offensive coordinator An offensive coordinator (OC) is a Coach (sport), coach responsible for a gridiron football team's offense (American football), offense. Generally, the offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator and special teams coordinator represent the second ...

in 2001. He joined the

SMU Mustangs The SMU Mustangs are the sport, athletic teams that represent Southern Methodist University in University Park, Texas, United States. SMU was founded in 1911 and joined the Southwest Conference, competing against Baylor Bears, Baylor, Rice Owls, ...

as offensive line coach in 2003 before returning to the Bobcats in 2004, serving the next three seasons as offensive line coach and co-offensive coordinator. He left for the

Rice Owls The Rice Owls are the sports teams representing Houston's Rice University in college sports. The name comes from the owls in Rice's crest. Rice participates in NCAA Division I athletics. A member of the American Athletic Conference, Rice sponsors ...

in 2007 and served two seasons as run game coordinator and offensive line coach, helping them win 10 games with a 2008 Texas Bowl win in his second year. Miller became the offensive line coach for the

Utah Utes The Utah Utes are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletics teams that represent the University of Utah, located in Salt Lake City. The athletic department is named after the Ute tribe of Native Americans in the Unite ...

in 2009 and, after two seasons there, left for the same role with the

Memphis Tigers The Memphis Tigers are the athletic teams that represent the University of Memphis, located in Memphis, Tennessee. The teams compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member of the American Athletic C ...

in 2011. He was not retained after his first season at Memphis.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Miller, Blake 1968 births Living people American football centers American football offensive guards American football offensive tackles Players of American football from Alexandria, Louisiana LSU Tigers football players New England Patriots players Detroit Lions players New York Giants players High school football coaches in Louisiana High school football coaches in Texas Northwestern State Demons football coaches Texas State Bobcats football coaches SMU Mustangs football coaches Rice Owls football coaches Utah Utes football coaches Memphis Tigers football coaches Coaches of American football from Louisiana