Justin Matthew Miller (born February 14, 1984) 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 ...

player who was a

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create tur ...

and

return specialist 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 ...

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 majo ...

(NFL) for six seasons. After playing

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 in the United States, American football rules first gained populari ...

for

Clemson University Clemson University () is a public land-grant research university in Clemson, South Carolina. Founded in 1889, Clemson is the second-largest university in the student population in South Carolina. For the fall 2019 semester, the university enr ...

, he was drafted by the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The ...

in the second round of the

2005 NFL Draft The 2005 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 23–24, 2005. The league also he ...

. He played for the Jets from 2005 to 2008, the

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 Ra ...

from 2008 to 2009, the Jets again in 2009, and the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at For ...

in 2012. He was selected to the

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

with the Jets in

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro votes to declare independence from Serbia; The 2006 ...

Early years

Miller attended Owensboro High School in

Owensboro, Kentucky Owensboro is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of Daviess County, Kentucky, United States. It is the fourth-largest city in the state by population. Owensboro is located on U.S. Route 60 and Interstate 165 about southwest of L ...

. While there, he was a two-time All-State, All-Area, All-Conference, and All-Region pick, and as a senior, he won ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...

'' All-American Honorable Mention honors. Rated as the #1 or #2 player in the state of Kentucky by numerous publications. Was rated as the #9 Athlete in the Country by Super-Prep as a senior and also the #11 CB in the nation by ESPN. He also starred in

track Track or Tracks may refer to: Routes or imprints * Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity * Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across * Desire path, a line worn by people taking the shorte ...

, and was the state

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a ...

champion as a junior, along with running a personal best of 10.48 seconds on the

100 meter dash 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 conteste ...

. Miller also played in two state championship games with Owensboro High School. Miller was a standout Tail Back and even seen time at the QB position while in high school.

College career

While attending

, Miller played for the

Clemson Tigers football The Clemson Tigers are the American football team at Clemson University. The Tigers compete in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Atlantic Division of the Atlantic ...

team ''(2001-2004)''. He was a three-year starter before declaring early for the

NFL Draft The National Football League Draft, also called the NFL Draft or (officially) the Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the league's most common source of player recruitment. Each team is given a position in the drafting o ...

. While at Clemson, Miller managed to finish with 13 interceptions and tied a single season record by recording eight interceptions as a true freshman. Miller also set a single season record against Florida State by returning two kickoffs for touchdowns and racking up 282 return yards, an NCAA record.

Professional career

First stint with Jets

Miller was drafted in the 2nd round of the

(25th pick) by the

. As a rookie, Justin Miller made his impact as kick returner. He compiled 1,577 yards with a 26.3 yard average along with a

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Amer ...

. In 2006, Miller averaged 30.1 yards with 2 touchdowns. On October 1, 2006, in a game versus the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...

, Miller scored the longest touchdown in Jets history at the time (it has since been surpassed by a 106-yard return by Brad Smith), on a 103-yard kick return kicked off by

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. For his efforts, Miller earned a

selection as the

AFC AFC may stand for: Organizations * Action for Children, a UK children's charity * AFC Enterprises, the franchisor of Popeye's Chicken and Biscuits * Africa Finance Corporation, a pan-African multilateral development finance institution * A ...

's kick returner. During the 2007

festivities, Miller won the Fastest Man Competition. On September 18, 2007, the Jets placed Miller on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in th ...

due to a season-ending knee injury he suffered in the Jets 20-13 loss to the

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 ...

. The Jets waived Miller on November 11, 2008 after

Ty Law Tajuan Edward "Ty" Law (born February 10, 1974) is an American former football cornerback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons, primarily with the New England Patriots. He played college football at Michigan and ...

was signed.

Oakland Raiders

Miller was claimed off waivers by the

on November 12, 2008. In a

Thursday Night Football ''Thursday Night Football'' (often abbreviated as ''TNF'') is the branding used for broadcasts of National Football League (NFL) games that broadcast primarily on Thursday nights. Most of the games kick off at 8:15 Eastern Time (8:20 prior to 2 ...

game against the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...

, Miller had a 92-yard kick return for a touchdown at the end of the first half. The following week, Miller ran another kick back for a touchdown for 91 yards against the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

. Miller was named NFL Special Teams Player of the Month for the month of December. After visiting the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their hom ...

in the off-season, Justin Miller signed a two-year contract with the

. He was released on September 5, 2009 along with several other players. On September 30, 2009, Miller was re-signed by the Raiders. However, he was released on October 7.

Second stint with Jets

On October 27, 2009, the

re-signed Miller. He was expected to replace Leon Washington, who had a season-ending injury during week 7 against the

, as the team's kick returner. However, he was waived on November 28, 2009.

Arizona Cardinals

Miller signed with the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play th ...

on May 3, 2010. Miller competed with

LaRod Stephens-Howling LaRod Stephens-Howling (born April 26, 1987) is a former American football running back and kickoff returner. He was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals in the seventh round of the 2009 NFL Draft. He played college football at Pittsburgh. He was al ...

for the starting kick return spot, but lost out and was released during final cuts on September 3, 2010.

Detroit Lions

After being out of football for two years, Miller signed with the

. On August 31, 2012, he was released. On October 22, 2012, he was re-signed by the

. On October 30, 2012, he was released after the team acquired wide receiver Mike Thomas from the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team pla ...

NFL statistics

;Key * GP: games played * COMB: combined tackles * TOTAL: total tackles * AST: assisted tackles * SACK: sacks * FF: forced fumbles * FR: fumble recoveries * FR YDS: fumble return yards * INT: interceptions * IR YDS: interception return yards * AVG IR: average interception return * LNG: longest interception return * TD: interceptions returned for touchdown * PD: passes defensed

References

External links

Detroit Lions bioNew York Jets bioOakland Raiders bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Miller, Justin 1984 births Living people Sportspeople from Owensboro, Kentucky Players of American football from Kentucky African-American players of American football American Conference Pro Bowl players American football cornerbacks American football return specialists Clemson Tigers football players New York Jets players Oakland Raiders players Arizona Cardinals players Detroit Lions players 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American people