Although he hasn't yet played a down in the NFL, Heath Miller is by far the most famous citizen of Swords Creek, Va., a quiet coal-mining and factory town in the southwestern part of the state.
Not that Miller is eager to discuss his fame.
Or his stellar football career at the University of Virginia.
Or the fact that he was the first tight end selected in the NFL Draft on Saturday (by the Steelers, 30th overall).
Or just about any other topic.
"He doesn't elaborate on nothin'," said Doug Hubbard, Miller's football coach at Honaker (Va.) High School. "He's a very humble young man."
Hubbard provided an example from Miller's days as an option quarterback at Honaker.
"One time, he could have just walked into the end zone, and he turns around and pitches to his halfback," Hubbard said. "That's Heath. He's going to be more excited for what his buddy does than what he does. You're going to love that part about him.
"I'm telling you, I've got a 4-year-old son, and if you have a son that grows up to have the same work ethic, the same character as Heath Miller, you'll be proud. If you have a daughter, and she brings home a guy like this, you'll be happy."
Hubbard figured just about all of Swords Creek, or about 3,500 people, plus neighboring Honaker were tuned into the draft. Folks in those parts are loyal that way. Hundreds would make the 265-mile trek to Charlottesville to watch Miller play home games at Virginia.
"Women, 60 years old, who didn't know anything about football were going," Hubbard said.
Most of Miller's fans were hoping the Steelers would be his team. Turns out Swords Creek, a seven-hour drive from Pittsburgh, had plenty of Steelers backers even before yesterday's events.
"There are a whole lot of Steelers fans there," said Miller's father, Earl, who builds houses for a living. "Everybody back home said, 'That's where he'll end up.' "
Heath Miller watched the draft with his family -- parents Earl and Denise and younger sister Amanda -- and friends in Charlottesville.
He is well aware that everyone back home carries his dream.
"There's maybe a little bit of added pressure on me to do well, to make the people back home proud," Miller said.
They couldn't have been prouder watching Miller star in three sports at Honaker High. In addition to playing quarterback and safety on the football team, he was a power forward in basketball and a power-hitting first baseman in baseball.
"I think he only struck out once his whole high school career," said Tony Bush, principal of Honaker High.
Bush recently commissioned a life-sized poster of Miller receiving the John Mackey Award, which goes to the best tight end in college football.
"I put it up where you see it just as you come in the school," Bush said. "I want kids to see it every day -- actually see what a student from a small community can do."
One thing Miller couldn't do, once he reached Virginia, was continue as a quarterback. Virginia had plenty of those, so Miller decided to try tight end on the scout team one day.
He never looked back, becoming a two-time All-American. In three years at Virginia, Miller had 144 catches for 1,703 yards and 20 touchdowns, making him easily the most prolific tight end in Atlantic Coast Conference history.
Everybody has their favorite Miller moment. It might have been his one-handed TD catch against Miami last season, or his dive to the pylon - when he switched the ball from one hand to the other in mid-air -- against Clemson.
Pitt defensive coordinator Paul Rhoads remembers another moment -- Miller's 52-yard touchdown catch against Pitt in the 2003 Continental Tire Bowl. Miller, who outraced Tutu Ferguson to the end zone, was just a sophomore and would play one more season.
"I went up to him after the ballgame and asked him about his draft status," Rhoads said. "He said, 'Coach, I'm just a sophomore.' I was shocked. He was a good blocker and had hands as good as any I've seen on a tight end. I thought he was ready to come out then."
Asked to compare Miller to former Miami tight end Kellen Winslow Jr., Rhoads said Miller is "every bit the package."
Earl Miller was asked to describe the feeling as he watched his son get drafted in the first round.
"It's hard to describe," he said. "You just feel good all over. It's just a warm feeling."
All of Swords Creek felt it.
