Former Linden Kicker Has Dreams Crushed, Restored

Noel Miller’s dream was ripped away from him because of a technical mistake that occurred years earlier.

The 2007 Linden High School graduate and all-state kicker was one week away from starting football camp at Saginaw Valley State University. He was enrolled in classes and had signed a lease to stay in a townhouse with other football players.

He then received a phone call that shocked him and change his life forever.

NCAA officials had found that a couple of classes he took as a freshman and sophomore at Linden High School had not received the proper accreditation, making him ineligible to play sports at SVSU.

He lost his scholarship, his dream and his drive.

Miller, now 23, stayed in school and lived with the football players, but his motivation for class disappeared.

“It was disheartening,” Miller said. “I didn’t want to do it anymore. It was rough. I lost all the drive I had.”

After two poor academic semesters, Miller’s mother, Kim, pulled him out of school.

“He just didn’t care,” his mother said. “He thought he would never be able to play football, so he did nothing. I told him this isn’t working, you are coming home.”

Miller came home and enrolled at Mott Community College. He took a couple of classes but still lacked motivation.

Then something changed.

“I realized I didn’t want to throw away something I could have,” Miller said.

He started working hard, getting good grades and talking about kicking in an independent football league. He started working out. Miller went from a high school playing weight of a toothpick-thin 180 to a solid 240 pounds.

His mother was amazed at the changes she saw in her son.

“He worked extremely hard and ended up on the dean's list. This is a kid who didn’t think he’d go to college,” she said. “It was amazing, the difference. They say boys take a couple more years to grow up. It quite something.”

All dreams of playing college football had faded — that is, until Miller improved his grades enough to enroll at a university.

He talked to some officials at Concordia University in Ann Arbor, where his sister, Ali, was playing sports.

The school is in just its second year of football, and Miller thought he might have a chance to make the team if he was eligible. Since the school is a National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) school and since Miller had taken only two full-time semesters, officials told him he was eligible to play a full four years of football.

He won’t be able to transfer to and play at a Division I or II school, but he only cares about being back the field.

He started camp last week.

"As advertised, Noel has exceptional leg strength and limitless potential," Concordia football coach Nathan Robbins said of Miller.

He has enrolled in business management classes and is working harder than ever on the field and in the classroom.

“It was exciting to get back. I never thought I’d be able to do it,” Miller said. “It felt great. I just want to prove to myself that I can make it happen."