The Pittsburgh Steelers recently welcomed their inductees for the 2022 Hall of Honor class. Among the members was former tight end and fan favorite Heath Miller. As part of the induction process, Miller sat down in an interview with Bob Pompeani of Steelers.com to talk about the different experiences he had, from getting drafted by the Steelers to helping them win a Super Bowl and more.
Photo Credit: Steelers.com
Selection For The Hall of Honor
Miller played for the Steelers for 10 seasons from his rookie year in 2005 until his final year in 2015. During his tenure in the black and gold, Miller helped the Steelers win two Super Bowls and was selected to the Pro Bowl in 2009 and 2012. For his stats, Miller had 592 receptions for 6,529 receiving yards and 45 touchdowns. A very solid resume to say the least. While many fans believed that Miller would one day enter the Hall of Honor, the man himself was a little surprised at the idea.
“It’s pretty special,” Miller said. “When Mr. Rooney gave me a call over the summer, it wasn’t even on my radar that this was a possibility. It was hard for me to put into words how much it meant to me, but after giving it some thought, it’s been really neat, and I’ve been able to enjoy it.”
Steelers Standard And Tradition
Once Miller was able to come to terms that he was being inducted into the Hall of Honor, he was then asked to put into words how he felt about it. Miller responded by discussing the standard and traditions the Steelers have had over the team’s history.
“When you think about the tradition and history of the Steelers organization,” Miller began. “And when I was here and playing here, I just wanted to make my teammates uphold the standard with them and make the guys that came before us proud.”
Miller also said that it’s a huge compliment to be mentioned in the same space as many of the Steelers legends and all-time greats.
2005 Draft Day
Photo Credit: Steelers.com
Traveling back in time to before Heath Miller became a household name for Steelers fans, he was just a tight end out of the University of Virginia. Just like everyone else on draft day, Miller had no idea where he was going to end up. All he knew was to not get overly attached to any of the teams that he talked to.
“I tried to stay and even-keeled,” Miller said. “Because everyone is telling me ‘you really don’t know what’s going to happen so don’t get your heart set on one place’, which I didn’t. But I knew that the first team I met with at the combine was the Steelers.”
Miller was a bit nervous as he didn’t work out at all at the combine due to an injury. He was worried that many teams would hold that against him, and his draft stock would plummet as a result.
“Because I was injured, I didn’t work out at the combine, I didn’t work out at all for any team. So, I didn’t know how that was going to affect me going into the draft,” Miller said. “So that was kind of the unknown and it got to a certain point after a couple teams didn’t select me. Then I’m looking down the list, and I’m like ‘well they have a tight end, and the have a tight end’ and then next team was the Steelers, so I’m like ‘Well if the Steelers don’t take me, I don’t know where I’m going to go after that.’ So yeah, everything worked out perfectly.”
Eventually, Pittsburgh would use their first-round pick in the 2005 draft to select Miller 30th overall.
Stars And Super Bowl Aspirations
As a rookie, there’s always a certain amount of pressure to perform well right out of the gate.
Photo Credit: Steelers.com
For Miller, there was slightly more pressure because of the players on the roster and the amount of success the team had the previous year. Pompeani asked Miller how he felt stepping into a “readymade” team with a lot of star power.
“I knew I had to get my stuff together and not mess up,” Miller said. “They were 15-1 the year before and there’s just so many great players on that team. Like I said, I didn’t want to let the team down, I didn’t want to let those guys down because a lot of those guys were on the back end of their career, and this was their opportunity to win a Super Bowl. When I stepped in the huddle, I knew that it was a good kind of pressure, that I needed to meet the standard that they expected and earn their trust and respect.”
Photo Credit: Steelers.com
Suffice it to say that Miller did all that he set out to do. He earned everyone’s trust and respect, and now everyone will know that he met the standard.
What do remember most about Heath Miller? Leave a comment with your favorite memory down below.
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