43 for 43: Oklahoma State football set to induct Terry Miller into Ring of Honor

When Terry Miller first started to play football as an eighth-grader, Miller chose No. 40 as an homage to Gale Sayers, the Kansas Comet.

But when Miller got to Oklahoma State in 1974, he switched to No. 43 as a nod to Larry Brown — the NFL’s MVP in 1972, and a four-time Pro Bowler with Washington.

“He was a good, tough player,” Miller told The Oklahoman on Wednesday.

“I liked that No. 43, and I think that’s probably why I wore it.”

Miller’s No. 43 has long been retired at OSU, but on Saturday when OSU hosts Kansas, his name and jersey number will be unveiled high above the west end zone at Boone Pickens Stadium as the fourth member of the Cowboy Football Ring of Honor.

Miller will join fellow star running backs Thurman Thomas, Barry Sanders and Bob Fenimore in the ring of honor.

But Miller, who lives in Stillwater, is quick to deflect credit.

“For me it’s all about the guys that helped me get there, the coaches, the players,” he said. “It’s as much an honor for them as it is for me, because they were part of the journey.”

Miller, fittingly enough, played in 43 career games from 1974-77.

More: Oklahoma State football rewind: Cameron Epps' emergence, a hidden helper, redshirt tracker

43 facts about Terry Miller

1. He rushed for 4,754 yards on 871 carries.

2. He averaged 5.5 yards per carry.

3. Miller rushed for a career-high 246 yards against Missouri as a senior.

4. He had three games of 200-plus rushing yards.

5. He rushed for a career-high four touchdowns against BYU in his junior season.

6. One of three players in Big Eight history to rush for 4,000 yards. OSU’s Thurman Thomas and Nebraska’s Mike Rozier were the others.

7. Miller’s 162 points in 1976 is second on OSU’s single-season scoring list behind Barry Sanders (264 points, 1988).

8. Miller (294 points) ranks ninth on OSU’s all-time scoring list.

9. Miller was Big Eight Offensive Player of the Year in 1976 and 1977.

10. He averaged 157.3 rushing yards per game in 1976, fourth-best in single-season OSU history behind Sanders, Ernest Anderson and Chuba Hubbard (minimum five games played).

11. In OSU career rushing yards per game (minimum 20 games), Miller is second at 113.2 behind Sanders (118.7).

12. Miller had 49 rushing touchdowns at OSU, only bested by Sanders’ 53.

13. Miller’s 871 career carries rank second in school history behind Thomas (989).

14. His 4,754 rushing yards also rank second in school history behind Thomas (5,001).

15. His junior and senior seasons rank third and sixth in school history for most single-season rushing yards.

16. Miller is one of seven OSU representatives in the College Football Hall of Fame.

17. Miller finished second in the 1977 Heisman vote behind Texas running back Earl Campbell.

18. “Terry Miller has performed throughout his career and that’s what the voting should be based on,” former OU coach Barry Switzer told the Washington Post in November 1977. “He’s been the best overall player in the nation during the past four years.”

19. In the same Washington Post story, former Nebraska coach Tom Osborne said of Miller: “He’s as durable a back as I’ve seen.”

20. Miller was fourth in the 1976 Heisman vote behind Tony Dorsett, Ricky Bell and Rob Lytle.

21. Miller is the only Cowboy to have three 1,000-yard rushing seasons.

22. He ranks third in OSU history in all-purpose yards.

23. An All-American in his 1976 and 1977 junior and senior seasons.

24. His 23 rushing touchdowns in 1976 led the nation.

25. His 14 rushing touchdowns in 1977 ranked sixth in the nation.

26. Miller tied a Big Eight record with five rushing touchdowns against Kansas State in 1976.

27. Rushed for more than 100 yards in all 11 games in 1977.

28. Miller’s 26 100-yard rushing games are the most in school history.

29. He had 19 consecutive 100-yard rushing games from Oct. 1976 to Nov. 1977.

30. Miller had two 100-yard rushing games as a freshman, against Wichita State and Iowa State.

31. Miller ran for 173 yards and four touchdowns in OSU’s 1976 Tangerine Bowl victory against BYU.

32. Miller had a 78-yard run against BYU — the second longest run in an OSU bowl game behind Tatum Bell, who had an 88-yard run in the 2002 Houston Bowl.

33. Only Sanders (222) and Fenimore (178) had more rushing yards in an OSU bowl game than Miller (173).

34. Ranked fourth in NCAA history for most rushing yards after graduating in 1977.

35. OSU went 27-19 in Miller’s career.

36. Played under Jim Stanley, who coached the Cowboys from 1973-78.

37. Miller helped the Cowboys win two bowls: 1974 Fiesta, 1976 Tangerine.

38. Miller was selected by the Bills with the No. 5 pick in the 1978 NFL Draft.

40. In a New York Times story before the draft, Tony Kornheiser described Miller as having “gelatin hips.”

41. Miller was a 2006 inductee into the Oklahoma State Athletics Hall of Honor.

42. In 2019, The Oklahoman ranked Miller as the sixth-best player in OSU history.

43. In 2020, The Athletic picked former USC safety Troy Polamalu as the best No. 43 in college football history. Miller was one of nine honorable mentions.

More: Can one win turn around the Oklahoma State football season? 'Gotta keep it rolling'

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma State football set to induct Terry Miller into Ring of Honor