If yesterday's spotlight player in Chris Coyle belongs on the Mount Rushmore of tight ends to play for Arizona State, then today's spotlight of Zach Miller deserves a spot right next to him.
A highly recruited player coming out of Desert Vista high school in 2004, Zach Miller was rated as the #No. 1 prospect in all of Arizona according to Rivals. With offers from recent national champions in Miami (FL) and Oklahoma, as well as Tennessee and UCLA, Miller chose to stay home and commit to Arizona State.
Living up to the expectations as a high school All-American, All Zach managed to accomplish was breaking every freshman receiving record at ASU, finishing the season with 56 catches and 552 yards (both broken by N'Keal Harry in 2016), and a still-TE record 6 TD catches. That production was good enough to earn him second team All-American honors for the 2004 season, one of only four freshman in the nation to be so honored.
Starting 2005 as the 8th best tight end according to the Sporting News, Zach experienced a minor setback missing three games while nursing an injured ankle. Despite the time off the field, Zach still ranked third on the team in receptions (38) and fifth in receiving yards (476).
His 47.6 yards/game was over a yard and a half better from his phenomenal freshman season, and is well-remembered for catching the game-tying two-point conversion in the Territorial Cup from Rudy Carpenter in an 11 point 4th quarter capped off by Jesse Ainsworth's game winning field goal as time expired to clinch bowl eligibility.
Coming back for his junior season, the expectations for Zach were lofty. He was named to nearly every preseason first-team All Pac-10 list, ranked the No. 7 "Top NFL Talent" in the Pac-10 by Lindy's, and named a second-team All-American by numerous sports outlets.
To say he lived up to those expectations is an understatement. After leading all active tight ends with 94 catches between the 2004 and 2005 seasons, Miller added 50 catches in 2006, good for 484 yards and 4 TD catches, leading all ASU receivers in all three categories.
The awards soon flowed in like an unrelenting tide. ASU's Most Valuable Offensive Player of the Year, Cecil Abono Team Captain Award, Pat Tillman Valor Award, First-Team All-Pac-10 honors, First-Team All-Pac-10 All-Academic honors (one of three players to be named to both), finalist for the John Mackey Award for top tight end in the nation, and capped off by being named ASU's first consensus All-American since Terrell Suggs in 2002.
Miller finished his career with his name all over the record books. To this day he still holds the record for career receptions by a tight end (144), and single season and career TD's by a tight end (6 and 14 respectively). Records that have since been broken are single season receptions by a tight end (broken by Chris Coyle), and receptions and receiving yards by a freshman (both broken by N'Keal Harry).
Declaring early for the NFL Draft after his junior season, Zach was the second tight end to go off the board when Oakland scooped him in the 2nd round with the 38th overall pick. Over his 8 season career, Zach split his time evenly with the Raiders for his first 4 seasons before being signed by the Seattle Seahawks for his last 4 seasons.
Statistically, his best season came in 2009 when he established career highs with 66 catches for 805 yards, which he followed up in 2010 with 60 catches for 685 yards and a career best 5 touchdown catches, and was named to the AFC roster for the Pro Bowl following the season. Zach became the 22nd Sun Devil to win a Super Bowl ring (28th ring overall) as a member of the 2013 Seahawks, catching one pass for 10 yards in Seattle's 43-8 win over the Denver Broncos.
Soon after his playing days ended, Zach was named to the 2016 Sun Devil Hall of Fame class in recognition of his outstanding career. Zach returned to ASU in 2015 to complete his Bachelor of Science in Finance degree, later going on to earn his certified financial planner designation in 2020. Currently, Zach remains in the Valley with AWM Capital, working as part of a team to help revamp the financial system that impacts so many professional athletes in a negative way.
With 86 days to go until kickoff, hats off to Zach Miller for his contributions on and off the field as a Sun Devil For Life!