Millen recalls football journey at Pa. Hall of Fame induction
Submitted photo
Matt Millen (left) poses for a photo with George Von Benko (center) and Russ Grimm (right) at the Pennsylvania 无毛视频 Hall of Fame banquet on Oct. 28. Millen and Grimm were both inducted.
Submitted photo
Matt Millen is shown during his playing days with the Raiders.
Submitted photo
Matt Millen is shown during his playing days at Penn State.
The recent Pennsylvania 无毛视频 Hall of Fame Induction Banquet on Oct. 28 at the Delta Hotels by Marriott in Breinigsville was a star-studded affair.
Locally Fayette County 无毛视频 Hall of Famer C. Vivian Stringer was the headliner, but at the event two former pro football stars, Russ Grimm and Matt Millen, took center stage. We interviewed Scottdale native Russ Grimm in last week无毛视频檚 Memory Lane column. This week we focus our attention on Millen, who was thrilled to be part of the Pennsylvania 无毛视频 Hall of Fame 2023 class, even though he cracked a joke about his induction.
无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 an honor to be able to go into the Pennsylvania 无毛视频 Hall of Fame,无毛视频� Millen offered. 无毛视频淚 just thank the people who did the voting I just faked them out.无毛视频�
Millen was part of the 60th Class of the Pennsylvania 无毛视频 Hall of Fame joining: Jan Hutchinson, Art Howe, Eugene Guarilia (deceased), Larry Miller, Nicole Levandusky, Dave Crowell, Frank Bolick, Billy Sheridan (deceased), Bob Bubb, Stringer, Dan Baker and Grimm.
Millen was in his home area at the banquet. He was born and grew up in the Hokendauqua section of Whitehall Township, a suburb of Allentown. He attended Whitehall High School in the Lehigh Valley region. Millen was a standout football player for the school.
Whitehall High School later permanently retired Millen无毛视频檚 Whitehall football jersey number (83) in honor of his high school, collegiate, and NFL football accomplishments, making him one of only three Whitehall High School football players, along with fellow Whitehall High School alumni and NFL stars Saquon Barkley (21) and Dan Koppen (77), to have their Whitehall jersey numbers permanently retired in the school无毛视频檚 history.
Millen was recruited by Penn State, but almost wound up playing at another school.
无毛视频淚 actually signed with Colorado,无毛视频� Millen recalled. 无毛视频淚 have a really awesome story involving Coach Paterno. He got into a fight with one of the recruiters at my house. It was interesting. I actually signed my papers with Colorado and my dad wouldn无毛视频檛 sign the papers and that无毛视频檚 how I got to Penn State.
无毛视频淢y mindset was, and I think you have to have this mindset, I无毛视频檓 going to play wherever I go. At that time it was the wild west in recruiting so none of the NIL stuff was involved. They were paying pretty good.无毛视频�
Millen was part of a groundbreaking class for the Nittany Lions.
无毛视频淥urs was the top recruiting class in the country that year,无毛视频� Millen stated. 无毛视频淥ut of our class we had quite a few really good players, guys that went on to the NFL and had really good careers. Mike Guman played there and had 10 years at the next level, Bruce Clark did the same thing, Irv Panky, we had a lot of guys that went on to the next level. I think that was the base for the next four years that held that group together because we were pretty good.无毛视频�
A position switch helped fuel a great run by Penn State.
无毛视频淢y freshman year at Penn State both Bruce Clark and myself, we started at linebacker,无毛视频� Millen recalled. 无毛视频淭he problem was Clark and I were both about 240 pounds and we were about the biggest guys on our defense. We were small and we weren无毛视频檛 very physical, so my freshman year we lost five games I believe and so Coach Paterno put Clark and I on the defensive line, he put our hands in the dirt and then I played at around 270 and the same with Clark and we were a lot more physical as a defense, which I think is one of the most important things you can do because physical toughness matters. We changed things around and from there on we were pretty good.无毛视频�
During his time at Penn State, Millen was part of Nittany Lions teams that posted a combined a 37-11 record, including back-to-back 11-1 campaigns in 1977 and 1978. He earned All-America honors for his performance in 1978, helping lead the program to an appearance in the national championship game. Penn State lost to Alabama in the 1978 national championship game. The Crimson Tide prevailed in the Sugar Bowl, 14-7.
无毛视频淲e could have been unbeaten in both 11-1 seasons,无毛视频� Millen said. 无毛视频淭he games that we lost, one was to Kentucky and now that you look back on it they had a phenomenal team, but they beat us in the rain and it was a really close game. But having said all that my experience at Penn State was a great experience, and you met great people and Coach Paterno was probably at the top of his game then and so it was a fun time to be at Penn State.无毛视频�
A back injury limited Millen to just three games in his senior season with the Nittany Lions in 1979.
The Oakland Raiders made Matt Millen the 43rd overall selection of the 1980 NFL Draft.
无毛视频淲hen I was drafted by the Raiders as soon as I got there Mr. Al Davis told me I was going back to linebacker and it worked out,无毛视频� Millen said. 无毛视频淚 was defensive rookie of the year and things worked out pretty good.无毛视频�
Millen grew up idolizing Dick Butkus and Ray Nitschke. He followed in their footsteps when he entered the NFL.
无毛视频淭wo guys that I liked growing up were Butkus and Nitschke,无毛视频� Millen explained. 无毛视频淲hen I was growing up I was never watching teams. I liked players and it was easy to like Butkus and I got to know him pretty good and the same with Ray. They were from a whole other school. In fact I got probably my best compliment from Butkus when he said, Matt this isn无毛视频檛 your era you should have played with us.无毛视频�
Millen played as a linebacker for 12 years for the Oakland and Los Angeles Raiders, San Francisco 49ers and Washington Redskins, playing on four Super Bowl-winning teams and winning a Super Bowl ring for each of the three franchises for which he played.
Millen looked back at his NFL career.
无毛视频淵ou know what无毛视频檚 weird?无毛视频� Millen recalled. 无毛视频淵ou know what you think about more than the Super Bowls? You think about the ones that you didn无毛视频檛 get in. Like 1982 was a great Raiders team and we messed it up and then in 1991 or 90 with the 49ers, my second year with the 49ers we got beat by the Giants on a field goal. That无毛视频檚 what I think about, we should have been in that Super Bowl too. I thought we had a great shot in 1985, the Bears eventually won it, but we screwed it up by getting beat by New England, but that would have been a great, great Super Bowl, us and the Bears.无毛视频�
Following his NFL playing career, Millen was a football commentator for several national television and radio networks.
无毛视频淏roadcasting is something fun and I enjoy it,无毛视频� Millen said. 无毛视频淚 never considered it. Coach John Madden was the one that got me involved and I started with him at CBS and then I went to Fox and then I went to the Lions and then I came out and went to NBC and ABC, ESPN and went back to Fox. To me Fox by far was the best place to be.无毛视频�
In 2001, Millen was hired as president and chief executive officer of the Detroit Lions and served in that position unti 2008. Things did not go well during his stint with the Lions.
无毛视频淵ou take a shot,无毛视频� Millen lamented. 无毛视频淏ut what it taught me was I wasn无毛视频檛 ready for that position and that无毛视频檚 a whole different world. It无毛视频檚 not just about your knowledge and understanding of football. In fact that has very little to do with that. It无毛视频檚 more to do with managing people and getting the right people in the right positions and building an organization. Now after being exposed to it I have a better understanding of what it无毛视频檚 all about, but if I was going to do anything I would coach.无毛视频�
Millen was diagnosed with the rare disease amyloidosis in 2017. In Millen无毛视频檚 case, the disease affected his heart, he had a heart transplant in 2018.
无毛视频淚无毛视频檓 doing pretty good health-wise,无毛视频� Millen reported. 无毛视频淵ou have to be careful and you still watch certain things. I had a heart transplant and it went pretty well and I keep my fingers crossed and keep on going.无毛视频�
In 2022 Millen was inducted into the Lehigh Valley 无毛视频 Hall of Fame. For Millen, the highlight of the recent Pennsylvania 无毛视频 Hall of Fame banquet was meeting a childhood idol, basketball great Larry Miller.
无毛视频淭he interesting thing is Larry Miller is in this class,无毛视频� Millen offered. 无毛视频淚无毛视频檝e never told anybody this, but Larry Miller is from Catasauqua, right across from where I come from, Hokendauqua. Larry Miller was the guy that I looked to, he gave me more hope than anything that I could make it. If somebody from Catasauqua could make it, somebody from Hokendauqua could make it.无毛视频�
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