FARGO — Cam Miller’s unlikely road that took him from Solon, Iowa, to North Dakota State starting quarterback has now brought him to the NFL.
The two-time national champion for the Bison was drafted by the Las Vegas Raiders in the sixth round Saturday on the final day of the 2025 NFL Draft. Miller was selected with the 215th overall pick, the next-to-last pick of the round.
Miller will be joined by former Montana State quarterback Tommy Mellott, the 2024 Walter Payton winner, who beat Miller for the award in Frisco. Mellott was selected two picks earlier by the Raiders and will transition to play wide receiver in the NFL.
The Raiders hired Super Bowl champion Pete Carroll as head coach in January. Las Vegas then traded to get quarterback Geno Smith as its starter in March. Aidan O’Connell is the only other quarterback on the Raiders roster.
Miller had excelled during the pre-draft process, having a great week in front of the scouts at the East-West Shrine Game in Dallas in late January. Despite not receiving an NFL Combine invite, Miller was on the radar of scouts and had an excellent Pro Day in Fargo, where he completed 49 of 49 passes.
Five separate NFL quarterback coaches came to Fargo to watch Miller throw at Pro Day. He had visits with the Denver Broncos, Las Vegas Raiders, San Francisco 49ers, New York Jets and lastly the Pittsburgh Steelers in the weeks leading up to the draft. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that Steelers quarterbacks coach Tom Arth came to Fargo to work out Miller right before the draft.
“I know teams that go to a Pro Day, especially a position coach, that means something and that they have interest in you,” Miller said before the draft. “I just wanted to prove myself and to show them that I am capable. I just think in this process, players like myself, other teams want you to fly under the radar, so then they can get you either at the end of the draft or at the very end of the draft and be a free agent.”
The 6-foot-1, 212-pound quarterback was the runner-up for the Walter Payton Award in 2024, which goes to the top offensive player in FCS. Miller won the Missouri Valley Football Conference Offensive Player of the Year award, throwing for 3,251 yards and 33 touchdowns to just four interceptions. He added 12 rushing touchdowns to finish with 48 for his career, which was a conference record. He ended his career with a 45-11 record as a starting quarterback, the third most wins in FCS history behind Bison great Easton Stick and South Dakota State’s Mark Gronowski.
Miller got on the radar of scouts with his performance in the 2024 season opener against Colorado and future number two overall pick, Travis Hunter. Miller completed 18 of 22 passes for 277 yards and a touchdown, while adding 81 rushing yards and two touchdowns.
“I really think for me, it was the Colorado game that gave me enough confidence that I can play at the next level.” Miller said.
As soon as the FCS Championship Game concluded in Frisco, Texas, Miller flew to New Jersey to work with his personal quarterback coach, Tony Racioppi. Racioppi has worked with numerous college quarterbacks to get them ready for the next level.
“If teams have a sixth round pick and want to take him, someone else likes him and has a fifth round pick, then move up,” Racioppi said. “Let’s create as much value as we can and he should get his name called.”
Miller is the fourth straight starting quarterback to get a shot at the next level. Carson Wentz was drafted with the second overall pick in 2016, Stick was drafted in the fifth round in 2019 and Trey Lance was drafted third overall in 2021.
“Cam has been impressive to everybody,” said NDSU head coach Tim Polasek. “ I’ve gotten several calls after his trips, and they’ve been really encouraging. What a time for our program and to continue to prove that we can develop, we can coach and we can put you in the next level of things.”
