Who Is Lonyae Miller?
 

Who Is Lonyae Miller?

By Cowchips,
CP Staff Writer

School: Fresno State
Position: RB
Class: Senior
Year turned pro: 2010
Hometown: Fontana, CA
Date of Birth: 04/29/89
Height: 5'11 1/2"
Weight: 220
Bench Press: 26
Vertical Jump: 36.5"
Forty Time: 4.52

For the benefit of those who've never heard of Lonyae Miller before his journey to Valley Ranch, there's a good reason for that. He played behind a fellow by the name of Ryan Matthews, a RB who just so happened to be the leading rusher in the NCAA in 2010. That being the case, Miller's college action was understandably limited.

Lacking a notable college resume, it was surely no big surprise that he would eventually become an undrafted free agent, signing with the Dallas Cowboys shortly following April's 2010 NFL Draft.

When given the chance, Miller finally ended his senior season averaging 6.8 yards per attempt, finishing that same season with 812 yards and seven TDs. He eventually topped that off with a very fine showing in the Senior Bowl, averaging over 5 yds. per carry and leaving behind a positive impression.

He has proven to be an exceptional and instinctive runner with both speed and power, having the ability to escape through the narrowest of openings. Lonyae also demonstrates good hands and receiving skills, at times, despite being tightly covered. He has also been described as being highly disciplined.

If there's a chink in his armor, it would be his shortcoming in the area of pass blocking, having displayed difficulty against onrushing LBs in the Senior Bowl, where he showed a tendency to hold excessively. His lack of extensive experience is theorized by some to be a possible factor there. There's decidedly little doubt Cowboys' RB coach, Skip Peete, will make it his mission to school Miller in his pass blocking technique to hone that skill in him during his stay at Valley Ranch.

In recent OTA's, Lonyae has caught the eye of his coaches, as well as Owner/GM Jerry Jones, who has publicly awarded him praise regarding what's been seen of his performances in practice.

Barring an extended injury to one of the Dallas running backs prior to the regular season, Miller is currently being considered a likely candidate to ultimately spend some time on the practice squad during the 2010 season.

We can only hope that he lands on our practice squad. That would mean that none of our three RBs get injured. I have a strong feeling that if Miller sees any substantial playing time in preseason games (more than likely), he will impress someone enough to offer him a spot on their roster. With the slim odds he'd make our roster this year, I'd rather him get the pass-blocking experience on our practice squad than on some other team. The whole Matt Moore fiasco comes sharply to mind.

That would be the most likely destination for him, Mike . . . you'd think anyone who averages almost 7 yards per carry as a senior is probably worth developing.

Thanks for the profile cowchips. I learned a lot

Yes, I'd agree he's worth developing; I just hope we're the ones who do it. I have to give some props to the Cowboys' scouts--we always seem to find those gems who go undrafted. Between Sicko and Miller, we have two more candidates for productive NFL careers from undrafted athletes, but the problem is that there are already three players ahead of each of these guys on the depth charts, and you can only carry just so many RBs, TEs, and WRs on your final roster.

I haven't seen a RB straight out of college, who could pass block in the past 20 years... If he gets any playing time in Preseason he will probably be gone... But its nice to hear they are getting quality depth during the offseason

fresno state sends a lot of kids to the pro's (I'm from fresno) - there was a linebacker from fresno, omar stoutamire, spent several seasons with dallas. david carr was the first pick in the draft, qb'd at fresno. lot of bulldig wide receivers have done nfl time.