Miller To Play In Title Game

The James Madison receiver who hauled in the game-sealing touchdown catch against North Dakota State in last season’s semifinal will hit the field Saturday in this year’s championship game.

On Thursday, JMU senior John Miller said he will play against the Bison as the Dukes go for their second straight national title.

Miller limped off the turf during the first half of JMU’s second-round playoff win over Stony Brook on Dec. 2 and has been sidelined since.

“I’m playing,” Miller said. “After the South Dakota State [semifinal] game, I already put in my mind that I was going to play, so whether I was hurt or not hurt I was going to play.”

The 5-foot-11 inside receiver has practiced all week.

Between the semifinal and preparation for the championship, JMU players had 10 days off for Christmas. Miller said he used the time to rehab back and go through physical therapy at Spring Valley High School in Columbia, S.C., where he played and went to school before arriving at JMU.

“A shout-out to Ms. Julie,” who Miller said is the trainer at Spring Valley. “I was doing a lot of treatment at home and that actually got me prepared to be able to practice when we got back.”

This season, Miller has recorded 35 catches for 393 yards and a score. He also was the Colonial Athletic Association Special Teams Player of the Year for his 210 punt return yards and touchdown.

But last year, it was his 25-yard touchdown catch in the fourth quarter of the Dukes’ 27-17 semifinal win at NDSU that pushed JMU to the score it would win by.

“I’ve seen it a couple of times on film,” Miller said. “But that was last year so I try not to think about it too much but it still comes back because I’m happy about it.

“Hopefully, I can do it again, so we can hoist that trophy up.”