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 | |
| |
| Roster status: | Active |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| Career NFL statistics | |
| Player stats at NFL.com | |
Dante Davon Miller (born May 14, 1999) is an American professional football player who is a 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 of 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] | ||||||||||||
New York Giants[edit]
On April 5, 2024, Miller signed with the New York Giants.[4]
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. March 22, 2024. Retrieved April 8, 2024.