Miles Sanders
Miles Sanders (born May 1, 1997) nicknamed “Boobie” is an American football running back for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Eagles in the second round of the 2019 NFL Draft after playing college football at Penn State.
Sanders with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2019 | |||||||||||||||||
No. 26 – Philadelphia Eagles | |||||||||||||||||
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Position: | Running back | ||||||||||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
Born: | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | May 1, 1997||||||||||||||||
Height: | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | ||||||||||||||||
Weight: | 211 lb (96 kg) | ||||||||||||||||
Career information | |||||||||||||||||
High school: | Woodland Hills (PA) | ||||||||||||||||
College: | Penn State | ||||||||||||||||
NFL Draft: | 2019 / Round: 2 / Pick: 53 | ||||||||||||||||
Career history | |||||||||||||||||
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Roster status: | Active | ||||||||||||||||
Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||||
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Career NFL statistics as of 2020 | |||||||||||||||||
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Early years
Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | 40‡ | Commit date |
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Miles Sanders RB |
Pittsburgh, PA | Woodland Hills HS | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | 199 lb (90 kg) | 4.50 | Jul 19, 2014 |
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN grade: 85 | ||||||
Overall recruiting rankings: | ||||||
Sources:
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Miles grew up in Swissvale, a neighborhood in the eastern end of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and attended local powerhouse Woodland Hills High School, where he was a 3-year starter at running back. After winning Pennsylvania's Mr. Football award during his senior year and attending the Under Armour All-America Game, Sanders chose to attend Penn State over a host of offers, including the local Pittsburgh Panthers.
College career
Sanders was named Penn State's starting running back as a junior in 2018. On September 21, 2018, Sanders rushed for 200 yards and three touchdowns in a win against Illinois. He was named Big Ten Conference Co-Offensive Player of the Week.[1] After a season-ending injury to Mark Allen, Sanders honored the 5th year senior running back by wearing his teammates' number 8 the following week of September 29, 2018, against the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Freshman season
Sanders saw a limited amount of playing time as a true freshman behind teammate Saquon Barkley.[2] He received the majority of his reps on special teams this season.[3] While returning kicks for Penn State, Sanders set the school record for kicks returned in a season(33). He is also ranked 2nd on the programs list for kick return yards in a single season (688), averaging 20.8 yards per return.[4]
Sanders was selected as a BTN.com All-Big Ten Freshman Team honorable mention.[5]
Sophomore season
In 2017, Sanders played in 12 games, making his first college start in one of them.[4] He started his first game against Rutgers on November 11, 2017.[6] Sanders’ sophomore year faced the same fate as the first. As Saquon Barkley had a record shattering season in his junior year, Sanders served as the backup carrying the ball only 6 more times on than the previous season.[7]
Sanders was presented with the 2018 Red Worrell Award for the offensive player who has best demonstrated exemplary conduct, loyalty, interest, attitude and improvement during spring practice.[8]
Junior season
With Barkley’s departure from Penn State after the 2017 season, Sanders was named Penn State's starting running back.[9] Sanders started 13 out of 13 games in the 2018 season. On September 1, in his junior season debut against Appalachian State, he carried the ball 19 times rushing for 91 yards and two touchdowns.[10] That also included the game winning 4-yard touchdown in overtime.[11] After this performance he was named the coaching staff Offensive Player of the Week.[4] Sanders’ most notable game of the year came against Illinois on September 21. He rushed for a career-best 200 yards on 22 carries. He also ended the game with a career high of three rushing touchdowns.[12] He was then named the Big Ten Co-Offensive Player of the Week.[13]
To end the season, Sanders finished No. 2 in the Big Ten and No. 15 in the nation with 1,274 rushing yards, was ranked No. 4 in the conference and No. 25 in the FBS with 98.0 rushing yards per game, was No. 5 in the Big Ten and No. 40 in the nation with 5.79 yards per carry. Additionally he finished seventh in the Big Ten in rushing touchdowns (9) and all-purpose yards per game (108.7).[4] On January 3, 2019, Sanders decided to declare for the NFL Draft and forego his senior season of college football.[14]
College Statistics
College Statistics
Season | Team | G | Rushing | Receiving | Kickoff Return | ||||||||||||
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Att | Yds | Avg | Long | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | Long | TD | KR | Yds | Avg | TD | Long | |||
2016 | Penn State | 13 | 25 | 184 | 7.4 | 57 | 1 | 2 | 24 | 12.0 | 21 | 1 | 33 | 688 | 20.8 | 0 | 48 |
2017 | Penn State | 12 | 31 | 191 | 6.2 | 31 | 2 | 6 | 30 | 5.0 | 7 | 0 | 5 | 76 | 15.2 | 0 | 23 |
2018 | Penn State | 13 | 220 | 1274 | 5.8 | 78 | 9 | 24 | 139 | 5.8 | 29 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Career | 37 | 276 | 1649 | 6.0 | 78 | 12 | 32 | 193 | 6.0 | 29 | 1 | 38 | 764 | 20.1 | 0 | 48 | |
Source[4] |
Awards and accolades
- Sanders was selected as a BTN.com All-Big Ten Freshman Team honorable mention.[5]
- Sanders was presented with the 2018 Red Worrell Award for the offensive player who has best demonstrated exemplary conduct, loyalty, interest, attitude and improvement during spring practice.[8]
- Selected second-team All-Big Ten by the league's coaches and media.[15]
- Earned second-team All-Big Ten honors by the Associated Press.[15]
- Named the team's Most Valuable Offensive Player.[16]
- Named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week after Illinois (9/21) game.[17]
- Tabbed the Rose Bowl Game Big Ten Player of the Week following the Illinois (9/21) game.[18]
- Selected to Pro Football Focus Big Ten Team of the Week following the Pittsburgh (9/8) game.[19]
- Member of the Maxwell Award Watch List.[20]
- Among the candidates on the preseason watch list for the Doak Walker Award, given to the nation's top running back.[21]
Professional career
Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand size | 40-yard dash | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |||
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5 ft 10 5⁄8 in (1.79 m) |
211 lb (96 kg) |
30 5⁄8 in (0.78 m) |
9 1⁄4 in (0.23 m) | 4.49 s | 4.19 s | 6.89 s | 36.0 in (0.91 m) | 10 ft 4 in (3.15 m) | 20 reps | |||
All values from NFL Combine[22] |
Sanders was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the second round with the 53rd overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft.[23]
2019
Sanders made his NFL debut in Week 1 against the Washington Redskins. In the game, Sanders rushed 11 times for 25 yards as the Eagles won 32–27.[24] In Week 6 against the Minnesota Vikings, Sanders rushed three times for six yards and caught three passes for 86 yards and a touchdown in the 38–20 loss.[25] In a Week 15 game against the Redskins, Sanders rushed 19 times for 122 yards and a touchdown and caught six passes for 50 yards and a touchdown during the 37–27 win. [26] During the game, Sanders passed LeSean McCoy and DeSean Jackson for the most rushing yards by a rookie and the most all-purpose yards by a rookie in franchise history, respectively. [27] In Week 16 against the Dallas Cowboys, Sanders rushed 20 times for 79 yards and a touchdown and caught five passes for 77 yards during the 17–9 win. [28] He finished his rookie season with 818 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns to go along with 50 receptions for 509 receiving yards and three receiving touchdowns.[29]
In the NFC Wild Card Round against the Seattle Seahawks, Sanders rushed 14 times for 69 yards during the 17–9 loss. [30]
2020
Sanders missed the first game of the 2020 regular season with a hamstring injury.[31] Sanders returned in Week 2 to make his season debut against the Los Angeles Rams. In the 37–19 loss, he had 131 scrimmage yards and a rushing touchdown.[32] In Week 5 against his hometown team, the Pittsburgh Steelers, Sanders rushed for 80 yards and two touchdowns, including a 74-yard touchdown, during the 38–29 loss.[33] In Week 6 against the Baltimore Ravens, he had nine carries for 118 yards in the 30–28 loss.[34] In Week 14 against the New Orleans Saints, he had fourteen carries for 115 yards and two touchdowns, which included an 82-yard touchdown, during the 24–21 win.[35]
Career Statistics
Regular season
Year | Team | Games | Rushing | Receiving | Fumbles | ||||||||||
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GP | GS | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | FUM | Lost | ||
2019 | PHI | 16 | 11 | 179 | 818 | 4.6 | 65T | 3 | 50 | 509 | 10.2 | 45 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
2020 | PHI | 12 | 11 | 164 | 867 | 5.3 | 82T | 6 | 28 | 197 | 7.0 | 28 | 0 | 4 | 2 |
Career | 28 | 22 | 343 | 1,685 | 4.9 | 82T | 9 | 78 | 706 | 9.1 | 45 | 3 | 6 | 2 |
Postseason
Year | Team | Games | Rushing | Receiving | Fumbles | ||||||||||
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GP | GS | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | FUM | Lost | ||
2019 | PHI | 1 | 1 | 14 | 69 | 4.9 | 18 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 2.7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Career | 1 | 1 | 14 | 69 | 4.9 | 18 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 2.7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
References
- Donohue, Tyler (September 29, 2018). "Miles Sanders to honor teammate Mark Allen vs Buckeyes". 247 Sports. Retrieved October 1, 2018.
- Lombardo, Matt (February 28, 2019). "Penn State reunion for Saquon Barkley and Miles Sanders in Giants' backfield? | Why one coach thinks it could happen". Retrieved March 21, 2019.
- Treb, Mike (March 24, 2017). "2017 SPRING POSITION PREVIEW: KICK AND PUNT RETURNERS". Retrieved March 5, 2019.
- "2018 Football Roster".
- "2017 Penn State Football Yearbook" (PDF).
- "Play-by-Play". November 11, 2017. Retrieved March 18, 2019.
- "Rushing and Receiving". Retrieved March 21, 2019.
- Pickel, Greg (April 21, 2018). "Who are Penn State football's 2018 spring award recipients?". Penn Live. Retrieved March 21, 2019.
- Juliano, Joe (August 30, 2018). "Penn State's Miles Sanders ready to replace Saquon Barkley as No. 1 running back". Philly.com. Retrieved March 21, 2019.
- "Player Profile". Retrieved March 21, 2019.
- Schlarp, Thomas (September 1, 2018). "Penn State football prevails in overtime, avoids upset in season opener | Instant analysis". Retrieved March 2, 2019.
- Kelly, Brad (February 12, 2019). "MILES SANDERS: POLISH DESPITE INEXPERIENCE". Retrieved March 21, 2019.
- "Penn State running back Miles Sanders named Big Ten Co-Offensive Player of the Week". York Dispatch. September 24, 2018. Retrieved March 16, 2019.
- Heiser, Steve (January 3, 2019). "Miles Sanders is fifth player to give up Penn State eligibility to enter 2019 NFL draft". York Dispatch. Retrieved March 21, 2019.
- "Big Ten Announces Football All-Conference Teams for Offense". November 28, 2018. Retrieved March 21, 2019.
- Black, Matthew (March 17, 2019). "Draft 2019: Landing Spots for Miles Sanders". Penn State. Retrieved March 21, 2019.
- "Big Ten Football Players of the Week". Big Ten Conference. September 24, 2018. Retrieved March 21, 2019.
- "McSorley and Sanders Lead All-Big Ten Offensive Selections". Penn State Nittany Lions. November 28, 2018. Retrieved March 21, 2019.
- Varner Jr., Kenny (February 9, 2019). "Seven PSU players invited to NFL combine". Hometown Sports Scene. Retrieved March 17, 2019.
- "Maxwell Award Watch List Additions" (PDF). Retrieved March 21, 2019.
- Sauertieg, Clay (July 18, 2018). "Miles Sanders Named To Doak Walker Award Watch List". Black Shoe Diaries. Retrieved March 21, 2019.
- "Miles Sanders Combine Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved September 5, 2019.
- Wesseling, Chris (April 26, 2019). "Eagles select Miles Sanders, J.J. Arcega-Whiteside". NFL.com. Retrieved January 3, 2020.
- "Jackson shines in Philly return, Eagles beat Redskins 32–27". www.espn.com. Associated Press. September 8, 2019. Retrieved September 8, 2019.
- "Cousins, Diggs fly past Eagles in Vikings' 38–20 win". www.espn.com. Associated Press. October 13, 2019. Retrieved October 13, 2019.
- "Wentz, Eagles keep NFC East hopes alive by beating Redskins". www.espn.com. Associated Press. December 15, 2019. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
- McManus, Tim (December 16, 2019). "Eagles' Miles Sanders drawing comparison to LeSean McCoy, Arian Foster". www.espn.com. Retrieved December 16, 2019.
- "Wentz, Eagles deny Dallas the NFC East title with 17–9 win". www.espn.com. Associated Press. December 22, 2019. Retrieved December 22, 2019.
- "Miles Sanders 2019 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 4, 2020.
- "Wilson leads Seahawks past Eagles 17–9". www.espn.com. Associated Press. January 5, 2020. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
- Kerr, Jeff (September 12, 2020). "Eagles' Miles Sanders out for Week 1 after not making trip to Washington for season opener". CBSSports.com. Retrieved September 22, 2020.
- "Los Angeles Rams at Philadelphia Eagles – September 20th, 2020". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved September 22, 2020.
- "Philadelphia Eagles at Pittsburgh Steelers – October 11th, 2020". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 11, 2020.
- "Baltimore Ravens at Philadelphia Eagles - October 18th, 2020". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 20, 2020.
- "New Orleans Saints at Philadelphia Eagles - December 13th, 2020". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
- Dajani, Jordan (April 16, 2020). "Eagles' Miles Sanders says he wants to be like the versatile Christian McCaffrey". CBSSports.com. Retrieved October 18, 2020.
- Gallen, Daniel (October 11, 2020). "Eagles' Miles Sanders 'blessed and happy that I'm living my dream' as he returns home to face Steelers". pennlive. Retrieved October 18, 2020.
- "By the numbers: Miles Sanders' historic rookie season". www.philadelphiaeagles.com. December 31, 2019. Retrieved September 4, 2020.