Terry Miller (born January 7, 1956) is an American former

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 ...

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 ...

and

kickoff returner A return specialist or kick returner is a player on the special teams unit of a gridiron football team who specializes in returning punts and kickoffs. There are few players who are exclusively return specialists; most also play another position ...

who played 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) 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 ...

and 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 ...

. Miller 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

Oklahoma State Cowboys The Oklahoma State Cowboys and Cowgirls are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Oklahoma State University, located in Stillwater. The program's mascot is a cowboy named Pistol Pete. Oklahoma State participates at the National ...

. He was a twice

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

in 1976 and 1977 and finished second in the 1977

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 ...

voting to winner

Earl Campbell Earl Christian Campbell (born March 29, 1955), nicknamed "the Tyler Rose", is an American former professional football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for eight seasons, primarily with the Houston Oilers. Known f ...

. Miller ran for 1,069 yards in his NFL rookie season, but had only 484 total rushing yards in his second season (second to Bills fullback

Curtis Brown Curtis Lee "Curt" Brown Jr. (born March 11, 1956) is a former NASA astronaut and retired United States Air Force colonel. Background Colonel Brown was born March 11, 1956. He graduated from East Bladen High School in Elizabethtown, North Carolin ...

). By 1980, with Buffalo having found a star in rookie running back

Joe Cribbs Joe Stanier Cribbs (born January 5, 1958) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) and United States Football League (USFL). He played college football at Auburn University ...

, Miller was relegated to mostly Kickoff returner duty. Terry was voted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2022.

References

1956 births Living people American football running backs American football return specialists Buffalo Bills players Oklahoma State Cowboys football players Seattle Seahawks players All-American college football players Players of American football from Columbus, Georgia 21st-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen College Football Hall of Fame inductees 20th-century American sportsmen {{runningback-1950s-stub