Nickelous Miller (born March 29, 1987) 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 wi ...

wide receiver. He was signed by the Oakland Raiders 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 ...

in 2009. He played college football at

Southern Utah Southern Utah University (SUU) is a public university in Cedar City, Utah. Founded in 1897 as a normal school, Southern Utah University now graduates over 1,800 students each year with baccalaureate and graduate degrees from its six colleges. ...

. Miller also played for the

St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis from 1995 to the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, where the team had played from 1946 to 1994. The arr ...

and Arizona Rattlers.

Early years

Miller played

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

at Red Mountain High School in Mesa, Arizona. He was a 1st Team All-Region wide receiver; and a 2nd Team All-State honoree and 1st Team All-Tribune selection at defensive back. Miller recorded up 656 receiving yards and eight touchdowns during his senior season. He also intercepted five passes and helped his team to an East Valley region championship. Miller also lettered in baseball and track.

College career

After transferring from

Scottsdale Community College Scottsdale Community College is a public community college in Scottsdale, Arizona. It is on the eastern boundary of the city on 160 acres (650,000 m2) of land belonging to the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community. The lease was taken out i ...

, Miller became a starting wide receiver at

Southern Utah University Southern Utah University (SUU) is a public university in Cedar City, Utah. Founded in 1897 as a normal school, Southern Utah University now graduates over 1,800 students each year with baccalaureate and graduate degrees from its six colleges. ...

in 2007. He set an SUU record with 41 kickoff returns for 914 yards. He also finished second on the team in receptions and receiving yards, with 35 catches for 435 yards and a touchdown. In addition to the 19 carries he had for 50 yards, he also led the team with 19 punt returns for 175 yards. As a senior in 2008, Miller was named

Great West Conference The Great West Conference (GWC) was an NCAA college athletic conference in the continental United States. Originally a football-only league, it became an all-sports entity during the 2008–09 season. The GWC stopped sponsoring football followin ...

Special Teams Players of the Year and caught 55 passes for 763 yards and three touchdowns.

Professional career

Oakland Raiders

Miller went undrafted in the

2009 NFL Draft The 2009 NFL Draft was the seventy-fourth annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, on April 25 and 26, 2009. ...

, but was signed by the Oakland Raiders as an

. He survived final cuts on September 5 and made Oakland's 53-man roster. However, he never played during his rookie season because of a shin injury. On December 30, Miller was placed on injured reserve with the shin injury. On October 10, 2010, Miller made his official NFL debut, returning a punt 46 yards in the third quarter of the Raiders' 35-27 win over the San Diego Chargers. On October 24, 2010 Nick Miller made a 32-yard catch along the sideline for his first career catch. On October 1, 2011, Miller was released by the Raiders.

St. Louis Rams

The

signed Miller on October 6, 2011. He was waived on October 22, but re-signed on November 25, 2011. On Oct. 27, Miller returned a punt 88 yards against the Arizona Cardinals for his first career touchdown in the NFL. The punt return was the longest in Rams' history since 1994. He was released on March 12, 2012.

Philadelphia Eagles

On January 8, 2013, Miller was signed by the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...

. On July 24, 2013, Miller was released by the Philadelphia Eagles. On July 30, 2013, Miller was re-signed by the Philadelphia Eagles to take the roster spot of

Jeremy Maclin Jeremy Maclin (born May 11, 1988) is a former American football wide receiver. He played college football at Missouri, where he was a two-time consensus All-American, and was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the first round of the 2009 NF ...

, who was placed on injured reserve after tearing his ACL. On August 25, 2013, Miller was released by the Eagles.

Arizona Rattlers

On November 15, 2013, Miller was assigned to the Arizona Rattlers of the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...

. Miller was the Rattlers kick returner as well as working in at wide receiver. After 10 games, Miller was placed on injured reserve and ultimately reassigned by the Rattlers after an off the field health incident.

References

External links

Oakland Raiders bioTwitter
{{DEFAULTSORT:Miller, Nick 1987 births Living people Players of American football from Mesa, Arizona American football wide receivers American football return specialists Southern Utah Thunderbirds football players Oakland Raiders players St. Louis Rams players Philadelphia Eagles players Arizona Rattlers players