In April, Miller was a sixth-round draft pick of the Jacksonville Jaguars as a tight end.
KEN HAMBLETON / Lincoln Journal Star | Posted: Friday, July 10, 2009 12:00 am
Zach Miller got up, or so he thought.
"I was wobbly and really dizzy," the UNO quarterback said. "I kind of crossed my legs and grabbed a lineman to stay up.
"A couple of seconds, I guess, and we're in the huddle and I called a play. We scored."
Gutsy play was Miller's mark at UNO. It also earned the 2009 Journal Star State College Male Athlete of the Year a shot at playing in the NFL.
In April, Miller was a sixth-round draft pick of the Jacksonville Jaguars as a tight end.
"He is big, strong, fast and willing to hit harder than he got hit," coach Pat Behrns said of Miller. "As big as he is, 6-4, 230, he has a great ability to avoid the hits, elude the tacklers and keep moving forward."
Behrns remembered a game at Minnesota-Duluth where he sent a backup in to replace Miller.
"Zach had his index finger laying on the back of his hand," Behrns said. "He sent the backup off the field, twisted his finger back in place and threw a touchdown just to prove a point to me."
Miller, who led Neumann to a state title in 2002, was a Class C-1 all-state captain in high school. He played on two state championship basketball teams and was recruited to walk-on at Nebraska for football.
"I only started football one year, as a senior, because I had been injured and we had some good quarterbacks anyway," Miller said. "But coach (Tim) Turman talked me into trying Nebraska. I went. Coach (Frank) Solich got fired. After the next spring, I could see I wasn't going to get a chance under Coach (Bill) Callahan) and Turner Gill had just left, so I did, too."
The Weston native contacted Behrns, made the move to Omaha and, after playing as a backup in 2005, was the starting quarterback for three seasons.
He became the all-time leading scorer in UNO history with 50 touchdowns. He is second all-time in total offense at 7,218 yards and helped UNO to the playoffs in four consecutive seasons.
Now, the man who ran and passed for more than 1,000 yards on a regular basis is looking for his first yards as a receiver.
He caught five passes for 116 yards and a touchdown in the Cactus Bowl all-star game, catching the attention of NFL scouts.
Miller recently agreed to a multi-year contract with a signing bonus of reportedly $111,000.
"I've got a chance to keep playing, and that's great right now," said Miller, who lives in Jacksonville with his wife of a year, Kristen, a native of Malmo, and their boxer. "We're just a short drive from the ocean and, right now, the workouts are only four days a week."
If pro football doesn't work out, Miller picked up his degree in criminal justice in December.
"As much as football means to me, and as many opportunities it's given me, I think the people I've met, the people I've played with and the friends I have are the most important thing about sports," he said.
Reach Ken Hambleton at 473-7313 or khambleton@journalstar.com.