James Miller Tabbed Regional AFCA Coach of the Year
December 18, 2018
By Mike DeVader, Reinhardt Director of Athletic Communications & Media
WACO, Texas – Reinhardt head football coach James Miller, who recently completed his second season at the helm of the Eagles with a 9-2 record and another trip to the NAIA Football Championship Series, has been named the Region 1 American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Coach of the Year.
In his two years at Reinhardt, Miller has amassed a 21-3 record, two conference championships and an appearance in the NAIA National Championship in 2017.
"Coach of the Year is an honor and privilege to receive," Miller said. It's because I coach great players and have a great staff that put in a lot of time and effort into everything. I really appreciate everything the players and coaches do for our program. I'm blessed to work with such great people.
"I want to thank Dr. Mallard, Bill Popp and Jeffrey Pourchier in providing and helping with everything it takes for us to be successful; without them, nothing would be possible."
This is the first such honor for Miller as a head coach, and he joined six other program leaders nationally who heard their name called by the AFCA for the initial time: Maine's Joe Harasymiak, North Dakota State's [now Kansas State's] Chris Klieman, UIW's Eric Morris, Washington-St. Louis' Larry Kindbom, Wisconsin-Whitewater's Kevin Bullis and Marian's Mark Henninger.
Here is a breakdown of winners at the NAIA level:
NAIA
Region 1: James Miller, Reinhardt University
Region 2: Mark Henninger, Marian University
Region 3: *Larry Wilcox, Benedictine College (Kan.)
Region 4: *Steve Ryan, Morningside College
Region 5: *Charlie Hall, Southern Oregon University
*-2017 winner
To view the entire release from the AFCA, please click here.
Miller's award will be officially presented during the AFCA Convention in San Antonio, Texas, on Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2019.
Additionally, the 2018 AFCA NAIA Coaches' All-America Teams were announced last week by the AFCA, and two Eagles – under the guidance of Miller – defensive end JT Graydon and offensive lineman Tre Coney, found themselvesas first team and second team members, respectively, on the lists.
It was the first time in the careers of both players that they earned such a nod from the AFCA.
The Mid-South Conference Appalachian Division Player of the Year, Graydon (6'0 215), a Tifton, Ga., native, terrorized opposing quarterbacks in just his sophomore season with 39 tackles, 16.5 tackles for-loss and 14 sacks while going up against double teams consistently – and led the NAIA in sacks until the final week of the season.
He also forced three fumbles, recover two and returned one for a touchdown.
Coney, a 2017 Associated Press first teamer, was a staple along another dominating unit for Reinhardt. The Eagles – who averaged 350.5 rushing yards per game last year to lead the NAIA – were again the nation's top team running the football in 2018 at a 339.2 clip, more than 63 yards better than Bethel (Tenn.) (275.8).
For up-to-the-minute Eagles sports news, follow Reinhardt Athletics on Facebook, @RU_Eagles on Twitter and @ru_eagles on Instagram.
For more information on Reinhardt Football, please click here.
WACO, Texas – Reinhardt head football coach James Miller, who recently completed his second season at the helm of the Eagles with a 9-2 record and another trip to the NAIA Football Championship Series, has been named the Region 1 American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Coach of the Year.
In his two years at Reinhardt, Miller has amassed a 21-3 record, two conference championships and an appearance in the NAIA National Championship in 2017.
"Coach of the Year is an honor and privilege to receive," Miller said. It's because I coach great players and have a great staff that put in a lot of time and effort into everything. I really appreciate everything the players and coaches do for our program. I'm blessed to work with such great people.
"I want to thank Dr. Mallard, Bill Popp and Jeffrey Pourchier in providing and helping with everything it takes for us to be successful; without them, nothing would be possible."
This is the first such honor for Miller as a head coach, and he joined six other program leaders nationally who heard their name called by the AFCA for the initial time: Maine's Joe Harasymiak, North Dakota State's [now Kansas State's] Chris Klieman, UIW's Eric Morris, Washington-St. Louis' Larry Kindbom, Wisconsin-Whitewater's Kevin Bullis and Marian's Mark Henninger.
Here is a breakdown of winners at the NAIA level:
NAIA
Region 1: James Miller, Reinhardt University
Region 2: Mark Henninger, Marian University
Region 3: *Larry Wilcox, Benedictine College (Kan.)
Region 4: *Steve Ryan, Morningside College
Region 5: *Charlie Hall, Southern Oregon University
*-2017 winner
To view the entire release from the AFCA, please click here.
Miller's award will be officially presented during the AFCA Convention in San Antonio, Texas, on Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2019.
Additionally, the 2018 AFCA NAIA Coaches' All-America Teams were announced last week by the AFCA, and two Eagles – under the guidance of Miller – defensive end JT Graydon and offensive lineman Tre Coney, found themselvesas first team and second team members, respectively, on the lists.
It was the first time in the careers of both players that they earned such a nod from the AFCA.
The Mid-South Conference Appalachian Division Player of the Year, Graydon (6'0 215), a Tifton, Ga., native, terrorized opposing quarterbacks in just his sophomore season with 39 tackles, 16.5 tackles for-loss and 14 sacks while going up against double teams consistently – and led the NAIA in sacks until the final week of the season.
He also forced three fumbles, recover two and returned one for a touchdown.
Coney, a 2017 Associated Press first teamer, was a staple along another dominating unit for Reinhardt. The Eagles – who averaged 350.5 rushing yards per game last year to lead the NAIA – were again the nation's top team running the football in 2018 at a 339.2 clip, more than 63 yards better than Bethel (Tenn.) (275.8).
For up-to-the-minute Eagles sports news, follow Reinhardt Athletics on Facebook, @RU_Eagles on Twitter and @ru_eagles on Instagram.
For more information on Reinhardt Football, please click here.