HAYES BLOG: Heath Miller's postseason résumé

As you know by now, former Honaker High School star Heath Miller will play in his third Super Bowl in six seasons on Sunday.

That’s quite an accomplishment for the Pittsburgh Steelers’ top tight end. How special is it?

Well consider that another local player in the NFL -- Dallas Cowboys tight end Jason Witten of Elizabethton -- has just one playoff win in eight pro seasons.

New Orleans Saints running back Julius Jones (Powell Valley) has yet to experience a postseason win over the course of his seven NFL seasons with three different teams.

Graham High School graduate Ahmad Bradshaw of the New York Giants is the only other current area player in the NFL that has a Super Bowl ring.

Ever since his days under center for the Honaker High School football team, Miller has come up big when it matters most.

The following is a timeline of his postseason career:

HONAKER HIGH SCHOOL

Quarterback

1998

Region D, Division 2 Playoffs, 1st round, Powell Valley 38, Honaker 19: Miller, a sophomore, throws three touchdown passes but it isn’t enough as Honaker falls to Julius Jones-led Powell Valley, the eventual state champs.

1999

Region D, Division 2 Playoffs, 1st round, Honaker 59, Haysi 8: Miller is again masterful and earns the first postseason win of his football career. Justin Reynolds and Joey Dye are at the receiving end of scoring strikes from Miller.

Region D, Division 2 Playoffs, Finals, Honaker 20, Clintwood 19: Miller rushes for 100 yards and a score, while passing for 177 yards and a TD. His pitchout option to running back Neil Sample, who reaches the end zone, and the ensuing extra point proves to be the game-winning score in overtime.

Clintwood linebacker Andrew Colley delivered a hard hit to Miller on the pitch, but Honaker’s star still got it off.

“I almost waited too late,” Miller tells Robert Anderson of the Bristol Herald Courier following the game. “I almost didn’t get it off.”

Justin Hamilton, who had a brief NFL career with Cleveland and Washington, shines for Clintwood. It is believed to be the last matchup in Southwest Virginia involving two players who went on to reach the pros.

Hamilton finished with 159 yards on 24 carries and scored two TDs.

Group A, Division 2 Semifinals, Floyd County 35, Honaker 32: Miller is 16-of-31 for 281 yards and three touchdowns. He also rushes for a score, but Honaker’s rally falls just short.

“Honaker obviously has an outstanding football team and Heath Miller is probably the best high school quarterback I’ve seen,” Floyd County coach Winifred Beale told Bristol Herald Courier Sports Correspondent Lloyd Combs following the game.

2000

Region D, Division 2 Playoffs, 1st Round, Honaker 39, Haysi 0: Honaker rolls behind Miller’s 142 rushing yards.

Region D, Division 2 Playoffs, Finals, Honaker 28, Powell Valley 6: Miller leads the Tigers to their second straight regional title. Heath also helped Honaker answer some doubters.

“We’ve heard people talk about our weak schedule all year,” Miller told the Bristol Herald Courier following the game. “But we did all we could do as players, we played well every week and we went out and won our football games. And today, we proved we’re a good team.”

Group A, Division 2 semifinals, Honaker 21, Giles 9: Miller comes up big on both sides of the ball in perhaps the biggest win in school history.

“It’s gratifying,” Miller said following the game about what it meant to reach the state finals. “This was everybody’s goal at the start of the season and now we’ve got to win one more.”

Group A, Division 2 state championship, King William 25, Honaker 15: Miller and the Tigers fall just short of a state title in a game played at Liberty University’s Williams Stadium in Lynchburg. Miller is 8-of-24 for 143 yards and two TDs in the final game of his prep career.

UNIV. OF VIRGINIA

Tight End

2002

Continental Tire Bowl, Virginia 23, Pittsburgh 16: On Virginia’s fourth offensive possession of the game, Miller hauls in a 52-yard touchdown pass from Matt Schaub. He finishes with 84 yards on four catches.

2004

MPC Computers Bowl: Fresno State 37, Virginia 34: Miller catches five passes for 66 yards in  his final collegiate game. The contest is played on the blue turf in Boise, Idaho.

PITTSBURGH  STEELERS

Tight End

2006

AFC Wildcard Playoffs, Pittsburgh 31, Cincinnati 17: Miller has two receptions for 15 yards in his NFL playoff debut.

AFC Playoffs, 2nd Round, Pittsburgh 21, Indianapolis 18: Miller has three catches for 61 yards, including a 7-yard TD pass from Ben Roethlisberger in the first quarter.

AFC Championship Game, Pittsburgh 34, Denver 17: Miller has two catches for 31 yards, one of which sets up the Steelers’ first touchdown.

Super Bowl XL, Pittsburgh 21, Seattle 10: Miller starts at tight end, but does not have a catch. He does provide a key block that results in a Willie Parker touchdown run.

2008

AFC Wildcard Playoffs, Jacksonville 31, Pittsburgh 29: Miller has the best playoff game of his professional career – eight catches for 85 yards and a TD – but suffers his first NFL playoff loss.

2009

AFC Playoffs, 2nd Round, Pittsburgh 35, San Diego 24: Miller has three catches for 37 yards and scores a touchdown in the third quarter.

AFC Championship Game, Pittsburgh 23, Baltimore 14: Miller has 62 receiving yards on three catches. His most impressive play comes after he hauls in a pass from Ben Roethlisberger in the second quarter and then barrels over Baltimore defender Evan Oglesby

Super Bowl XLIII, Pittsburgh 27, Arizona 23: A five-catch, 57-yard night by Miller helps him claim his second Super Bowl ring. His first career Super Bowl grab comes early in the first quarter on a 21-yard strike from Roethlisberger. That leads to a field goal by Jeff Reed that gets the Steelers on the board.

2011

AFC Playoffs, 2nd Round, Pittsburgh 31, Baltimore 24: Miller has five receptions for 39 yards and catches a TD pass, the fourth of his NFL postseason career.

AFC Championship Game, Pittsburgh 24, N.Y. Jets 19: Miller has 38 yards on two grabs to help Pittsburgh punch its ticket to the Super Bowl for the third time in six seasons. Miller's career playoff record improves to 9-1.

Super Bowl XLV, Sunday, Pittsburgh vs. Green Bay Packers