Former NFL lineman Bryan Millard helping Kats
8/17/2009 2:15:00 PM | Football
There will be some new coaches roaming the sideline this season for Sam Houston State, but there is one guy that literally stands above the rest.
Former Seattle Seahawks and University of Texas offensive lineman Bryan Millard has joined the Bearkats staff as a voluntary assistant with the goal of breaking into the coaching ranks down the road.
Millard hopes that he can use his successful playing career to help develop young players. But he knows that just because he played football does not necessarily mean that he can coach.
"I learned a long, long time ago that just because you played does not equate to you being able to coach," Millard said Friday afternoon. "I have to learn how to coach also. Being around coach (Brandon) Jones, coach (James) Ferguson and coach (Lee) Hayes, I'm getting hands-on experience."
Millard played at Texas from 1980-82 and was a starter on the Longhorns' 1981 squad, which won the Cotton Bowl and finished the season ranked No. 2 in the nation. He went undrafted in the NFL, but he was selected by the New Jersey Generals in the 1983 United States Football League draft.
He played there for two seasons before joining the Seahawks in the fall of 1984. He earned a starting job in 1985 and held it until an injury derailed his career at the beginning of the '92 season.
After Seattle released him in '93, Millard wanted to be a family man, went into private business and eventually opened a chain of gas stations. He sold those a few years back, and after watching his kids grow up, decided it was the right time to get back into football.
Former Texas assistant coach Hardee McCrary got Millard in touch with Bearkats head coach Todd Whitten and that opened the door.
"Hardee McCrary, who used to coach with coach Whitten years ago, helped me out," Millard said. "I'm grateful for the opportunity coach Whitten has given me. I'm here when they open the door and when they close the door. I'm very thankful to be here."
