Lamar N. Miller (born April 25, 1991) 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 ...

player who was a

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

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). 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

Miami Hurricanes The Miami Hurricanes, known informally as The U, UM, or The 'Canes, are the intercollegiate sports teams that represent the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. The Hurricanes compete in NCAA Division I, Division I of the National Coll ...

and was selected by the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...

in the fourth round of the

2012 NFL draft The 2012 NFL draft was the 77th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players for their rosters. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held ...

. He was also a member of the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

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 ...

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

Washington Football Team The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

, and

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

Early life

Miller attended

Miami Killian Senior High School Miami Killian Senior High School is a secondary school located at 10655 SW 97th Ave, Miami, FL 33176 in the Kendall area of unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida. The school is part of the Miami-Dade County Public Schools System. Miami Kil ...

Miami, Florida Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

. While there, he played

high school football High school football, also known as prep football, is gridiron football played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular high school sports, interscholastic sports in both c ...

for the Cougars. As a senior, he was a

Parade All-American ''Parade'' was an American nationwide Sunday newspaper magazine, distributed in more than 700 newspapers nationwide in the United States until 2022. The most widely read magazine in the U.S., ''Parade'' had a circulation of 32 million and a read ...

after rushing for 1,749 yards on 217 carries with 22

touchdowns A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

College career

Miller decided to play for the

rather than 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 ...

(near his mother's hometown) to stay close to home, and to follow the footsteps of other former Hurricanes running backs. He played at the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private university, private research university in Coral Gables, Florida, United States. , the university enrolled 19,852 students in two colleges and ten schools across over ...

under head coaches

Randy Shannon Randy Leonard Shannon (born February 24, 1966) is an American football coach and former player. He is the co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach for Florida State University, positions he has held since 2022. Shannon was the head coach a ...

and

Al Golden Alfred James Golden Jr. (born July 4, 1969) is an American professional football coach and former tight end who is the defensive coordinator of the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League (NFL). He served as the head football coach f ...

. After he was

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 ...

in 2009, Miller saw his first game action in 2010. In his collegiate debut, he scored a rushing touchdown against Florida A&M. In the following game against

Ohio State The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one of the largest universities by enrollme ...

, he had an 88-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. On November 6, against

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

, he had 22 carries for 125 yards and a rushing touchdown. Two weeks later, against

Virginia Tech The Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, commonly referred to as Virginia Tech (VT), is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States ...

, he had 15 carries for 163 yards and a touchdown. He played in 11 games with one start and rushed for 646 yards on 108 carries with six touchdowns. Miller took over as the Hurricanes starting running back in 2011. He started off the 2011 strong with five games going over 100 rushing yards, including a 184-yard day against

and 166-yard against

. During the 2011 season, Miller rushed for 1,272 yards and nine touchdowns. He became the first Miami running back since

Willis McGahee Willis Andrew McGahee III (born October 21, 1981) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Miami Hurricanes, earning consensus All-Americ ...

in the 2002 season to rush for over 1,000 yards in a season. Miller was also an All-ACC track performer at the

College statistics

Professional career

Miami Dolphins

2012 season

Miller was selected by the

in the fourth round of the

, 97th overall on April 28, 2012. On June 1, 2012, Miller signed a 4-year, $2.58 million contract, including a $480,000 signing bonus. As a rookie, Miller shared the backfield with

Reggie Bush Reginald Alfred Bush II (born March 2, 1985) is an American former professional football running back. He played college football for the USC Trojans, earning consensus All-American honors twice and winning the 2005 Heisman Trophy. Bush is wide ...

and Daniel Thomas. On September 16, he made his NFL debut running for 65 yards on a season-high 10 carries and a touchdown against the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...

. On December 23, Miller ran for a season-high 73 yards on 10 carries against the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

. In the 2012 season, Miller rushed for 250 yards and a touchdown.

2013 season

After the departure of Reggie Bush, Miller became the main running back on the team and continued to share time with Daniel Thomas. In Week 9, against the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...

, Miller had 16 carries for 105 yards in the 22–20 victory. Overall, he finished the 2013 season with 177 carries for 709 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns to go along with 26 receptions for 170 receiving yards.

2014 season

Coming into the 2014 season, Miller was the main running back with a backfield that consisted of him, Thomas, Damien Williams, and

Knowshon Moreno Knowshon Rockwell Moreno (born July 16, 1987) is an American former professional American football, football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Georgia Bulldogs football, Geor ...

. In Week 4, against the

, he had his first game with two rushing touchdowns in the 38–14 victory. In the Week 17 finale, Miller had a career-high 178 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown in the 37–24 loss to the

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

. Miller's rushing touchdown in the game went for 97 yards, the longest rushing play in franchise history. In the 2014 season, Miller finished with 216 carries for 1,099 rushing yards and eight rushing touchdowns to go along with 38 receptions for 275 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown.

2015 season

In Week 7, against the

, Miller had 175 rushing yards, one rushing touchdown, 61 receiving yards, and one receiving touchdown in the 44–26 victory. In Week 9, against the

, he had 141 scrimmage yards in the 33–17 loss. In Week 14, against the

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 had this third career game with two rushing touchdowns. In the 2015 season, Miller finished with 194 carries for 872 yards and eight rushing touchdowns to go along with 47 receptions for a career-high 397 yards and two receiving touchdowns.

Houston Texans

On March 9, 2016, Miller signed a four-year deal with the

worth $26 million with $14 million guaranteed. This contract was the sixth highest among running backs.

2016 season

In Week 6, against the Indianapolis Colts, Miller had 178 scrimmage yards, one rushing touchdown, and one receiving touchdown in the 26–23 victory. In the 2016 season, Miller rushed for 1,073 yards and five rushing touchdowns to go along with 31 receptions for 188 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown. He had four games going over the 100-rushing yards mark. The Texans qualified for the playoffs in the 2016 season. In the

Wild Card Round A wild card (also wildcard or wild-card and also known as an at-large berth or at-large bid) is an invitation to a tournament or a playoff berth awarded to a team or individual that does not qualify via an automatic bid. In some events, wildcards ...

against the

, Miller had 31 carries for 73 yards and a rushing touchdown in the 27–14 victory. In the Divisional Round against the New England Patriots, he finished with 19 carries for 74 yards and four receptions for 15 yards in the 34–16 loss.

2017 season

In Week 4, against the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. They play the ...

, Miller had a rushing and a receiving touchdown in the 57–14 victory. In Week 8, against the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

, he had another game with a rushing touchdown and a receiving touchdown. In the 2017 season, Miller finished with 238 carries for 888 rushing yards, three rushing touchdowns, 36 receptions, 327 receiving yards, and three receiving touchdowns.

2018 season

In the season opener against the

, Miller ran for 98 yards and caught a pass for 11 yards in the 20–27 loss. On September 23, Miller scored his first touchdown of the season, bringing in a touchdown catch on the final play of the game against the

. On October 21, Miller rushed for 100 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries against the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

. This touchdown was his eighth touchdown on the ground as a Texan, moving past quarterback David Carr into seventh-most in franchise history. The next week, Miller rushed for 133 yards and a touchdown against the

, included as well was a 58-yard run. His back-to-back 100-yard games were his first time as a Texan, the last time this was accomplished by a Texan was by

Arian Foster Arian Isa Foster (born August 24, 1986) is an American former football player who is a musical artist under the name Bobby Feeno. He played professionally as a running back in the National Football League (NFL). Foster played college football ...

in 2014. After this game, Foster surpassed 100 yards for the sixth time as a Texan, passing

Steve Slaton Steve Slaton (born January 4, 1986) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the West Virginia Mountaineers, earning unanimous All-American ...

Ben Tate Benjamin Franklin Tate (born August 21, 1988) is an American former professional American football, football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Houston Texans in the second round of the 20 ...

, and teammate

Alfred Blue Alfred Calvin Blue III (born April 27, 1991) is an American former professional American football, football running back. He was selected by the Houston Texans in the sixth round of the 2014 NFL draft. Blue is from Boutte, Louisiana and attended ...

into third most in franchise history. After running up 86 yards against the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

, he would follow that game with 162 yards and a touchdown against the

, including a 97-yard touchdown run. His touchdown run is the longest play in franchise history, and was the longest touchdown run in the NFL since he did it in 2014, becoming the only player in NFL history with two touchdown runs over 95 yards in a career. Overall, Miller finished the 2018 season with 973 rushing yards, five rushing touchdowns, 25 receptions, 163 receiving yards, and a receiving touchdown. The Texans finished atop the AFC South and earned the #3-seed for the AFC Playoffs. In the

against the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

, he had eight receptions for 63 yards in the 21–7 loss. He also rushed for 18 yards on five carries. Miller earned a Pro Bowl nomination for his 2018 season.

2019 season

During the team's third preseason game against the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

, Miller tore his ACL, prematurely ending his season. He was placed on injured reserve on August 26, 2019.

New England Patriots

On August 13, 2020, Miller signed with the

. He was placed on the active/ physically unable to perform list after signing. He was activated on August 31, 2020. Miller was released from the Patriots on September 5, 2020.

Chicago Bears

Miller was signed to the

' practice squad on October 5, 2020. The move reunited him with offensive coordinator Bill Lazor and running backs coach Charles London, whom he respectively played under in Miami and Houston, respectively. He was elevated to the active roster on November 16 for the team's Week 10 game against the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

, and reverted to the practice squad after the game, in which he recorded two catches for six yards and had no rushing attempts.

Washington Football Team

On December 17, 2020, Miller was signed by the

off the Bears' practice squad. He re-signed with the team on March 29, 2021, and was released on August 15, 2021.

New Orleans Saints

On October 19, 2021, the

signed Miller to their practice squad. He was released on November 16, 2021.

NFL career statistics

Records and achievements

NFL records

* Only player in NFL history to rush for a 90+ yard touchdown with two different teams * Only player in NFL history with two 95+ yard rushing touchdowns

Miami Dolphins records

* Longest rushing play: 97 yards

Houston Texans records

* Longest rushing play: 97 yards

References

External links

*
Miami Hurricanes bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Miller, Lamar 1991 births Living people American football running backs Chicago Bears players Houston Texans players 21st-century American sportsmen Miami Dolphins players Miami Hurricanes football players New England Patriots players New Orleans Saints players Players of American football from Miami Miami Killian Senior High School alumni Washington Football Team players American Conference Pro Bowl players