STILLWATER – Former Oklahoma State running back Terry Miller is one of 18 players named to the 2022 College Football Hall of Fame Class, the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame announced Monday.
A two-time All-American, Miller finished second in the voting for the 1977 Heisman Trophy and was fourth in 1976. Only 23 running backs in college football history have logged two top-four Heisman finishes, and with Miller’s selection all 23 are now in the College Football Hall of Fame.
In his collegiate career, Miller played in 43 games, totaling 871 carries for 4,754 rushing yards, 49 rushing touchdowns, 5.5 yards per carry and 110.6 rushing yards per game. He is still the only player in OSU history to finish his career with three 1,000-yard rushing seasons, and he ranked fourth in career rushing in NCAA history following his final season.
Miller led the Big Eight in rushing as a junior and senior, won the Big Eight Offensive Player of the Year award in both of those seasons and is one of only three Big Eight players with more than 4,000 career rushing yards. The other two (Mike Rozier of Nebraska and Thurman Thomas of Oklahoma State) are both College Football Hall of Fame members.
In OSU's record book, Miller sits at No. 2 in both career rushing (behind Thomas) and career rushing touchdowns (behind 1988 Heisman winner Barry Sanders). His junior and senior rushing campaigns rank No. 3 and No. 6 in OSU history and his No. 43 jersey number is one of four numbers no longer in use at Oklahoma State. He also still holds the Cowboy records for most career 100-yard games with 26 and most consecutive 100-yard rushing games with 19.
From a team standpoint, Miller helped coach Jim Stanley's teams become 1974 Fiesta Bowl champions, 1976 Big Eight champions and 1976 Tangerine Bowl champions, winning 27 games during his playing career.
As a professional, Miller was selected in the first round by the Buffalo Bills with the fifth overall pick of the 1978 NFL Draft. He replaced O.J. Simpson as the Bills' starting running back and ran for 1,060 yards in his rookie season. He played for the Bills from 1978-80 and wrapped up his career with a one-year stint in Seattle in 1981.
Miller graduated from Oklahoma State in 1978 with a degree in business administration and followed his football career as a self-employed professional in sales and marketing before retiring. He is married to Dr. Nancy Gay Washington Miller and has three children.
Now a resident of Stillwater, Oklahoma, Miller has been active in the community, volunteering and serving with numerous organizations and non-profits, including FCA, First Christian Church, the Oklahoma WONDERtorium Children's Museum, Mission of Hope and Payne County Youth Services.
Oklahoma State now has seven representatives in the College Football Hall of Fame – coach Lynn "Pappy" Waldorf (inducted in 1966), Bob Fenimore (inducted in 1972), Barry Sanders (inducted in 2003), Thurman Thomas (inducted in 2008), coach Jimmy Johnson (inducted in 2012), Leslie O'Neal (inducted in 2020 class) and Miller.
The 18 First Team All-America players and three coaches in the 2022 College Football Hall of Fame Class were selected from the national ballot of 78 players and seven coaches from the FBS, the 99 players and 33 coaches from the divisional ranks and the NFF Veterans Committee candidates.
The class will officially be inducted during the 64th NFF Annual Awards Dinner on Dec. 6 at a to be determined location. The inductees will also be recognized at their respective collegiate institutions with NFF Hall of Fame On-Campus Salutes during the fall. Their accomplishments will be forever immortalized at the Chick-fil-A College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta, and each inductee will receive a custom ring.
Of the 5.4 million individuals who have played college football since Princeton first battled Rutgers on Nov. 6, 1869, less than two one-hundredths of a percent (.02%) have earned induction into the College Football Hall of Fame.
