Bond between Terry Miller, Robert Turner 'like music' & lasted beyond OSU football
STILLWATER — It’s been more than 45 years since former Oklahoma State fullback Robert Turner opened a hole for the great Terry Miller, but Miller needs his lead blocker once again.
And Turner isn’t missing the chance.
So he and his wife, Annette, packed their bags for a trip to Las Vegas, where Miller — a two-time All-American, Heisman Trophy runner-up and one of the greatest Cowboy running backs ever during his career from 1974-77 — will be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame on Tuesday as part of the 2022 class.
“I’m excited for the guys who made it all possible, coaches and teammates,” the 66-year-old Miller said. “We came up in the era of three yards and a cloud of dirt. We were a pretty good running team, and this is a validation of those teammates and coaches that we did make a little bit of a difference.
“They’ll be in the Hall of Fame just as much as I will.”
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That means as much to Turner as anyone. Turner, a native of Wynnewood who chose OSU when his hometown was sending most of its stars to OU, is thrilled to see Miller add yet another illustrious honor to his collection.
“Sometimes I’d hit that block and I’d roll to the side and I’d see Terry accelerating,” Turner said. “I’d just lay on the ground and watch Terry run.”
Their friendship, however, was built before they got the chance to be on the field together.
“Terry was a freshman when I was a sophomore and had broke my right leg,” said Turner, whose grandson, JaKobe Sanders, is committed to OSU for next season. “It wasn’t too long after that when Terry broke his left leg. So we spent a lot of time together in the training room and got a chance to really connect and talk to one another.”
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Miller and Turner both live in Stillwater and their wives worked together for years at Stillwater Public Schools. Miller and Turner remained close friends well beyond their glory days at OSU.
And now, Turner is honored to know he helped open holes for a Hall of Famer.
“Terry was a very unique guy,” Turner said. “He had very unique speed and knew how to control his ability to accelerate. That’s the thing that was so beautiful about what we were doing at that particular time. I was providing the roadblock, probably at the top of my game in my sophomore and junior year. Of course, Terry was coming into his own at that same time, becoming a great player.
“It was like music sometimes.”
Hall of Fame class
Meet the College Football Hall of Fame class of 2022, set to be inducted Tuesday in Las Vegas:
Lavar Arrington (Penn State), Champ Bailey (Georgia), Michael Crabtree (Texas Tech), Sylvester Croom (Alabama), Mike Doss (Ohio State), Chuck Ealey (Toledo), Kevin Faulk (LSU), Moe Gardner (Illinois), Boomer Grigsby (Illinois State), Mike Hass (Oregon State), Marvin Jones (Florida State), Andrew Luck (Stanford), Mark Messner (Michigan), Terry Miller (Oklahoma State), Rashaan Salaam (Colorado), Dennis Thomas (Alcorn State), Zach Wiegert (Nebraska), Roy Williams (Oklahoma), John Luckhardt (Washington & Jefferson and California, Pa.), Billy Jack Murphy (Memphis), Gary Pinkel (Toledo and Missouri).
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Bond between Terry Miller, Robert Turner lasted beyond Oklahoma State
