Terry Miller to join Cowboy Football Ring of Honor

STILLWATER — Oklahoma State’s latest College Football Hall of Fame inductee, Terry Miller, will be added to the Cowboy Football Ring of Honor inside Boone Pickens Stadium on Oct. 14 when OSU hosts Kansas.

A two-time All-American who was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2022, Miller finished second in the voting for the 1977 Heisman Trophy and was fourth in 1976. He is one of only 23 running backs in college football history to have logged two top-four Heisman finishes.

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 8 in rushing as a junior and senior, won the Big 8 Offensive Player of the Year Award in both of those seasons and is one of only three Big 8 players with more than 4,000 career rushing yards. The other two (Mike Rozier of Nebraska and Thurman Thomas of OSU) are both College Football Hall of Fame members as well.

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 OSU. 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 8 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 National Football League 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 OSU 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, Miller has been active in the community, volunteering and serving with numerous organizations and non-profits, including Fellowship of Christian Athletes, First Christian Church, the Oklahoma WONDERtorium Children’s Museum, Mission of Hope and Payne County Youth Services.

He is one of seven representatives from OSU in the College Football Hall of Fame, joined by coach Lynn “Pappy” Waldorf (inducted in 1966), Bob Fenimore (inducted in 1972), Sanders (inducted in 2003), Thomas (inducted in 2008), coach Jimmy Johnson (inducted in 2012) and Leslie O’Neal (inducted in 2020 class).

Miller also holds membership in the OSU Athletics Hall of Honor. Now, he joins Thomas, Sanders and Fenimore as members of the Cowboy Football Ring of Honor.