Dante Miller
 | |
| No. 25 – New York Giants | |
|---|---|
| Position: | Running back |
| Personal information | |
| Born: | May 14, 1999 Rockingham, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Height: | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) |
| Weight: | 200 lb (91 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school: | Richmond (Rockingham, North Carolina) |
| College: | Columbia (2018–2021) South Carolina (2022) |
| Undrafted: | 2023 |
| Career history | |
| |
| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |
| Roster status: | Practice squad |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| Stats at Pro Football Reference | |
Dante Davon Miller (born May 14, 1999) is an American professional football running back for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Columbia and South Carolina.
Early life
[edit]Miller played four years of varsity football for Richmond Senior High while also competing in basketball, swimming, and track and field.[1] During that time he saw action at running back, wide receiver and defensive back, was a two-time all-conference selection, and was named team captain as a senior.[2] In December 2017, Miller committed to play college football at James Madison over offers from Gardner-Webb, Wofford, Navy, and several other Division I schools.[3] On January 12, 2018, he flipped his commitment to Columbia and signed his letter of intent on February 7, 2018.[3]
College career
[edit]Columbia
[edit]During his career at Columbia, Miller rushed for 1,281 yards on 258 carries with six touchdowns.[4] He had a career-long run of 83 yards, which was the sixth-longest rush in school history.[4]
In 2021, Miller earned First Team All-Ivy League honors and was named team MVP.[2]
Due to Ivy League eligibility rules, Miller was forced to transfer if he wished to continue playing.[5] On January 28, 2022, he announced that he was transferring to South Carolina.[6][7]
South Carolina
[edit]Miller entered as a preferred walk-on graduate transfer and appeared in each of the first six games of the season.[1][6] Once concerns over his eligibility arose, he stopped playing for the remainder of the 2022 season in hopes of appealing for an additional year of eligibility.[5] Despite his college and draft eligibility issues, he would participate in the Gamecocks' 2023 Pro Day.[8]
Eligibility issues
[edit]After his transfer to South Carolina, a miscommunication occurred that led Miller and the South Carolina staff to believe that Miller had two years of eligibility left to play.[9] In actuality, he had two years to play one season, not two full years of eligibility.[5] In 2022, he played six games for the Gamecocks, two more than the maximum four to redshirt a season.[1] After realizing the mistake South Carolina appealed to the NCAA and Miller stopped playing in 2022 hoping he would be granted an extra year of eligibility in 2023.[5] The process continued into 2023 and Miller began to participate in spring practice with the Gamecocks.[5] Eventually, after spring practice had ended and the deadline to declare for the NFL draft had passed, the NCAA ruled Miller to be ineligible to play in 2023.[10][11] Because of Miller’s eligibility issues, he also was not eligible for the 2024 NFL draft and instead should have been in the 2023 NFL draft leading to him becoming a free agent.[12][8]
College statistics
[edit]| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Bold | Career high |
| Season | Games | Rushing | Receiving | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | TD | ||||||||||
| Columbia Lions | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2018 | 6 | 1 | 61 | 317 | 5.2 | 1 | 5 | 22 | 4.4 | 0 | |||||||||
| 2019 | 10 | 2 | 52 | 150 | 2.9 | 1 | 6 | 8 | 1.3 | 0 | |||||||||
| 2020 | Season canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2021 | 10 | 4 | 145 | 814 | 5.6 | 4 | 9 | 43 | 4.8 | 0 | |||||||||
| South Carolina Gamecocks | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2022 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 38 | 6.3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | |||||||||
| Career | 32 | 7 | 264 | 1,319 | 5.0 | 6 | 20 | 73 | 3.7 | 0 | |||||||||
Professional career
[edit]| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 ft 8+3⁄4 in (1.75 m) |
190 lb (86 kg) |
31+1⁄4 in (0.79 m) |
8+3⁄4 in (0.22 m) |
4.27 s | 1.50 s | 2.56 s | 4.50 s | 7.41 s | 37.5 in (0.95 m) |
10 ft 9 in (3.28 m) |
28 reps | |
| All values from Pro Day[13][14] | ||||||||||||
On April 5, 2024, Miller signed with the New York Giants.[4] He was waived on August 27, and re-signed to the practice squad.[15][16]
Personal life
[edit]Miller was placed in the foster care system at the age of 2 after his mother left him with a neighbor and did not return.[9] He was eventually removed from the system by his mother's first cousin, Antoinette Flowers, at age 8.[5] He has two siblings: Choyce and Trey.[2] His sister, Choyce, is a producer for the Huffington Post.[2]
Miller's nickname is Lil Turbo in reference to his smaller frame.[4]
Miller graduated from Columbia with a degree in sociology.[6]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c "Dante Miller". University of South Carolina Athletics. July 14, 2022. Retrieved April 8, 2024.
- ^ a b c d "Dante Miller - Football". Columbia University Athletics. Retrieved April 8, 2024.
- ^ a b Journal, Richmond County Daily (January 12, 2018). "Miller decommits from JMU, verbally commits to Columbia". Richmond County Daily Journal. Retrieved April 8, 2024.
- ^ a b c d Salomone, Dan (April 5, 2024). "Giants agree to terms with RB Dante Miller". www.giants.com. Retrieved April 8, 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f Staples, Andy (April 5, 2024). "From foster care to the Ivy League to the NFL: Meet Dante Miller, the newest New York Giant". On3. Retrieved April 8, 2024.
- ^ a b c Farner, Keith (January 28, 2022). "Dante 'Lil Turbo' Miller, Columbia RB transfer, announces SEC commitment". Saturday Down South. Retrieved April 8, 2024.
- ^ Portnoy, Ben (January 28, 2022). "South Carolina lands commitment from Ivy League star". The State. Retrieved April 7, 2024.
- ^ a b "Dante Miller '22CC Signs with New York Giants". Columbia University Athletics. April 5, 2024. Retrieved April 8, 2024.
- ^ a b Burks, Serena (April 6, 2024). "Giants sign running back Dante Miller". Giants Wire. Retrieved April 8, 2024.
- ^ Dunleavy, Ryan (April 5, 2024). "Giants sign speedster running back Dante Miller after NCAA eligibility debacle". Retrieved April 8, 2024.
- ^ Miller, Kevin (July 18, 2023). "South Carolina Football: Gamecock running back officially not granted extra year of eligibility". Garnet and Cocky. Retrieved April 8, 2024.
- ^ Traina, Patricia. "Giants Agree to Terms with South Carolina RB Dante Miller". Sports Illustrated New York Giants News, Analysis and More. Retrieved April 8, 2024.
- ^ "2024 NFL Pro Day Results, Highlights, Analysis, and More". ProFootballNetwork.com. March 22, 2024. Retrieved April 8, 2024.
- ^ "Dante Miller College Football Profile". DraftScout.com. Retrieved September 4, 2024.
- ^ Eisen, Michael (August 28, 2024). "Giants announce initial 53-man roster for 2024". Giants.com.
- ^ Eisen, Michael (August 28, 2024). "Giants sign 15 players to practice squad". Giants.com.