CU Athletic Hall of Fame
Matt Miller
- Induction:
- 2026
- Class:
- 1978
Earned three letters as a three-year starter under head coach Bill Mallory as a 6-foot-5, 275-pound offensive tackle from 1976 through 1978; he did play as a freshman, elevated to the varsity late in the ’74 season (he played some early in ’75 but eventually was redshirted as a true sophomore) … Considered a quick lineman for his day, possessing 4.91 speed in the 40-yard dash despite his huge frame (weighed 235 with 5.5 speed in the 40 when he first arrived in Boulder) and eventually bench-pressed over 400 pounds … His 34 starts were the most by any Buff offensive player during Mallory’s coaching tenure at CU … Excelled in all facets of the game, run-blocking, pass protection and downfield blocking in addition to his natural intellect … Threw many a key block for two CU 1,000-yard rushers, Tony Reed (1,210 yards in 1976) and James Mayberry (1,299 in 1977) … A first-team All-American as a senior (United Press International; honorable mention by the Associated Press) was a member of the prestigious Playboy Preseason All-America team prior to his senior year … Considered the top tackle prospect in the nation by most NFL scouts that season … He earned first-team All-Big Eight Conference honors as a senior, when he won the John Mack Award as CU’s most outstanding offensive lineman … A second-team all-league performer as a junior … One of seven players in CU history to earn first-team All-American, first-team All-Conference and first-team Academic All-Conference honors in the same season; he was the third when he did it in 1978 … Buffaloes were tri-Big Eight champions his sophomore season in 1976, but earned the league’s top postseason game, a berth in the Orange Bowl opposite Ohio State (CU was 35-21-1 with him on the roster) … A Football News Freshman All-American in 1974 when he earned CU’s Lee Willard Award as the team’s most outstanding freshman … He played in both the Japan and Hula bowls following his senior season … A fourth round pick by Cleveland in the 1979 National Football League Draft (95th selection overall); he played in 41 career NFL games, all with the Browns (1979-82) … Eventually started at guard for the Browns after adjusting from CU’s heavy rushing offense (8,027 yards in his three years as a starter) to Cleveland’s “Kardiac Kids” passing offense (he was reunited with CU teammate Dave Logan on the Browns’ offense) … A knee injury cost him the 1980 season but he returned after rehabilitation … He returned to Colorado and played two seasons with the Denver Gold in the fledgling United States Football League … A three-time first-team Academic All-Big Eight team member his sophomore through senior years (earned his bachelor’s degree in Geology) … Named the recipient of CU’s Dean Jacob Van Ek Award for academic excellence as a senior … After retiring from football, he earned another bachelor’s degree – this time in Mechanical Engineering – from Colorado Mines in 1988, and then earned his master’s and Ph.D. degrees in the same from Georgia Tech (in 1990 and 1993, respectively) … He accepted a faculty position in the Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Cornell University, where he has been ever since, teaching and conducting high-level research, the latter often for the Air Force and the Department of Defense (he has won numerous awards during his post-football professional career) … He remains involved in football, as he is the faculty advisor for Cornell football and was on the school’s selection committee for its Athletic Hall of Fame … Married (the late Faye Young, one of the famous Dannon Yogurt twins) and the father of two grown children …. Brother-in-law of Bill Cowher (legendary Pittsburgh Steelers coach) … Prepped at Durango (Colo.) High School and grew up listening to CU football on the radio … Born July 30, 1956, in Durango.
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