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Hollidaysburg native wants shot at NFL

MISSOULA, Montana — It wasn’t a huge surprise that former Montana safety and Hollidaysburg native Reid Miller made the impact he did in his one year with the Griz after having playing experience in the SEC at Arkansas.

The grad transfer, who’s working on his MBA, continued to show his abilities and help his NFL draft stock earlier this week during Montana’s Pro Day in the Champions Center.

The numbers Miller put up with his performance highlighted the day in which four former Grizzlies and three NAIA players from across the state worked out in front of scouts from the Seattle Seahawks, Oakland Raiders, Cleveland Browns and Jacksonville Jaguars.

“You just want to come in and try to do your best,” Miller said in a video interview shared on Twitter by the Montana football team. “I think I put up good enough numbers to make an impression.”

Miller’s 25 bench reps would have been the most of the 21 safeties at the NFL Combine who did the drill. His 40-inch vertical jump would have been the third best out of the 24 participants in his position group. And his 11.41-second 60-yard shuttle would have placed him second out of six.

Additionally, Miller’s 4.58 40-yard dash time would have been 15th among safeties, and his 119-inch broad jump would have tied for 15th.

“It felt good,” Miller said in the video. “The six weeks of training definitely helped with (Montana strength and conditioning) coach (Matt) Nicholson. Put up some OK numbers, and it is what it is.”

Miller, who checked in at 5-foot-8 and 203 pounds, spoke with Seattle, Oakland and Cleveland during the pro day. He also took the Wonderlic Test, a 12-minute, 50-question test designed to measure intelligence.

“I thought that if he’s going to get a chance that he definitely helped himself today,” Montana head coach Bobby Hauck told 406mtsports.com. “Certainly, all those teams make their decision on their different criteria. The testing actually has some validity for them. They try to quantify it a little bit. Guys that test well tend to get looked at a little harder. But it ultimately comes down to game film.”

Miller played in 11 games and made eight starts at Montana. His 68 total tackles ranked fourth on the team. He added two interceptions and two fumble recoveries.

In three years at Arkansas, Miller played in 37 games, mostly on special teams. He totaled 20 tackles and recovered a fumble.

Hauck said special teams play could help Miller land with a team.

“That’s going to be his niche if he finds his way into camp. He’s got to play well in the kicking game,” Hauck said.

Miller grew up in Hollidaysburg and played through his sophomore season with the Golden Tigers before transferring to the IMG Academy in Florida.

The NFL Draft is April 25-27 in Nashville.

Frank Gogola covers Griz football and prep sports for the Missoulian and 406MTSports.

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