Our last player on this initial list was perhaps a hamstring injury away from an NFL career.
A three-sport star at West, Miller was essentially the lone offensive threat on a Warriors team that went 2-7 his senior year. Miller was third both in receptions (27) and yards (477) and was picked first team All-NIC-10 over future University of Illinois star Shawn Wax.
Miller went from West to Illinois State where he could also run on the track team. Injuries somewhat derailed Miller at ISU. He didn't win a starting job until his senior season, but he excelled that final year. He set a single-game reception record of 11 and was picked second-team All-Missouri Valley Conference. He finished with 81 catches for 1,055 yards at ISU, both of which ranked in the top 10 in school history when he graduated.
The big senior year earned him free agent contracts with the New York Jets in 1992 and the Toronto Argonauts of the CFL in 1993. He was released each time after training-camp injuries.
In 1994, shortly after getting married, he was diagnosed with brain cancer. It went into remission in 1996 but returned late in the year. Miller died in January 1997 at the age of 29.
| No. 100 - Clarence Miller, West | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Level | School | Accomplishments | Points |
| 1984 | High School | West | Starter on winning team | 1 |
| 1985 | High School | West | First-Team All-Conference | 2 |
| 1987 | College | Illinois State | Player in Division 1AA | 3 |
| 1989 | College | Illinois State | Player in Division 1AA | 3 |
| 1990 | College | Illinois State | Player in Division 1AA | 3 |
| 1991 | College | Illinois State | Player in Division 1AA | 3 |
| Starter | 1 | |||
| All-Missouri Valley Conf. | 1 | |||
| 1992 | Professional | New York Jets | Free agent contract | 1 |
| 1993 | Professional | Toronto Argonauts | Free agent contract | 0.5 |
| Total | 18.5 | |||
The NIC-10 History Book researched more than 200 players to create a list of the 100 greatest football players in NIC-10 history. This is not an "opinion" list. Players were given points for a variety of accomplishments so this is perhaps a list of the 100 "most accomplished" players. The point totals were from before the 2021 season and there are several players in college or on the verge of pro careers who could move up significantly before the next ranking. We plan to release a player a day for the next 100 days.
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