Miles Fox (born January 23, 1997) is an American 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 ...

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that typically lines up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the Guard (American football), offensive guards; however, he may also line up opposite one of the offensive Tackle (gridir ...

for the

Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division (CFL), East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home game ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

(CFL). He played college football for the

Wake Forest Demon Deacons The Wake Forest Demon Deacons are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Wake Forest University, located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. They compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Assoc ...

of the

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the ACC's eighteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athlet ...

(ACC). Prior to playing for Wake Forest as a graduate transfer, he attended and played football for the Old Dominion University Monarchs of

Conference USA Conference USA (CUSA) is a collegiate athletic conference of member institutions in the Southern and Western United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. CUSA's offices are located in Dallas, Texas. Mem ...

(C-USA). At Old Dominion, he earned 2017 All-

Honorable Mention honors. In 2020, at Wake Forest, he was named to the

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’ (AP) All- ACC First Team, ACC Media and Coaches’ All-ACC Third Team,

Phil Steele Phil Steele (c. 1960) is an American sportswriter and analyst who focuses exclusively on college and professional football. He is considered a "highly respected prognosticator" within the sports media. His company, Phil Steele Publications, pro ...

’s All-ACC Fourth Team, as well as nominated for the ACC's Piccolo Award, which recognizes the Conference's Comeback Player of the Year, based on Fox's 2020 season performance after having suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon in Spring 2019 and missing the entire 2019 season due to the injury. In 2021, he was named to the All- ACC Second Team by the AP, Phil Steele,

Athlon Sports Parade Media (previously known as AMG/Parade and Athlon Media Group) is a publisher founded in 1967 that is based in Nashville, Tennessee. Nashville's Spencer Hays was its majority stockholder. It was purchased by The Arena Group in 2022 and no ...

, and

Lindy's Sports ''Lindy's Sports'', also known as ''Lindy's'', is a sports magazine. It was established in 1982, and is located in Birmingham, Alabama. Lindy Davis is its publisher and founder, having started the magazine when he was a 26-year-old student at S ...

Early life

Fox attended and played football at

Collins Hill High School Collins Hill High School is a public high school in Gwinnett County, near Suwanee, Georgia, United States. The school is operated by Gwinnett County Public Schools. The only school which feeds into it is Creekland Middle School. Collins Hill w ...

Suwanee, Georgia Suwanee is a city in Gwinnett County and a part of the Atlanta metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 15,355; this had grown to an estimated 20,907 as of 2019. In 2020, its population was 20 ...

, where he was a team captain for both his junior and senior seasons. As a senior, he earned ''

Gwinnett Daily Post The ''Gwinnett Daily Post'' is a daily newspaper published in Gwinnett County, Georgia, and serves as the county's legal organ. The newspaper is owned by Times-Journal Inc. and prints Wednesday and Sunday each week. History In 1970 advertisin ...

'' Defensive Player of the Week honors for his performance against Central Gwinnett High School, in which he posted nine tackles, three tackles for loss, three sacks, and two quarterback hurries. He also recorded 16 tackles and four tackles for loss against

Norcross High School Norcross High School is a public high school in Norcross, Georgia, United States, part of the Gwinnett County School System, and serving the cities of Norcross and Peachtree Corners. The school's mascot is the Blue Devil. The school is also the ...

. He earned Class 7A First Team All-County and First Team All-Region 6 honors after recording 80 tackles, eight sacks, and one fumble recovery. As a part of the class of 2015, he was a three-star college football recruit prospect. He committed to attend and play college football at Old Dominion University of Conference USA in

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. It had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Virginia, third-most populous city ...

, over scholarship offers from

Arizona State Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is one of the largest ...

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as Georgia Tech, GT, and simply Tech or the Institute) is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Established in 1885, it has the lar ...

Middle Tennessee Middle Tennessee is one of the three Grand Divisions of Tennessee that composes roughly the central portion of the state. It is delineated according to state law as 41 of the state's 95 counties. Middle Tennessee contains the state's capital an ...

Georgia State Georgia State University (Georgia State, State, or GSU) is a public research university in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1913, it is one of the University System of Georgia's four research universities. It is also the second large ...

Kent State Kent State University (KSU) is a public research university in Kent, Ohio, United States. The university includes seven regional campuses in Northeast Ohio located in Ashtabula, Burton, East Liverpool, Jackson Township, New Philadelphia, ...

, and

South Alabama South Alabama and Lower Alabama are overlapping, poorly-defined terms for various parts of southern Alabama. Although it is not a strictly defined geographic region, it generally includes all Alabama counties south of the Black Belt. In that view ...

College career

2015

In his college football debut against

Eastern Michigan Eastern Michigan University (EMU, EMich, Eastern Michigan or simply Eastern) is a public research university in Ypsilanti, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1849 as the Michigan State Normal School, it was the fourth normal school (teachers' ...

, Fox made two solo tackles and one tackle for loss as a freshman reserve defensive tackle for Old Dominion. His best freshman season performance came against

Appalachian State Appalachian State University (), or App State, is a public research university in Boone, North Carolina, United States. It was founded as a teachers' college in 1899 by brothers B. B. and D. D. Dougherty and the latter's wife, Lillie Shull Dou ...

, in which he recorded four tackles (one solo), 1.5 tackles for loss, and 0.5 sack. The following game, he made his first career start at defensive tackle against

Marshall Marshall may refer to: Places Australia *Marshall, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria ** Marshall railway station Canada * Marshall, Saskatchewan * The Marshall, a mountain in British Columbia Liberia * Marshall, Liberia Marshall Is ...

and recorded four tackles. He forced his first career fumble against Florida International. He finished his 2015 freshman season with appearances in all 12 games, starting one, and recorded 25 tackles (nine solo), three tackles for loss, three quarterback hits/hurries, one forced fumble, and 0.5 sack.

2016

As a sophomore, Fox played in 11 games, starting 9, at defensive tackle for Old Dominion. His best games of the season came against

, in which he posted eight tackles (four solo) and one tackle for loss, and UTSA, in which he recorded one solo tackle, one tackle for loss, one sack, and one forced fumble. Fox helped the Monarchs to its first postseason bowl and first bowl victory in program history as they defeated

24–20 in the

2016 Bahamas Bowl The 2016 Bahamas Bowl was a post-season American college football bowl game played on December 23, 2016 at Thomas Robinson Stadium in Nassau in the Bahamas. The third edition of the Bahamas Bowl featured the Eastern Michigan Eagles of the Mid-A ...

Nassau, Bahamas Nassau ( ) is the capital and largest city of The Bahamas. It is on the island of New Providence, which had a population of 246,329 in 2010, or just over 70% of the entire population of The Bahamas. As of April 2023, the preliminary results of ...

. He finished the 2016 season with 27 tackles (13 solo), seven quarterback hurries, 4.5 tackles for loss, two sacks, and one forced fumble. His seven quarterback hurries mark is tied for the fifth-most all-time in a single season in Old Dominion program history.

2017

In Old Dominion’s season-opener against Albany, Fox recorded seven tackles (four solo), 1.5 sacks, and 1.5 tackles for loss. Against

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

, he recorded six tackles (two solo), career-high two sacks (tied for single-game team-high on the season), and two tackles for loss. He recorded six tackles (three solo) against then-No. 13-ranked

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 ...

. Against Florida Atlantic, in which he made seven tackles (two solo), one forced fumble, one sack, and one tackle for loss. In the final game of the season against

, he recorded eight tackles (tying his career-high), including six solo tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss (single-game team-high on the season), and one sack. As a junior, Fox started all 12 games at defensive tackle, and finished the 2017 season with the fourth-most tackles (57), second-most sacks (5.5), and third-most tackles for loss (9) on his team. His 5.5 sacks are tied for the eighth-most in a single season in Old Dominion history. His season performance earned him 2017 All-

Honorable Mention honors. He is one of 31 Old Dominion players to ever receive All-Conference USA recognition in program history (excluding Conference USA All-Freshman Team members). In an interview with

247Sports 247Sports is an American network of websites that focus mainly on college recruiting, athletic recruitment in college football and college basketball, basketball. It is owned and operated by Paramount Global, Paramount. The website hosts a large ...

, he attributed, in part, his significant jump in performance and productivity during the 2017 season to his incorporation of

yoga Yoga (UK: , US: ; 'yoga' ; ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines that originated with its own philosophy in ancient India, aimed at controlling body and mind to attain various salvation goals, as pra ...

into his prior off-season's training regimen, which provided him with increased flexibility and athleticism.

2018

As a senior, Fox started four games at defensive tackle for the

Monarchs A monarch () is a head of stateWebster's II New College Dictionary. "Monarch". Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority an ...

. He recorded his first and only career rushing attempt in Old Dominion's season-opening game against

Liberty Liberty is the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views. The concept of liberty can vary depending on perspective and context. In the Constitutional ...

. Although playing through injury and limited to special teams, he contributed to the biggest victory in Old Dominion history, and its first win over a Power-5 Conference opponent since the football program resumed in 2009, when the Monarchs defeated the No. 13-ranked

Virginia Tech Hokies The Virginia Tech Hokies are the athletic teams representing Virginia Tech in intercollegiate athletics. The Hokies participate in the NCAA's Division I Atlantic Coast Conference in 22 varsity sports. Virginia Tech's men's sports are football, b ...

. After starting the first four games of the 2018 season, he did not appear in another game and ultimately

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 ...

the season after sustaining a pair of ruptured ligaments as well as grade three

turf toe Sod is the upper layer of turf that is harvested for transplanting. Turf consists of a variable thickness of a soil medium that supports a community of turfgrasses. In British and Australian English, sod is more commonly known as ''turf'', ...

. Redshirting the 2018 season allowed Fox to retain his final year of collegiate eligibility. In his three-plus seasons playing defensive tackle at Old Dominion, Fox appeared in 39 games, starting 26, and recorded 116 tackles (52 solo), 16.5 tackles for loss, 12 quarterback hits/hurries, eight sacks, and three forced fumbles. His eight career sacks at Old Dominion is the ninth-most all-time in program history.

2019

After graduating from Old Dominion, Fox enrolled at Wake Forest University in January 2019 and joined the Demon Deacons’ football team as a graduate transfer. In transferring from Old Dominion to Wake Forest, Fox was a part of the first off-season of the “

transfer portal The NCAA transfer portal is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) application, database, and compliance tool created to manage and facilitate the process for student athletes seeking to transfer between member institutions. It is in ...

’s” existence following the NCAA's change to the college athlete transfer rules, which allowed for active college football players to enter their names into the portal and permitted other programs to initiate recruiting contact with portal players for potential transfer. After recovering from

plantar plate In the human foot, the plantar or volar plates (also called plantar or volar ligaments) are fibrocartilaginous structures found in the metatarsophalangeal (MTP) and interphalangeal (IP) joints. The anatomy and composition of the plantar plates ar ...

surgery on his 2018 season injuries, he joined the Demon Deacons’ football team for its off-season training program. However, just three days after being medically cleared (plantar injury) to participate in spring practice, he suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon in a non-contact drill before a scrimmage, which forced him to miss the

2019 season Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number) * One of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (1987 film), a 1987 science fiction film * '' 19-Nineteen'', a 2009 South Korean film * '' Dici ...

and required surgery and 14 months of recovery and rehabilitation.

2020

In 2020, Fox appeared in all nine of Wake Forest’s games, starting the final five games, at defensive tackle. In his Wake Forest debut and 2020 season-opening game against No. 1-ranked Clemson, Fox recorded two solo tackles, one tackle for loss, and one sack of

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

Trevor Lawrence William Trevor Lawrence (born October 6, 1999) is an American professional American football, football quarterback for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL). Considered among the highest-touted college football prospect ...

, who would go on to be the 2020 ACC Player of the Year (football),

ACC Athlete of the Year The Atlantic Coast Conference Athlete of the Year award is given to the male and female athlete who show extraordinary talent throughout the entire season. The award is decided by members of the Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association. Anthony J ...

(all sports), and

Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy ( ; also known simply as the Heisman) is awarded annually since 1935 to the top player in college football. It is considered the most prestigious award in the sport and is presented by the Heisman Trophy Trust followin ...

runner-up. In Wake Forest’s December 12 game against

Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...

, he recorded six solo tackles, a career-high four tackles for loss, and one sack, which earned him ACC Defensive Lineman of the Week honors. He finished the season with 24 tackles (17 solo), one pass breakup, one quarterback hit/hurry, and one fumble recovery. He recorded a team-high 10.5 tackles for loss and ranked third on the Demon Deacons in sacks with 3.5. Of Wake Forest’s graduate transfers, Fox, along with placekicker, Jack Crane, registered the most playing time during the 2020 season. His season performance earned him national attention as well as numerous high-profile honors, including AP All-ACC First Team, ACC Media and Coaches’ All-ACC Third Team, and Phil Steele's All-ACC Fourth Team. Coming off of his ruptured Achilles injury in 2019, his 2020 season performance also earned him recognition as a nominee for the Piccolo Award, given to the ACC's Comeback Player of the Year.

2021

Fox returned to Wake Forest for the 2021 season and his seventh season of college football, invoking the NCAA's decision to grant athletes an extra year of eligibility due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. Entering the season, Fox was selected to the Preseason All-ACC Second Team by Phil Steele, Athlon Sports, and Lindy's Sports. He was named a Wake Forest team captain for the 2021 season. In Wake Forest’s season-opening game against his former team, Old Dominion, Fox recorded five tackles (three solo) in the Demon Deacons’ 42–10 victory. He was named to the Pro Football Network's College Football Team of the Week First Team for his Week 4 efforts against

Syracuse Syracuse most commonly refers to: * Syracuse, Sicily, Italy; in the province of Syracuse * Syracuse, New York, USA; in the Syracuse metropolitan area Syracuse may also refer to: Places * Syracuse railway station (disambiguation) Italy * Provi ...

, in which he recorded two tackles (one solo), 1.5 tackles for loss, 0.5 sack, one quarterback hit, and six quarterback pressures. Starting at defensive tackle in all 12 games in which he played, Fox helped Wake Forest to an 8–0 start to the 2021 season, ranking as high as No. 9 in both the

College Football Playoff The College Football Playoff (CFP) is an annual single-elimination tournament, knockout invitational tournament to determine a national champion for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, D ...

Rankings and the AP Poll. The Demon Deacons ultimately finished the season as the No. 15-ranked team nationally with an 11–3 record and 38–10 victory over

Rutgers Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College and was aff ...

in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl, in which he recorded four tackles (three solo), one tackle for loss, and one quarterback hurry. He finished the season with 34 tackles (14 solo) and two quarterback hits/hurries. His seven tackles for loss and three sacks both ranked fourth-most on the team, respectively. Fox's 2021 season performance earned him consensus All-ACC Second Team honors by the ACC Media and Coaches’, the AP, Phil Steele, Athlon Sports, and Lindy's Sports.

College statistics

*Fox missed the entire 2019 season due to a ruptured Achilles tendon.

Professional career

In 2022, Fox was invited to rookie

mini camp A mini-camp, also spelled minicamp, is a short camp held by National Football League (NFL) and Canadian Football League (CFL) teams usually in spring of each year. The camp usually only lasts 3 days, but the length varies by a day or two depending ...

on a tryout basis with 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 ...

BC Lions

On May 21, 2022, Fox signed with the

BC Lions The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division (CFL), West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions playe ...

of the

(CFL). On June 4, 2023, Fox was released by the Lions.

Winnipeg Blue Bombers

Fox was signed to the practice roster of the

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division (CFL), West division. They play thei ...

on June 12, 2023. He 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 ...

upon the expiry of his contract on February 11, 2025.

Hamilton Tiger-Cats

On February 11, 2025, Fox signed a two-year contract with the

Personal life

Fox was born to George and Cheryl Fox, in

Lawrenceville, Georgia Lawrenceville is a city in and the county seat of Gwinnett County, Georgia, United States. It is a suburb of Atlanta, located approximately northeast of downtown. It was incorporated on December 15, 1821. As of the 2020 census, the populatio ...

, where he was raised along with his little brother, Jackson, and sister, Gabriella. Jackson, who is

autistic Autism, also known as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by differences or difficulties in social communication and interaction, a preference for predictability and routine, sensory processing di ...

, is a “source of motivation and inspiration” for Fox, including during Fox's trying times resulting from his 2019 Achilles tendon rupture. While at Wake Forest, he created a children's book series, ''Joyful Jamal!'', based on Jackson and that highlights the daily challenges of children with autism. Fox plans to one day found a

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

, the mission of which will include assisting families with autistic children. In 2015, as a freshman at Old Dominion, he was named to the Conference USA Commissioner's Honor Roll for his academic achievements. In 2018, he graduated from Old Dominion 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 ...

Communications Communication is commonly defined as the transmission of information. Its precise definition is disputed and there are disagreements about whether Intention, unintentional or failed transmissions are included and whether communication not onl ...

and minor in

Sports Management Sport management is the field of business dealing with sports and recreation. Sports management involves any combination of skills that correspond with planning, organizing, directing, controlling, budgeting, leading, or evaluating of any organiza ...

. After enrolling at Wake Forest in January 2019, he earned his Liberal Arts Studies

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

after the Fall semester of 2020. He was named to the 2021 All-ACC Academic Team. In the summer of 2019, while rehabbing his Achilles injury, he returned home to Lawrenceville, where he dedicated 20 hours each week to serving underprivileged youth at a local church as well as his former and other local high schools. In 2021, Fox appeared as a guest interviewee on the ''Movin’ The Sticks with Mason Shand and Cody Downham'' podcast and the ''Pypeline ACC Podcast''. The mother of his Wake Forest teammate, Peyton Woulard, was Fox's seventh grade teacher. Fox and Woulard were also high school teammates at Collins Hill as a high school senior and freshman, respectively.

References

External links

Old Dominion Monarchs bio

Wake Forest Demon Deacons bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fox, Miles Living people Old Dominion Monarchs football players Wake Forest Demon Deacons football players Players of American football from Lawrenceville, Georgia American football defensive tackles 1997 births Winnipeg Blue Bombers players BC Lions players Hamilton Tiger-Cats players Canadian football defensive linemen Players of Canadian football from Georgia (U.S. state)