Not every player who makes it to the NFL takes the traditional path as a draft pick or a high-priced free agent.
Throughout the league’s history, many players have emerged from basic obscurity to NFL stardom. The New York Giants are hoping that running back Dante Miller is one of those players.
Miller began his college career at Columbia and then transferred to South Carolina as a graduate walk-on. He played six games in 2022 but was declared ineligible and was forced to the sidelines. Miller returned to South Carolina in 2023 only to be denied again.
He should have been part of the 2023 NFL draft class but due to a mix-up with his eligibility status combined with the slow-moving NCAA, he was declared ineligible again.
That has all led here to 2024. Miller has technically been a free agent for a year and only recently became a hot name among the NFL scouting community. He not only drew interest from the Giants but several other NFL teams as well.
“It was a bit tricky,” Miller recently told the Richmond Observer. “My agent reached out to the League office to determine if I was draft eligible. We were told I lost my eligibility last May after the last Draft, but was told that I could sign before this Draft.”
And he did. Last week, Miller became a New York Giant after they held a private workout for him They are getting a bit of a steal, a player who has fallen through the cracks. He recently ran a 4.27 40 at South Carolina’s pro day.
“There was a national scout for the Giants named Mike Derice who knew about me from my time at Columbia,” Miller explained. “The Giants were interested in me and he asked about my eligibility situation at South Carolina.
“After I put up my numbers at my pro day, I was invited to a private workout. I worked out in front of the coaching staff and the front office staff. It took me about a day to realize New York is a great place to be. It’s a great organization to play for and I hope I bring a lot to the team.”
His college coach at Columbia, Al Bagnoli, also believes the Giants may have gotten a break with Miller.
“It’s low-risk [investment] when you sign him as a free agent,” Bagnoli told the New York Post. “But he’s zero risk. He’ll represent the place unbelievably, and I don’t say that lightly.”
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