2023 NFL Draft Prospect Interview: Dorian Miles, WR, Missouri Valley College

• Name:  Dorian Miles
• Position: Wide Receiver 
• College: Missouri Valley College
• Height: 6’3
• Weight: 193 
• Twitter: @iamdorianmiles
• Instagram: @iamdorianmiles

What makes you a top prospect at your position  in the 2023 NFL Draft? 

• Outside of my love for simply playing football, I think my love for LEARNING the sport makes me a top prospect in the 2023 NFL draft. I believe I’m talented, yes, but the game of football requires more than just brute strength or breathtaking speed. Football requires a level of thought that goes unnoticed to most of its viewers, and although I think my talent speaks for itself I believe my ambition to learn and perfect my craft through the knowledge of the game makes me a top prospect at the wide receiver position in the next upcoming draft.

At what age were you first interested in the sport of football?

• In the Miles household, you’re born and raised into the football culture hahaha. I began choosing footballs over other sporting equipment around the age of 3 when I got MY first football from my big brother Kenny. After that I waited two years until I was old enough to play in the local recreation league, I then played my first year of organized football at the age of 5 and I played every year since then. I knew I was passionate about the sport of football when I was around 11 years old and my father began to harp on how football parallels life in so many ways. I showed interest in the sport as an toddler but the passion and love for the game came a few years later.

What is one thing that NFL teams should know about you?

• One thing that NFL teams should know about me is that, outside of football I pride myself in being a good man and an outlet of help for my family and friends, I have a beautiful daughter and a loving support system, so family will always come first. Just like in the game of football, you can’t do life alone, you have to focus on being the best at your specific role, in order to help your “team”. I personally believe that life itself can be explained through football, so I always believed that being a good man (one of integrity who is hungry for success) can be directly tied to how you are as a teammate and football athlete. Life is full of adversity that must be overcome in order to achieve your perceived success, similar to a football game. Obviously there are many differences in the two, but I’ve noticed that the same sacrificial-selfless attitude required to be good at football, has to be doubled or even tripled to be a good man and particularly a good father. 

If you could donate to one cause in the world, what would it be? 

• If I could donate to any cause in the world, I would donate to the DHHS (Department of Health and Human Services) specifically, the SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration). Mental health is a huge issue that I believe not only affects adults, but children as well. I think that better funding to that arena could produce a happier generation of children. I currently study Non Profit Management with a minor in Exercise Science at Missouri Valley College, once I finish here I plan to finish my degree in Exercise Science with a minor in Psychology from my previous institution (Montana State University-Northern). My goal is to start my own fund and eventually my own facility that will help assist youth with combatting their mental health issues.

What is the best advice you have ever received? 

• “Even when you know you’re about to be hit, you have to catch the ball. That’s your job” when I was in high school, I had a game where I dropped two passes and my dad was furious with me, he pulled me to the side at halftime and said those exact words to me. At the time, not realizing the pure knowledge he was about to drop on me, I rolled my eyes. He then explained how in life, in order to achieve your goal, you are going to have to be “hit”. Adversity will strike at almost every corner of your life, but your goal, your job, your purpose is much more important than that. You have to be willing to get hit but you have to prioritize “catching the ball”. Regardless of how many hits you take your goal of catch the ball must never change. If you can’t tell, my dad tied EVERYTHING back to football hahaha.

Who was your childhood hero? 

• Growing up and even today my hero has been my big brother Kenny. Growing up I watched my brother shatter opponents week by week. As a running back, my brother took Gwinnett County by storm his senior year with over 2100 yards then committed to the university of South Carolina, and as a 9 year old kid, I became a playground celebrity. As I got older I began to grow conscious of all of the sacrifices he made to make his dreams come true. Even while sacrificing most of his free time to get better at his sport, he still managed to always be there for me and be there for everyone in our family. In my mind, when I think about battling adversity I think about him and all of the things that he had to go through to make his dreams come true. Even after giving up football he still managed to make a very good life for himself in a field that’s unfamiliar to his normal day to day football activity. I think his adaptability is a trait that I work to master in myself every day.

Who is the most underrated teammate in your locker room at your school? 

• In my locker room right now the most underrated player is our Quarterback Oliver Svirsky, O leads in a way that is needed on most teams nowadays. As a fellow “old head” Oliver isn’t afraid to speak his mind and on top of that, his play style reflects his leadership. You can see his years of experience when watching him play because it seems like the plays that he makes are instinctual. When there’s a play that needs to be made, Oliver isn’t afraid to put himself on the line for the team. I think he’s underrated because from day 1 he’s been a tremendous leader, so it’s become expected of him. In all actuality, he is the true field general that any team would need and a different style of leader than most quarterbacks that I’ve played for. 

What is your biggest pet peeve? 

• My biggest pet peeve would have to be lack of communication, on big and small scales. I feel as though communication is as easy as you make it. Life is fueled by communication whether it be in your home, at your job or even on the field; making this the most important skill you can possess as a human being. I personally believe that if you cannot communicate, it makes it hard to be around and work with others. So lacking communication makes job harder, making it my biggest “pet peeve”.

*Overcoming adversity is what defines character, what was the hardest moment in your life to overcome? *

• Weirdly enough ONE of my biggest battles with adversity came via self inflicted circumstances. When I transferred from Kennesaw State I entered the transfer portal and upon doing that I realized that my GPA wasn’t as high as other recruits, this caused me to fall to the bottom of most recruiting boards. Coaches would say things along the lines of “I love your film, but I want to know that I can trust you in the classroom as well.” This consistent obstacle (my low GPA) was something that I thought would prevent me from ever playing football again, and I had no one to “blame” but myself. This obstacle caused me to learn from my academic mistakes and allowed me to find a new motivation to do well in the classroom. I vowed never to let myself or my family down like that again. Once I received an offer for school (Montana State University Northern) I decided I would not only strive to be the best on the field but also in the classroom.  I found out that I have to work just as hard in the classroom as I did on the field in order to prevent causing more adversity to deal with. Although this wasn’t my biggest adversity faced it’s one that I feel the most comfortable sharing.

Tell me something about your school and why it is so special to you?

• One thing that I love amount my institution is the fact that it’s an international campus. At Missouri Valley College, there are students from all over the world studying various majors so I’ve gotten the opportunity to meet people who i, if I had never come to this school, never would’ve met. I’ve gotten the chance to take a first hand look into cultures that as a kid I only saw on TV movies. Speaking with different beings from all over the world is something that I thought I would have to travel the world to do, getting the opportunity to experience different cultures and finish my education is amazing. I think this is an underrated experience and by far my favorite part of going to school here but most people don’t talk about it, even the students that go here.

What is your favorite snack food? 

• My favorite snack food is Edy’s rocky road ice cream. I don’t know if ice cream is necessarily a “snack” hahaha but I eat it all day every day. Every time it’s “snack time” I’m reaching for a bowl and spoon haha. Ever since I was a little kid I developed an extreme liking for Rocky Road ice cream and when I found Edy’s brand I fell in love forever. 

What is the best part of football? 

• The best part of football is the life lessons that lie within the game. Having the ability to directly compare your sport to your life is a luxury that other sports simply don’t have. I also think that football is the ultimate team sport, which is a valuable life lesson as well. You can’t do life alone. In football, 11 people have to do their job right and work as a machine to get the task at hand done. That’s exactly like life itself, while at work, in school or even in your family you have a role, as you do on a football team. Playing your role is important because without your role something may not get done. My coach preaches “do your 1/11th” in other words, “do your part”. Football is one of the only sports like that and I believe that’s the best part of football. 

If you could sell yourself in one sentence what would you say? 

• In signing most wide receivers, you’re purchasing a pair of scissors that you know can simply cut, but in signing me, you get a Swiss Army knife, a multipurpose tool that can be used in more than one area.

If you could compare your play to one player in the NFL who would it be? 

• Although I have my own style of play, I think I attempt to pre-mold my game after Keenan Allen. I think that Keenan Allen, although respected, is one of the most underrated receivers in the whole NFL. I attempt to match his proficient route running and sure hands. I think one of the things that go unnoticed about Keenan Allen is the fact that he has a disguised speed. I think his speed is very deceptive and he does a great job of changing his speed throughout his route in order to create separation. I think I’m comparable to him at the level that I am playing in (NAIA) right now, just based on consistency, route running and sure-handedness.

If you could have dinner with three people dead or alive, who would it be and why? 

1. Malcolm X, I feel like he was a very powerful being, not just a powerful man but a powerful human being. I feel as though he was focused on his purpose and was willing to die for it. He wanted to achieve HIS goals by any means necessary, I would love to talk with him and attempt to find that drive that he had and channel that into my daily life in the manner that he did.
2. Lamar Jackson, another underrated player in the league, I’d love to talk to Lamar about how to be authentically myself at all times. 8 never changes for anyone, yes he’s politically correct and practices good public speaking tactics, but you can tell that he is being himself. A lot of my friends who played in the league changed and I watched Lamar Jackson stay truly himself. I’d love to ask him how he manages to evade distractions and haters and how he stays with himself every day because I pride myself on that. I’d also love to do a training session and throw with him because, well, let’s be real, the dude is really good at football, I could learn a lot from him hahaha.
3. My Dads Father, my father is a man’s man, I think he is the most consistent man on the planet. My father has spoken life and created life out of many dead situations, and everyone in my family tells me how amazing my father’s dad was but unfortunately, he passed away when my father was only 3. Everyone has many great stories of him and how he was a loving but very rough man. I think by talking to him I could learn even more about life. My father is VERY wise so I couldn’t even imagine the wisdom that was lost with my grandfather’s passing. I’d love to get the chance to hear that from his lips.