Heath Miller life and biography

Heath Miller, Jr. is an American football tight end for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the NFL.

PRO (78-77/8-8): Earned his first trip to the Pro Bowl in 2009…arguably one of the most complete tight ends in the NFL with his blocking and pass-catching skills…named to USA Today All-Joe Team following the 2008 season for his unsung efforts…became a huge part of the offense in his rookie year…gave the Steelers a receiving threat from the TE position, tying or setting multiple receiving records for tight ends…continued the Steelers’ tradition of great blocking tight ends…selected in the first round (30th overall) in the 2005 NFL Draft…was the first tight end taken by the Steelers in the first round since Mark Bruener was selected in the first round (27th overall) of the 1995 NFL Draft…recipient of the 2005 Joe Greene Great Performance Award, given annually to the top Steelers’ rookie.

2009 (16-16): Started all 16 games at TE…set a team record for tight ends with 76 receptions…tied the team lead with six touchdown receptions…was selected to his first Pro Bowl…9/10 vs. Tennessee: Made his seventh consecutive start at TE…caught eight passes for 64 yards (8.0 avg.) with a long of 14…9/20 at Chicago: Made his eighth consecutive start at TE…caught three passes for 27 yards (9.0 avg.) with a long of 15…eclipsed 2,000 career receiving yards, becoming just the fifth tight end in team history to accomplish that feat…9/27 at Cincinnati: Made his ninth consecutive start at TE…caught five passes for 20 yards (4.0 avg.) with a long of 7 yards…10/4 vs. San Diego: Made his 10th consecutive start at TE…caught eight passes for 70 yards (8.8 avg.) along with two touchdowns…10/11 at Detroit: Made his 11th consecutive start at TE…caught five passes for 54 yards (10.8 avg.) along with one touchdown…10/18 vs. Cleveland: Made his 12th consecutive start at TE...caught five passes for 80 yards (16.0 avg.) along with one touchdown…10/25 vs. Minnesota: Made his 13th consecutive start at TE…caught six passes for 38 yards (6.3 avg.) with a long of nine…11/9 at Denver: Made his 14th consecutive start at TE…caught three passes for 18 yards (6.0 avg.) with a long of 14…11/15 vs. Cincinnati: Made his 15th consecutive start at TE…caught four passes for 26 yards (6.5 avg.) with a long of 11…11/22 at Kansas City: Made his 16th consecutive start at TE…caught seven passes for 95 yards (13.6 avg.) along with one touchdown…broke his previous career record of 48 receptions in a season…11/29 at Baltimore: Made his 17th consecutive start at TE…caught one pass for two yards…12/6 vs. Oakland: Made his 18th consecutive start at TE…caught one pass for 27 yards…12/10 at Cleveland: Made his 19th consecutive start at TE…caught five passes for 59 yards (11.8 avg.) with a long of 22…eclipsed his single season-high in receiving yards…12/20 vs. Green Bay: Made his 20th consecutive start at TE…caught seven passes for 118 yards with a long of 27…marked his second career 100-yard receiving game…recorded his 68th reception on the season, breaking the team’s single-season record by a tight end which was held by Eric Green (63)…12/27 vs. Baltimore: Made his 21st consecutive start at TE…caught three passes for 35 yards with a long of 19…1/3 at Miami: Made his 22nd consecutive start at TE…caught five passes for 56 yards (11.2 avg.) with one touchdown.

2008 (14-14/3-3): Made 14 regular-season starts at TE...missed two games (Weeks 10 and 11) due to an ankle injury...were the first two games that he has missed in his pro career...named to the USA Today All-Joe team...caught a career-high 48 passes for 514 yards (10.7 avg.) with three touchdowns... started all three postseason games...caught 11 passes in the postseason for 156 yards (14.2 avg.) with one touchdown...his postseason totals of 26 receptions, 348 yards and three touchdowns are all tops on the teams’ postseason chart by a tight end...9/7 vs. Houston: Played in his 49th consecutive game and made his 45th consecutive start at TE...finished second on the team with three receptions for 26 yards (8.7 avg.) with a long of 11...9/14 at Cleveland: Played in his 50th career game and had two receptions for 33 yards (16.5 avg.) with a long of 19 yards...had one assisted tackle on special teams...9/21 at Philadelphia: Made his 50th career start at tight end...finished with four receptions for 63 yards (15.8 avg.) with a long of 21 yards...surpassed 1,500 career receiving yards (1,548)...9/29 vs. Baltimore: Made his 48th consecutive start at TE and had two catches for eight yards (4.0 avg.) with a long of six...10/5 at Jacksonville: Started his 49th consecutive game at TE...caught five passes for 45 yards (9.0 avg.) and his first touchdown reception of the season...10/19 at Cincinnati: Started his 50th consecutive game at TE...caught two passes for 13 yards (6.5 avg.)...his blocking helped pave the way for Mewelde Moore to rush 20 times for 120 yards (6.0 avg.) with two touchdowns...10/26 vs. New York Giants: Made his 51st consecutive start at TE...caught three passes for 52 yards (17.3 avg.) with a season-long reception of 22 yards...11/3 at Washington: Made his 52nd consecutive start at TE...did not record a catch prior to leaving the game in the first half with an ankle injury...11/9 vs. Indianapolis: Was inactive with an ankle injury, the first time that he has missed a game in his NFL career... 11/16 vs. San Diego: Was inactive with an ankle injury...11/20 vs. Cincinnati: Returned to the lineup after missing two games with an ankle injury...caught four passes for 44 yards (11.0 avg.) with a long of 19 yards and his second touchdown reception of the season...was the 20th receiving touchdown of his career, tying him with Bennie Cunningham for third on the team’s all-time touchdown list for a TE...11/30 at New England: Made his second consecutive start at TE...finished with four receptions for a team-high 60 yards (15.0 avg.) with a long of 21 yards...12/7 vs. Dallas: Made his third consecutive start at TE...caught three passes for 20 yards (6.7 avg.) with one touchdown...his touchdown reception was the 21st of his career, moving him past Bennie Cunningham and into third place on the team’s all-time list for touchdown catches by a TE...12/14 at Baltimore: Played in his 60th career game and made his fourth consecutive start at TE... caught three passes for 26 yards (8.7 avg.) with a long of 17 yards...12/21 at Tennessee: Made his 60th career start at TE...caught a career-high eight passes for 69 yards (8.6 avg.) with a long of 17 yards...12/28 vs. Cleveland: Made his sixth consecutive start at TE...caught five passes for 55 yards (11.0 avg.)...AFC Divisional Game 1/11 vs. San Diego: Made his sixth consecutive postseason start at TE...caught three passes for 37 yards (12.3 avg.) with an eight-yard touchdown reception in the third quarter...AFC Championship Game 1/18 vs. Baltimore: Made his seventh consecutive postseason start at TE...caught three passes for 62 yards (20.7 avg.) with a long of 30 yards...Super Bowl XLIII 2/1 vs. Arizona: Made his eighth consecutive postseason start at TE...caught five passes for 57 yards (11.4 avg.) with a long of 21 yards.

2007 (16-16/1-1): Started all 16 games for the second consecutive year…has started 44 consecutive games dating back to his rookie season…established career highs across the board with 47 receptions for 566 yards (12.0 avg.) and seven touchdowns…set personal single-game postseason highs with eight receptions for 85 yards (10.6 avg.) in the loss to Jacksonville…also scored his second career postseason touchdown in that game…9/9 at Cleveland: Was the starting TE…led the team in receptions with four and had a 22-yard TD grab from Ben Roethlisberger…was his third straight season opener with a TD catch...9/16 vs. Buffalo: Had his 30th consecutive start at TE…had two catches for 34 yards (17.0), with a long of 29…helped pave the way for Willie Parker to have his 15th career 100-yard rushing game of his career...9/23 vs. San Francisco: Made his 31st consecutive start at TE and led the team in catches (four) and receiving yards (82), which gave him an average of 20.5 yards per catch…went over the 1,000-yard mark in career receiving yards, with a total of 1,011 total yards...9/30 at Arizona: Had his 35th start at TE with the Steelers and had four catches for 46 yards with a long of 28 (15.3 avg.)...10/7 vs. Seattle: Made his 36th career start at TE and had four catches for 44 yards (11.0 avg.) with a 13-yard long for a TD…his catches and yards gave him 90 career catches and put him over 1,100 career receiving yards (1,101)…also helped pave the way for Willie Parker to have his 17th career and fourth 100-yard rushing game of the season...10/21 at Denver: Started at TE for the 37th time in his career…registered five catches for 50 yards (10.0 avg.) including a 27-yard long…was on the receiving end of two of Ben Roethlisberger’s four TD passes…his two receiving TDs marked the second time he has had multi-TDs in a game in his career...10/28 at Cincinnati: Made his 35th consecutive start at TE…had two catches for 42 yards (21.0 avg.) including a 23-yard long...11/5 vs. Baltimore: Made his 36th consecutive start at TE…hauled in his team-leading fifth TD of the year to put Pittsburgh ahead 7-0 in the first quarter…that TD catch was the 16th of his career…had two catches for 17 yards (8.5 avg.)...11/11 vs. Cleveland: Made his 40th career start at TE…had five receptions for 71 yards (14.2 avg.) with one TD…his two-yard reception with 3:13 left in the game proved to be the game-winner…his five receptions put him over 100 career catches (104)...11/18 at N.Y. Jets: Registered his 38th consecutive start at TE…finished the day with two receptions for 36 yards (18.0 avg.) including a 19-yard long...11/26 vs. Miami: Posted his 39th consecutive start at TE but did not record a catch…12/2 vs. Cincinnati: Tallied his 40th consecutive start at TE…finished the game with four catches for 30 yards (7.5 avg.), including a 10-yard long...12/9 at New England: Made his 41st consecutive start, while playing in his 45th career game…hauled in four catches for 28 yards (7.0 avg.)...12/16 vs. Jacksonville: Made his 45th career start at TE…finished with two catches for 24 yards (12.0 avg.) with one TD…hauled in an 18-yard TD pass from Roethlisberger in the second quarter to give him seven TDs on the year, passing his career high of six TDs...12/20 at St. Louis: Started in his 43rd consecutive game at TE…registered one catch for seven yards...12/30 at Baltimore: Made his 44th consecutive start at TE…finished with three catches for 20 yards (6.7 avg.), including a long of 10 yards...AFC WILD CARD 1/5/08 vs. Jacksonville: Registered his 5th consecutive postseason start at TE and finished with eight catches for 85 yards and one TD…his 85 yards and eight catches were new career highs in the postseason.

2006 (16-16): Started all 16 games…finished with 34 catches for 393 yards (11.6 avg.) with five touchdowns…9/7 vs. Miami: Caught three passes for a career-high 101 yards (33.7 avg.) and one touchdown…eclipsed 100 yards receiving for the first time in his career…caught an 87-yard touchdown pass from Charlie Batch late in the fourth quarter to give the Steelers a 21-17 lead…87-yard TD is the longest touchdown reception at Heinz Field…touchdown was the Steelers longest TD play since Kordell Stewart hit Bobby Shaw for a 90-yard touchdown (Dec. 16, 2001) and was the longest touchdown reception for a tight end in 32 years (Joe Namath connected with Rich Caster for 89 yards against Miami in 1974)…also became the first Steelers' TE to gain 100-yards receiving since Eric Green (119 – 12/26/93 at Seattle)…9/18 at Jacksonville: Started at TE and caught one pass for 11 yards…9/24 vs. Cincinnati: Started at TE and caught three passes for 34 yards (11.3 avg.) and a long of 13. 10/8 at San Diego: Recorded two receptions for 22 yards and a long of 15…started at TE…10/15 vs. Kansas City: Started at TE…caught one pass for 16 yards…helped the running game gain 219 yards on 42 rushes (5.2 avg.) and three TDs…10/22 at Atlanta: Caught two passes for four yards and a touchdown…scored on a one-yard toss in the second quarter to give Pittsburgh a 17-7 lead…10/29 at Oakland: Started at TE and had two receptions for 10 yards and a long of five…11/5 vs. Denver: Grabbed five balls for 34 yards (6.8 avg.) with a long of 11…11/12 vs. New Orleans: Had three receptions for 30 yards (10.0 avg.) with a long of 22 and a TD…caught a two-yard touchdown pass from Ben Roethlisberger to give the Steelers a 14-0 lead…helped block for Willie Parker to gain 213 yards (the second highest total in Steelers history)…11/19 at Cleveland: Started at TE and two passes for 32 yards with a long of 16…11/26 at Baltimore: Grabbed three passes for 35 yards (11.7 avg.) with a long of 16…12/3 vs. Tampa Bay: Caught two passes for 27 yards and one touchdown…grabbed a 16-yard pass for a touchdown from a scrambling Ben Roethlisberger…12/7 vs. Cleveland: Started at TE and helped the offense gain 303 rushing yards on 52 carries (5.8 avg.) and two touchdowns…helped Willie Parker rush for a single-game team-record 223 yards…snapped his streak of consecutive games with a reception at 15…12/17 at Carolina: Caught two passes for 25 yards with a long of 20…helped spring Willie Parker for a 41-yard touchdown run in the third quarter…12/24 vs. Baltimore: Caught three passes for 12 yards (4.0 avg.) with a long of six…caught a one-yard touchdown on fourth-and-goal with seven seconds left in the first half…12/31 at Cincinnati: Started at TE and helped the offense rush for 207 yards and possess the ball for 40:41.

2005 (16-15/4-4): Finished the season tied for third in the NFL among all rookies (non-kickers) in scoring with 36 points (six touchdowns) and was fourth among all NFL rookies in receptions (39)…his 39 catches were the most by a Steelers' TE since Eric Green caught 46 in during the 1994 season…finished second on the team with 39 receptions for 459 yards (11.8 avg.) and six touchdowns…caught a TD pass in four straight games, tying a team record for a TE…started 15-of-16 games as a rookie…caught six touchdowns in his first seven games, becoming only the third TE in NFL history to reach that feat (Green in 1990 and Raymond Chester in 1970)…earned AFC Offensive Player of the Week in Week 8 vs. Baltimore after recording his first career multiple touchdown game (2)…9/11 vs. Tennessee: Started in team's two-tight end set…caught first career pass for a 3-yard touchdown…9/18 at Houston: Started in team's two-tight end set…did not catch a pass…9/25 vs. New England: Made his third-consecutive start in a two-tight end formation…had one reception for 13 yards…10/10 at San Diego: Caught a career-high four passes for 36 yards and a TD…scored on a 16-yard TD pass, his second of the season…his four receptions ranked second on the team behind Hines Ward…10/16 vs. Jacksonville: Started at tight end for the fourth time in five games as the team opened in a two-tight end set…had the most productive day of his young career…led the team in three categories with four receptions for 72 yards and a long of 27…the 72 receiving yards sets a new career high…caught a 15-yard touchdown in which he bulled his way into the end zone…marked the first time since 1994 that a Steelers' tight end led the team outright in catches and yards in a game…10/23 at Cincinnati: Started his fifth game of the year and led the team for the second straight game with six receptions for 58 yards (9.7 avg.) and scored one touchdown…had a long of 21 yards and become the first Steelers' tight end to lead the team in receptions in two consecutive games…10/31 vs. Baltimore: Started his sixth game of the year…finished with three catches for 18 yards with two touchdowns, the first multi-touchdown game of his career…extended his streak of consecutive games with at least one touchdown to four, tying the Steelers' tight end record…marked his fifth and sixth touchdowns in his first seven games…the only other tight ends in NFL history to catch six TD passes in their first seven games in the league are Raymond Chester (Oakland Raiders, 1970) and Eric Green (Pittsburgh Steelers, 1990)…his touchdown catches covered four and eight yards…earned AFC Rookie of the Week honors…11/6 at Green Bay: Started as the team's only tight end…caught two passes for 11 yards (5.5 avg.) with a long of nine…also had a reception for the sixth straight game…11/13 vs. Cleveland: Started at tight end for the fifth straight game and for the eighth time in nine games…was held without a catch for only the second time this season…11/20 at Baltimore: Started at tight end and caught five passes for 37 yards (7.4 avg.) with a long of 19…11/28 at Indianapolis: Tied for the team lead with four receptions for 26 yards (6.5 avg.)…12/4 vs. Cincinnati: Started at tight end…caught three passes for 44 yards (14.7 avg.) with a long of 21…12/11 vs. Chicago: Started at TE for the ninth straight game...helped team amass 190 yards on 46 carries (4.1 avg.) and two touchdowns…12/18 at Minnesota: Started at TE for the 10th straight game…caught two passes for a team high 58 yards, including a game long of 50 to set up the Steelers' first field goal…his 50-yard reception was the longest by a Steelers' TE since Eric Green hauled in a 71-yard touchdown in 1993…12/24 at Cleveland: Started at tight end and caught one pass for 21 yards…1/1 vs. Detroit: Started at TE…caught a team high three passes for 62 yards (20.7 avg.)…had a 43-yard reception, his second longest catch of the season…AFC Wild Card Game 1/8 at Cincinnati: Started at TE and caught two passes for 15 yards…AFC Divisional Game 1/15 at Indianapolis: Caught three passes for 61 yards (20.3 avg.), including a long of 36…caught a seven-yard touchdown pass, his first career postseason TD…AFC Championship Game 1/22 at Denver: Started at TE…caught two passes for 31 yards (15.5 avg.)…had a long reception of 24 yards…Super Bowl XL 2/5 vs. Seattle: Started at TE and helped team gain 181 rushing yards on 33 carries (5.5 avg.) and two TDs.

COLLEGE,/b>
Was the first ACC player to win the Mackey Award as the nation's best tight end…also became the school's first major award winner since 1941…holds every receiving record for a tight end in school history and also established new conference career records for receptions, touchdown catches and yards gained by a tight end…closed out his career as the first two-time first-team All-ACC tight end in school history…started 39 consecutive games for the Cavaliers…scored at least once in each of his first five games at Virginia and his nine scoring grabs set a school season-record for tight ends…in 39 games as a Cavalier, caught 144 passes for 1,703 yards (11.8 avg) and 20 touchdowns…only Billy McMullen (210, 1999-2001) had more catches in a career for the Cavaliers…his 1,703 yards rank seventh on the school's career-record list and his 20 scoring grabs rank fourth, behind McMullen (24), Herman Moore (27, 1988-90) and Tyrone Davis (28, 1991-94). 2004: Winner of the Mackey Award, given to the nation's best tight end…first-team All-American selection by The NFL Draft Report, the American Football Coaches Association, the Walter Camp Football Foundation and Football Writers Association of America…first-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference choice…led the team for the second-straight year with 41 receptions for 541 yards (13.2 avg) and five touchdowns in 12 games…served as team captain…25 of his receptions came on scoring drives. 2003: All-American first-team selection by The NFL Draft Report, adding second-team honors from College Football News…first-team All-ACC pick…added first-team All-State honors from the Virginia Sports Information Directors Association and the Roanoke Times…set school and conference season records for tight ends with 70 receptions for 835 yards (11.9 avg) and also scored six times…overall, his 70 catches ranked second on the school's season record list behind Billy McMullen's 83 grabs in 2001…his 835 yards ranked seventh on Virginia's annual record chart…joined Bruce McGonnigal (1989) as UVa's only tight ends with two 100-yard games in a season and the first one to do it in consecutive games (Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech)…sixty percent of his catches went for either a first down or touchdown (42 of 70). 2002: Second-team All-ACC choice…freshman All-American selection by Scripps/Football Writers Association of America, The Sporting News and College Football News…first-team All-State pick by the Virginia Sports Information Directors Association...honorable mention ECAC All-Star…started every game as a redshirt freshman, leading all ACC tight ends with nine touchdowns and 33 receptions, good for 327 yards (9.9 avg)…also threw for a 20-yard score and made two assisted tackles on special teams. 2001: Was redshirted…was in uniform for the Richmond game…majored in sociology.

PERSONAL
Attended Honaker (Swords Creek, Va.) High School... was a quarterback and safety at Honaker High School, where he earned Associated Press Player of the Year honors as a senior and was a two-time AP All-State selection...selected Virginia High School Coaches Association Group A Offensive Player of the Year as a senior and was a two-time first-team Group A All-State selection...earned All-Southwest Virginia first-team honors at quarterback and was a second team All-State selection at defensive back, adding Region D Offensive Player of the Year accolades... passed for over 1,500 yards and 19 touchdowns and rushed for 901 yards in 2000...as a junior, passed for 1,872 yards and 26 touchdowns, and rushed for 643 yards and 12 scores, leading Honaker to an 11-2 record that season...played first base on the Honaker baseball team and was a forward on the basketball team...earned Black Diamond District first-team honors, and was an All-Region and All-State selection in baseball...also earned All-District and All-Region honors in basketball...son of Earl and Denise Miller... married (Katie)...Full name: Earl Heath Miller.