Metuchen’s Miller Signs LOI with Marshall for Football

Third in Famous Metuchen Family to Sign with D1 School

Metuchen football and basketball standout, Devin Miller poses with his family while signing his National Letter of Intent to play football at Marshall University next fall on Wednesday. Photo courtesy of Metuchen varsity boys basketball coach, Guy Jensen.

METUCHEN, NJ–Devin Miller made a big splash prior to the start of the 2016-17 Greater Middlesex Conference boys basketball season by deciding to come out and play basketball for the Metuchen Bulldogs.

The latest Miller to roam the halls of Metuchen High School made an immediate impact as well. Back on December 21st in a game against South River at the Dawg Pound, Miller took over in the second half and finished with 17 as the Bulldogs put together a 25-6 surge that turned a 33-30 deficit into a 55-39 lead en route to a 65-50 victory.

View Highlights of Devin Miller’s performance in Metuchen’s win over South River on December 21st

However, Miler, like his older brothers Dorian (Rutgers University), and Dejuan (played at University of Oklahoma), is a standout football player, who signed a National Letter of Intent to play for Marshall University next fall. Playing tight-end on offense and defensive end on defense, Miller helped the Bulldogs compete for the Blue Division crown two straight years as a sophomore and junior.

Watch highlights of Metuchen’s Devin Miller on the Gridiron

During those two seasons, Metuchen battled Spotswood for the division crown on the final day of the regular season with the Bulldogs losing both times in heartbreaking fashion to a Chargers team that has won three straight division titles including this past season.

A four year varsity standout for the Bulldogs on offense, Miller caught 29 career receptions for 396 career yards and 9 touchdowns. He also ran 11 times for 28 yards and 5 rushing touchdowns, and had three two point conversions. Miller finished with 90 career points. His best year was his junior year in 2015 when he caught 16 passes for 238 yards and 4 touchdowns while rushing for 4 more scores. Stats are courtesy of both NJ.com and MaxPreps.

On defense, compiled 56 solo tackles and 48 assists for 104 total tackles over his sophomore and junior years. Of those tackles, 9 were for sacks. He also tallied two fumble recoveries, one caused fumble, and an interception. Over the four seasons he played varsity football at Metuchen, the Bulldogs were a combined 20-20 overall including a 12-10 mark in the GMC Blue.

So far this season on the basketball court, Miller has played in 16 games, made 38 field goals and 13 free throws for a total of 98 points, or an average of 6.1 points per game according to NJ.com. He has scored in double figures four times this season including his season high of 17 against South River. Metuchen is 10-12 this year including a 3-9 mark in the Blue Division and a 5-11 record in conference.

Miller’s oldest brother, Dejuan Miller played basketball all four years at Metuchen, and was on the Bulldogs squad that lost to Colonia in the 2006 Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament Championship. He was teammates with Marqus Blakely, who later gained national prominence while playing college hoops at the University of Vermont, and has since played internationally in the Philippines and South Korea as well as the NBA’s D-League.

The eldest Miller, is the third all time leading score in Metuchen hoops history with 1,390 which only ranks behind Larry Spigner (1988) and Artie Flaherty Sr. (1985). Dejuan Miller played football at Oklahoma, and is now playing for Spokane Empire of the Indoor Football League after playing his first four years with the Tri-Cities Fever. Meanwhile, Dorian Miller, who flirted with a basketball career in Metuchen during his middle school days, is a redshirt junior offensive guard/center at Rutgers.

Marshall University, is a member of Conference USA. Last year, the Thundering Herd went 3-9 overall and 2-6 in conference play. Two years ago, Marshall was 10-3 overall including a 6-2 mark in C-USA. The Thundering Herd capped the 2015 season with a 16-10 victory over UConn in the St. Petersburg Bowl. Marshall has had quite a history in college football.

The football program has had a roller coaster ride through the years, which all began with a tragic plane crash in 1970 that killed 75 people. The school managed to recover from that crash, but it took a very long time before it returned to respectability. NFL players such as Randy Moss (Vikings, Raiders, and Patriots), Chad Pennington (Jets and Dolphins), and Byron Leftwich (Jaguars, Steelers, Falcons, and Buccaneers) helped bring the school back to prominence in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Marshall’s football program’s story is documented in the movie, “We Are Marshall” starring Matthew McConaughey.