HEATH MILLER PRESS CONFERENCE
APRIL 25, 2005
PITTSBURGH, PA

Video of Miller's press confrence is available on Steelers Team Pass.
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Art Rooney II: Good morning.  We are excited this morning to be welcoming Heath Miller to the Steelers and to the City of Pittsburgh.  I am always reluctant to compare players from one era to another, but waking up on a cold Pittsburgh morning here in April, I was thinking about John Stallworth’s story about his first day in Pittsburgh.  He said he was a young guy from a small southern town and he got here and it was a cold day in Pittsburgh.  He did now know anybody and he started thinking and wondering if he was in the right place.  But it got better from there.  Heath, it will get better from here.  We look forward to bigger things and better weather.  First, my father and I would like to make a presentation to Heath with his new jersey.  Heath is currently carrying four classes to get to graduate, hopefully this year.  So we can’t keep him too long.  But it is my pleasure to introduce the newest Pittsburgh Steeler, Heath Miller. 

Heath Miller:  I just want to say that I am happy to be here.  This is a great organization with a great tradition behind it with a good coaching staff and a great group of players.  I am excited to be here and get started. 

Have you been to Pittsburgh before?

One other time, that was to visit the Steelers.  This is the only place I know.  This is it.

What did you think?  Are you in the right place?

I think so.  Like I said, it is a place with a lot of history, a lot of tradition, a great group of owners and I could not be more honored to be a part of this.

When you were in town, did you meet Ben Roethlisberger?  If you did, what did you think of the guy?

I did not get a chance to meet him personally, but I did get a phone call from him as soon as I was drafted.  I think that speaks volumes about his character and I am anxious to be able to play with him for many years, hopefully. 

What did he tell you?

He just welcomed me to the team and told me he was happy to have me as a teammate, and I told him the same.

Did you ask him to throw you a lot of passes?

No, not at all.  We know that we are going to do what we have to do to win, whether that be running or passing.

What are your strengths and weaknesses?

I want to be a complete tight end.  I want to be able to be a good blocker and I want to be able to run routes and catch the ball.  I realize it is a different level.  The NFL is full of great athletes and I have to raise my level of game in every aspect to be competitive and to be successful here

Bill Cowher said as long as you are ready by training camp, but you sound like you want to get closer to May first.  Minicamp is in a week and a half.  Do you want to do much in that minicamp?

I am anxious to get started.  I am going to meet with the coaches and trainers, I am sure and assess my situation, and we will go from there.

It is obvious that your stock dropped in the first round because of concerns about the injury and surgery.  I was curious as to why your agent or you did not put out information saying you are fine, to let people know.  That information really wasn’t out there.

Actually, my agent did send a letter from my doctor to tell everyone that my rehab was on pace and I was ahead of schedule and everything was fine.  Obviously, there is a concern with the injury, but I am confident that I will be back one hundred percent soon.

What can you do right now physically?

At this point, I am doing everything, agilities, running routes, lifting weights in the weight room, just not up to one hundred percent, yet.  But I am well on my way. 

How would you assess your blocking?

I think with changing from quarterback, that was always something I had to work on.  So it has been a work in progress.  But I feel like I really made improvements throughout my career and I am ready to continue to improve and be a capable blocker at this level.

For 10 years this team has not thrown much to the tight end.  Do you think they will change their ways?

I think what they are doing here is pretty good.  They were 15-1 last year and they ran the football a whole lot.  So I am sure that is going to be much of the same this year and I hope to be a contributor on the blocking aspect.

Have you met any other Steelers yet?

I met a couple other guys.  I just met Jerome Bettis.  It is going to be an honor for me to just be on the field with him and be one of his teammates.

What did he say to you?

He welcomed me to the team and to the organization. 

After you moved to tight end, did you only throw one pass in a game after that?

Yes, I threw one pass my freshman year.  I was 1-1 so I may just want to leave it at that.

Where did they line you up? 

I was on the outside and they kind of threw a pass up to me and we double-passed.

Where all did you line up at the University of Virginia?

We ran a lot of multiple formations at Virginia.  So I was in a number of spots, whether it be split out, I was in the backfield a couple times and on the line of scrimmage, also.

Did you think Pittsburgh was going to be where you were going to be when you woke up on Saturday morning?

To be honest with you, I did not have a clue where I was going to be.  I knew that Pittsburgh was interested and I am very happy to be here.  I am glad it worked out this way.  I can’t wait to get started.

Who did you grow up rooting for in the NFL?

I didn’t really have one particular team.  I kind of followed Randall Cunningham and the Eagles a little bit when I was ten, eleven, and twelve years old.  But there is no one favorite team. 

Does Matt Jones have a lot of work ahead of him?

I think he definitely has a lot of work ahead of him, but I think he has already proved that he is a phenomenal athlete and that is going to go a long way in helping him become a good player.

What about comparisons to Todd Heap and playing for Al Groh, does that help you in adjusting to an NFL offense?

As comparisons are concerned, I try not to pay to much attention to them. I just try to be the best player that I can be, that’s all I can ask of myself. As far as playing for Coach Groh, I think that it’s definitely going to be beneficial. He has been at this level and he knows what it takes to be a good player at this level so I tried to take his advice and I listened to him as much throughout my years there.

Does this make you a big deal in your hometown?

I guess you could say that. I haven’t been back there in a while but there isn’t a whole lot going on, so I’m sure that this is exciting news.

What is your hometown like?

It’s small. There were hundred people in my graduating class, about four hundred people total in the high school. Not too much going on, so I’m sure that this made the news.  

What division of high school football did you compete at and what was high school football like?

There are six total divisions with division six being the highest in Virginia, and we were division two. Our football team has been pretty good but we’ve never won a state championship. That was the first time to the state finals, to my knowledge. So yeah there were a lot of people that always showed up on Friday nights, it was kind of the big thing to do, so it was exciting to be a part of that.

What did Coach Groh tell you about the NFL?

He just advised me to be a professional and that it’s my job now and it should be my number-one priority. I should be prepared and work accordingly.

How much weight did you gain to play tight end?

I weighted 235 when I reported to Virginia, so I put on about 20 pounds since then. It wasn’t that big of a change for me.

Are you ready for the mania of Steelers fans? 

I realize that football is a big deal here and I’m going to enjoy that. I’m glad that I’m in a town that really follows football and is big fans of football, like the Steelers fans are. And I’m anxious to go out and perform and hopefully please you guys with my performance.

What is your best pass route?

At Virginia I was able to work over the middle. I was able to do a variety of things but I caught a lot of balls over the middle. This past year I caught on some bootleg passes, just depending on our quarterbacks. I enjoy doing all those things and I’m anxious to do some of that here.

Where you used a lot in the red zone?

Yes.

Did Coach Groh tailor the offense around you?

I don’t think that he tailored the offense. I think that we had a number of skilled players at Virginia. I think that he and Coach Prince did a great job of utilizing all weapons.

When will you be back in Pittsburgh?

There is a mini-camp not this weekend but the next. And then I think that I’ll be able to report for good after my final exam which is I think May 15^th.  

What was it like going from a small high school to University of Virginia?

 It wasn’t too shocking for me. I usually adapt pretty well to different situations so I don’t foresee that being a big problem for me here. I know that football is going to be my number-one priority and that’s been a big part of my life in high school and college. So that’s going to be the same here.

Were you a celebrity in school?

That may be something that I’m going to have to get used to dealing with. But I think that I’ll adjust well.

What NFL tight ends do you like?

No one in particular, I enjoy watching all tight ends and trying to learn from what they are doing well and what they are doing not so well. And I just try to add that to my game.

Can you talk about your family life?

Well I grew up in a small town. I was raised by both of my parents. My dad builds houses for a living, my mom works for the local community college, and I have a younger sister who attends UVA as well. She is a freshman.

Is she an athlete?

In high school she was but not at the college level.

Is your high school coach a Steelers fan?

Yes, he is a big Steelers fan so I sent him a hat along with my parents so hopefully he’ll enjoy it.

Did you do a lot of work with your dad building houses?

I worked a little bit with him. He would only let me sweep the sawdust and carry the scrap wood so that wasn’t too fun. But when I wasn’t training for football I would help him out a little.

So you think you could have been a quarterback?

No I was kind of a realist in that regards and I knew the situation at Virginia, there were a number of good quarterbacks in front of me and I’m very happy with the switch. I think that it has worked out well.