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TANNER MILLER DIDN'T HEAR HIS NAME DURING ROUNDS 1-7 OF THE NFL DRAFT BUT HE WILL SIGN A FREE AGENT CONTRACT WITH THE GREEN BAY PACKERS. Say hello to Micah Hyde and Mike Daniels! Per Tanner's brother:
Huge S/O to the bro @T_Mills5 for getting his opportunity || Go make it happen #Packers
— Reid Miller (@ReidMill5) May 10, 2014
WHAT'S SO SPECIAL ABOUT TANNER MILLER? He was a last minute addition to the 2010 Iowa recruiting class. A Rivals two-star prospect, he was heading to FCS Northern Iowa before a full offer at Iowa came along.
It was a surprise to Hawkeye fans when Miller saw action his first season on campus. He was mainly a special teams contributor but was the first sub off the bench at the Insight Bowl when Brett Greenwood left the game to injury.
Miller started 11 of 13 games the following season and all 25 games his junior and senior years. He'd earn honorable mention all-Big Ten honors in 2013.
WHAT DID HE DO THAT WAS SO GREAT? Miller was great at getting under Hawkeye fans' skin. Being the last line of defense, he occasionally took fan blame for long scores.
Still, he is a freak athlete that earned the trust of Phil Parker, long-time Iowa secondary coach. Miller finished in the top 5 on the team in tackles each of the last three seasons and finished his career with 222. He also finished his career with seven interceptions. The most memorable resulted in an Iowa record-tying 98 yard touchdown return in 2011 versus Northwestern.
STATS:
YEAR | GAMES | SOLO | ASSIST | TOTAL | SACKS | TFL/YDS | FF | FR | PASS DEF | INT/YDS |
2010 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2011 | 13 | 52 | 24 | 76 | 0 | 3/4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3/114 |
2012 | 12 | 27 | 42 | 69 | 0 | 3/9 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1/0 |
2013 | 13 | 36 | 34 | 70 | 0 | 1/3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3/8 |
TOTAL | 46 | 118 | 104 | 222 | 0 | 7/16 | 3 | 0 | 9 | 7/122 |
HOW ARE HIS PHYSICAL ATTRIBUTES? Miller has decent size for a safety but would need to bulk up to play in the NFL. He's a great athlete and his Pro Day numbers are strong across the board.
PRO DAY RESULTS:
2014 Pro Day results: SAF Tanner Miller #GoHawks #Swarm 2014 pic.twitter.com/UqxjBQyMiP
— Hawkeye Football (@HawkeyeFootball) March 27, 2014
HIGHLIGHTS:
WHAT ABOUT THE BAD? Miller would occasionally get out of position but it may not have always been his fault. He isn't a sound tackler and occasionally misses in space.
WAS THIS A GOOD FREE AGENT PICK UP? He could immediately contribute to special teams but he'll need a couple of seasons to build into a starting NFL safety. He's likely a practice squad player. He learned from Phil Parker, a coach known for producing NFL safeties.
DOES OUR NEW ADDITION HAVE A TWITTER ACCOUNT?
Man I love college basketball..can't wait until CFB has a great playoff system
— Tanner Miller (@T_Mills5) March 29, 2014