CFF Series - Keep an eye on this FCS WR...
Another superstar FCS WR is in the transfer portal; depending on the location, he could be in line to have an Andrew Armstrong/Elijah Sarratt type of year in 2024.
You're not gonna believe this— the guy killed sixteen Czechoslovakians… he was an interior decorator!
- Paulie Walnuts, The Sopranos
All things considered, 2023 was a great year for FCS wideouts transitioning up a level. We had: JMU’s Elijah Sarratt, who transferred from Saint Francis University, going for over 1078 yards and nine total TDs (averaged 19.8 PPG in 1PPR formats) at the G5 level; there was also Arkansas’ Andrew Armstrong, who somehow managed to salvage a solid season despite a dumpster fire around him in the SEC. The Texas A&M Commerce transfer started the season off strong, scoring 16.6 points or more in five out of his first six games, but unfortunately waned noticeably down the stretch. He finished 2023 averaging just over 13 PPG. Even still, I would still consider that a success given that he transferred up two levels, and immediately became the WR1 at a P5 program in the hardest conference.
So, I think the trend is pretty clear: we should be monitoring these productive FCS WRs in particular, and if the landing spot of said players are good, we might find some hidden value in drafts this summer. Personally, I drafted both Armstrong and Sarratt in a deep league format I played in last summer, and these two helped that team finish 2nd in the league (of 24 teams). Both Armstrong and Sarratt were even relevant within default 12-team setups at various points in the season too. Armstrong was more-so relevant early in the year, but Sarratt hit a much higher high down the stretch.
Monmouth WR Dymere Miller — 6’0, 180
Enter Monmouth slot receiver Dymere Miller. My immediate thought when I came across Miller was that he reminded me of JMU’s Elijah Sarratt, who is above six-feet tall, but was deployed primarily as a slot receiver this year for the Dukes. You’ll see in a highlight video that I have linked below, Miller (listed as 6’0) is also playing from the slot position for the Garden State program, Monmouth University (FCS). Now, who knows how he’ll be deployed at his next school, but one would assume whoever’s interested in his services will probably want to continue to use him the way he was used at his previous school.
Before proceeding, it’s probably appropriate to answer the question: why am I interested in this player? I am interested because Miller is coming off an extremely productive campaign for the Monmouth Hawks (not going to lie, I was kind of hoping their name would be the ‘Moths’).
In 2023, Miller set the single season program record in: receiving yards (1293), catches (90) and receiving yards in a game (333). His overall stat line finished at 90 catches for 1293 yards and a total of 10 TDs (nine receiving, one along the ground) in 11 games. That’s an average of just over 20 PPG if we were to convert to a 1PPR scoring system. His receiving yards were actually first in the entire FCS this season. So yea… this kid might as well have killed sixteen Czechoslovakians last season, because he was an absolute killer—hello!
Side note: just in case there’s any confusion with the graphic below, Miller’s 1293 yards this season is not an all-time FCS record (Brandon Kaufman holds that distinction with 1850 yards in 2012). Also, it’s not listed on the graphic, but he also holds the single-season Monmouth record for 100-yard games with six in 2023.
Accordingly, Miller’s offer sheet has been gaining some steam since his entering of the portal a week ago. His offers currently include:
North Texas
Rutgers
UAB
Pitt
UConn
ECU
FAU
TTech
Of those destinations, programs like North Texas, UAB, FAU and Texas Tech would be nice landings. My preference would be a G5 landing— could you imagine if he replaces LaJohntay Wester (23.6 PPG) at FAU next season? UNT is also losing a lot of its production from a season ago with Jay Maclin’s departure to the transfer portal. It’s worth nothing that Maclin could always choose to return too.
I like UAB also, since Trent Dilfer took over they are more pass oriented than previously. However, given that Miller is a northeast guy (originally from PA, played ball in NJ), UConn, Pitt or Rutgers can’t be ruled out. Pitt and Rutgers would probably be my least favourite spots, despite the obviously harder competition, the systems there are not as WR friendly (at least, they haven’t been lately).
Just as a comparison to Armstrong’s and Sarratt’s seasons from a year ago; Armstrong’s final year in the FCS saw him catch 62 passes for 1020 yards and 13 TDs. Sarratt was more of a TD merchant for SFPA, catching 42 passes for 700 yards and 13 TDs. Miller’s season last year is better than both Armstrong’s or Sarratt’s.
Now, I should be careful here, and mention that — I assume — just like the FBS, not every FCS conference is created equal. I won’t pretend to be an expert on which FCS conferences are harder than others, but I wanted to mention that given that we are comparing seasons between FCS players at various different programs.
There has to be a reason why Armstrong earned SEC offers, while our boy here is looking at middle and lower-tier P5 programs as his best offers so far. That being said, it’s early. What would be the ideal spot? I think it’s already been mentioned— assuming Wester is moving on, I would love Miller in FAU’s slot receiver position. We will cross that bridge (make an article) if we get there.
Below is a video of Miller’s 333-yard game vs. New Hampshire, which also includes a long TD run.
As far as his profile, Miller is entering his fifth year of CFB in 2024. He played sparingly (as is typically the case) in his first two seasons. In 2022 (junior year), he netted 55 receptions for 820 yards and seven TDs in nine games. He was somewhat of a special teams weapon also, returning two kickoffs for over 75 yards. In the aforementioned monster 2023 season, Miller was a captain for Monmouth, and ended up on basically the entire gambit of ‘who’s who’ lists for FCS players.
There is no doubt about it, Miller is by every definition, an FCS stud. As with all transfers, landing spot will be crucial here. That being said, we are coming off a productive year for players of this mold, and I think Miller is a name worth monitoring closely. He is not currently ranked (as far as I know) in any mainstream transfer portal tracker.
Shameless plug: If you’ve been paying attention to my evergreen offseason CFF document, you will have already been familiar with this name:
If you enjoyed this content, I encourage you to join the Pig Pen (subscribing), and follow me on twitter.
Have questions? Find out what people are saying about VolumePigs here.
