Lonyae Durell Miller Jr. (born April 29, 1988) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

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)#Offen ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

for 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 club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...

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 club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...

and

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

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Fresno State University California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) is a public university in Fresno, California. It is one of 23 campuses in the California State University system. The university had a fall 2020 enrollment of 25,341 students. It offers bache ...

Early years

Miller was born in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

and grew up in

Fontana Fontana may refer to: Places Italy *Fontana Liri, comune in the Province of Frosinone *Fontanafredda, comune in the Province of Pordenone *Fontanarosa, comune in the Province of Avellino *Francavilla Fontana, comune in the Province of Brindisi * ...

, located in neighboring

San Bernardino County San Bernardino County (), officially the County of San Bernardino, is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California, and is located within the Inland Empire area. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 2,181, ...

. He graduated from Henry J. Kaiser High School of Fontana in 2006. As a senior, he rushed for 2,567 yards (fourth in the state) on 277 carries, had a 9.27-yard per carry average and scored 34 touchdowns. He rushed for more than 100 yards in every game and had seven contests of 200 or more yards. He had 277 rushing yards and four touchdowns against

Coachella Valley High School Coachella Valley High School is a public high school for grades 9–12. It is located in Thermal, California. The District includes grade and middle school sites to accommodate a fast-growing population of the area. The population is 90% Hispanic ...

. He also played

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

, registering 19 tackles (16 solo) and 2 interceptions. He received third-team All-state, All-CIF Southern Section and

Sunkist League The Sunkist League is a high school athletic league that is part of the CIF Southern Section. Members are located in western San Bernardino County. The Sunkist League is now a part of the Arrowhead Athletic Conference. The conference has 3 leagues ...

Offensive MVP honors. He competed in

track & field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

as a sprinter, recording personal-best times of 10.7 seconds in the

100 meters The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contest ...

and 21.9 seconds in the

200 meters The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slightl ...

College career

Miller accepted a football scholarship from

. As a true freshman, he appeared in 10 games and was the backup behind

Dwayne Wright Dwayne Wright (born June 2, 1983) is a former American football running back. He was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the fourth round of the 2007 NFL Draft. He played college football at Fresno State. Wright was a member of the New York Gia ...

, tallying 288 rushing yards (second on the team) on 54 carries with 2 touchdowns. He led the team with 16 carries for 113 yards and a touchdown against Hawaii. As a sophomore, he started 8 out of 10 games and was third on the team behind true freshman Ryan Mathews, with 624 yards on 132 carries and scored 7 touchdowns. As a junior, even though Mathews missed time with a knee injury, Miller was also limited with injuries and missed the game against

Louisiana Tech University Louisiana Tech University (Louisiana Tech, La. Tech, or simply Tech) is a public research university in Ruston, Louisiana. It is part of the University of Louisiana System and classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activ ...

. Anthony Harding ended up taking over as the rushing leader of the team. Miller rushed for 844 yards (second on the team) on 120 carries (6.8-yard avg.) and scored 7 touchdowns. Among his highlights were 161 rushing yards (including a 90-yard run) with two touchdowns against Hawaii and 181 rushing yards, including an 80-yard touchdown against Idaho. As a senior, he remained a backup and his production dropped as Mathews led the nation in rushing with an average of 150.67 yards per contest in 12 games. Miller also fell behind freshman

Robbie Rouse Robbie Rouse (born February 5, 1991) is an American football running back who is currently a free agent. He played his college football at Fresno State University. Early years Rouse grew up in San Diego, California, and played high school footb ...

, posting 367 rushing yards (third on the team) on 68 carries (5.2 yards avg.), with 9 receptions for 38 yards. He finished his college career with 45 games, 2,062 rushing yards on 374 carries and 20 touchdowns in his four seasons. He also made 14 receptions for 91 yards.

Professional career

2010 NFL Combine

Dallas Cowboys

Miller was signed as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player 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 contract at present but who is a ...

by the

after the

2010 NFL Draft The 2010 NFL Draft was the 75th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The 2010 draft took place over three days, at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, with the firs ...

on April 30. He was waived on September 4, but was signed to the

practice squad In sports, 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. Frequently used in gridiron football, they serve as extra players during the team's practices, ...

a day later. After Marion Barber suffered a calf injury, he was promoted to the active roster on December 3, to be the team's third-string

and play on

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

. In

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

, he was passed on the depth chart by

Phillip Tanner Phillip Tanner (born August 8, 1988) is a former American football running back in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys, Buffalo Bills and San Francisco 49ers. He played college football at Middle Tennessee State University. Early ...

and was released on September 3.

Oakland Raiders

On December 7,

, he was signed by the

to their

. He was released on August 31,

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

Seattle Seahawks

On September 27,

, he was signed by the

to the

. He was cut on October 2.

Baltimore Ravens

On December 18,

, he was signed by the

to the

. He was considered part of the roster when the team won

Super Bowl XLVII Super Bowl XLVII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Baltimore Ravens and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion San Francisco 49ers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion ...

. He was released on May 3,

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

Personal life

Miller's father (Lonyae Miller Sr.), was a special education teacher in the

Fontana Unified School District Fontana Unified School District is located in and serves most of the city of Fontana, California, a community in San Bernardino County about 50 miles east of Los Angeles. The district contains 45 schools, which serve students from K-12 to adult e ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Miller, Lonyae 1988 births Living people Players of American football from Fontana, California American football running backs Fresno State Bulldogs football players Dallas Cowboys players Oakland Raiders players Seattle Seahawks players Baltimore Ravens players