Duane Miller (born 1947) is a former college and professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player. He holds nine

Drake University Drake University is a private university in Des Moines, Iowa. It offers undergraduate and graduate programs, including professional programs in business, law, and pharmacy. Drake's law school is among the 25 oldest in the United States. Hi ...

football records, many which have withstood the test of time. Miller's career at Drake (1966–1970) included record-breaking performances on offense, defense, punt returns and kickoff returns. He was selected for the Drake Football All-Century Team. Miller was chosen by 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 club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

in the 1970 NFL Draft. He played in all four preseason games and earned a spot on the 53-man regular season roster. He suffered a knee injury at the start of the season that ended his football career.

Early life

Duane Miller was born on December 12, 1947, the son of Delmar and Eleanor Miller. He grew up on a farm in

Kellerton, Iowa Kellerton is a city in eastern Ringgold County, Iowa, United States. The population was 243 at the time of the 2020 census. Geography Kellerton is located on Iowa Highway 2 approximately nine miles west of Mount Ayr and two miles west of the Ri ...

and attended

Mount Ayr, Iowa Mount Ayr is a city in Ringgold County, Iowa, United States. The population was 1,988 at the time of the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Ringgold County. Mount Ayr is a rural community in southwestern Iowa, 22 miles west of Interstate 35 o ...

schools. While attending Mount Ayr High School, Miller participated in a number of sports, receiving a total of 15 letters in football, track and field, baseball and basketball. In his senior year (1966), he was named to the Iowa All-State Football Team and set the

Drake Relays The Drake Relays (officially the Drake Relays presented by Xtream powered by Mediacom) is an outdoor track and field event held in Des Moines, Iowa, in Drake Stadium on the campus of Drake University. Billed as ''America's Athletic Classic'', it ...

High School Division record in long jump.

College career

For Miller's first 3 football seasons at Drake (1966–1968), he played defensive back and ran back punts and kickoffs. During his time at defensive back, he set the school record for interceptions and another record for interception return yardage—an average of 26 yards per interception return. In his senior season (1969), Miller switched from defensive back to wide receiver. He still holds the season record for receiving yards in a season - 1,393. Miller holds Drake records for the most punt return yards in a season (481 yards in 1969), and the most kickoff return yardage in a season (679 yards in 1969). Duane-miller

Miller also holds the Drake record for the 2 longest punt returns, both in 1969: 91 yards against North Texas State and 86 yards against Western Illinois. In 1969, Drake's home game against Northern Iowa was designated as 'Duane Miller Day' and included a ceremony at halftime. In December 1969, Drake met Arkansas State in the Pecan Bowl. Although Drake lost 29- 21, Miller played an outstanding game, with 9 receptions for a total of 192 yards. That same year, he was selected as a college division All-American.

Professional career

Duane Miller was the 5th player selection of the

in the

1970 NFL Draft The 1970 National Football League Draft was the 35th National Football League Draft and the first of the league's modern era, following the merger of the National Football League with the American Football League. It was held on January 27–28, 1 ...

. The team was coached by

Alex Webster Alex Webster (born 1969) is an American bass player who is best known as a member of the death metal band Cannibal Corpse. He is one of two remaining members of the original lineup of the band, along with drummer Paul Mazurkiewicz. He is al ...

and quarterbacked by

Fran Tarkenton Francis Asbury Tarkenton (born February 3, 1940) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons, primarily with the Minnesota Vikings. He played college football at ...

. Miller played in all four preseason games and earned a spot on the regular season 53-man squad. As the season was about to begin Miller sustained a knee injury that ended his career.

Post Football Career

Duane Miller graduated from Drake University with a degree in Business Administration in 1970. In 1972, he married his college sweetheart Donna (Hostetler) Miller. They have a son (Bret) and a daughter (Kyle). He also has three grandkids named Braylen, Olivia, and Dylan. Miller owns an insurance agency in

Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Miller, Duane 1947 births Living people People from Ringgold County, Iowa Drake Bulldogs football players Players of American football from Iowa Businesspeople from Des Moines, Iowa