Hugh Millen

NFL player


Name=Hugh Millen
DateOfBirth=birth date and age|1963|11|22
Birthplace= Des Moines, Iowa
DateofDeath=
Position=QB
number=12, 7, 17
College=Washington
DraftedYear=1986
DraftedRound=3 / Pick 71
Stats=Y
DatabaseFootball=MILLEHUG01
PFR=MillHu00
ProBowls=
years=1987
1988-1990
1991-1992
1993
1994-1995
1996
teams=Los Angeles Rams
Atlanta Falcons
New England Patriots
Dallas Cowboys
Denver Broncos
New Orleans Saints

Hugh Millen (born November 22, 1963 in Des Moines, Iowa), is a former professional American football player who was selected by the Los Angeles Rams in the third round of the 1986 NFL Draft. A 6'5", 216-lb. quarterback from the University of Washington, Millen played mainly as a backup in 8 NFL seasons from 1987 to 1995 for the Rams, Atlanta Falcons, New England Patriots, New Orleans Saints, and Denver Broncos.

Millen currently works as a football analyst for KJR-AM radio and KCPQ television in Seattle, Washington. He now lives with his family in Snoqualmie, Washington. Additionally, he has helped Baden and Adidas develop a better football.

College career

Hugh Millen started 17 of the 20 games he appeared in for the Washington Huskies, throwing for 2657 yards and winning the Orange Bowl in 1985 as a junior, in the infamous "Sooner Schooner" game. This win would propel Washington to the #2 national ranking behind unbeaten BYU. He attended Santa Rosa Junior College out of Roosevelt High School in Seattle before playing for the Huskies. Coming in as a walk-on, he beat out Chris Chandler for the starting job. [http://www.patriots.com/alumni/index.cfm?ac=alumnibiosdetail&bio=1727] Chandler would later become the Huskies starting quarterback himself, before going on to a successful NFL career.

NFL career

Early Career
After being drafted by Los Angeles Rams in the third round of the 1986 NFL Draft, Millen missed his entire rookie season with the Rams in 1986 after fracturing an ankle and landing on injured reserve for the entire season. In 1987, Millen missed most of the season with a back injury and only had one pass attempt for the season. [http://www.patriots.com/alumni/index.cfm?ac=alumnibiosdetail&bio=1727] By this time, Jim Everett – who the Rams had traded for with the Houston Oilers after being the #3 pick in the 1986 NFL Draft – had become entrenched as the Rams starter, and Millen would soon be heading out the door.

After being released by the Rams, Atlanta picked him up off waivers, and he ended up playing in three games for the Falcons in 1988, throwing for 215 yards on the year. The following season, he played in five games – with one start - and completed 62% of his passes for 432 yards. In 1990, he started two games for the Falcons – winning both – completing 54% of his throws for 427 yards. [http://www.patriots.com/alumni/index.cfm?ac=alumnibiosdetail&bio=1727]
New England
Millen signed with the New England Patriots on April 1, 1991 as a Plan B free agent. [http://www.patriots.com/alumni/index.cfm?ac=alumnibiosdetail&bio=1727] In the fourth week of 1991 season, Millen replaced Tommy Hodson as the starting quarterback for the Patriots. Millen's record as the starter was 5-7, and the Patriots overall record for that year was 6-10; a vast improvement from their 1-15 record from a season ago.

For the season, Millen threw for 3.073 yards with 9 touchdown passes and 18 interceptions. It marked only the fifth time in team history that a quarterback had thrown for 3,000 yards in a season. Millen had several notable performances that season, starting off with his first start against the Houston Oilers where he led New England to a 24-20 upset win by completing 22 of 33 passes for 244 yards and a 34-yard game-winning touchdown strike to Greg McMurtry with 34 seconds left in the game. He had his first career 300-yard passing performance against Minnesota on October 22nd – when he was 22 out of 32 for 326 yards and a TD pass. [http://www.patriots.com/alumni/index.cfm?ac=alumnibiosdetail&bio=1727]

He was named player of the game two consecutive weeks in November when he completed 20 out of 26 passes for 257 yards and a touchdown pass against Miami, then completed 30 passes for 372 yards and a touchdown throw the following week against the Jets. The next week, he scored his first touchdown rushing, with a one-yard sneak in a 16-13 win against Buffalo. Then on December 8th – he completed 21 of 40 passes for 330 yards for two touchdowns, including a 45 yard game winning strike to WR Michael Timpson in overtime against Indianapolis. [http://www.patriots.com/alumni/index.cfm?ac=alumnibiosdetail&bio=1727]

During the 1992 season, Millen shared quarterback duties with three others; Tommy Hodson, Scott Zolak, and Jeff Carlson. He led all Patriot quarterbacks with 1,203 passing yards and 8 touchdown passes, but New England's final record was a miserable 2-14. Millen separated his shoulder on the seventh play of the season and it was a third degree separation. [http://www.boston.com/sports/football/patriots/articles/2004/09/10/0160887816/]

Later Career

Millen signed with the Super Bowl champion Dallas Cowboys in June of 1993 as insurance for injured starter Troy Aikman, who had just undergone surgery for a herniated disk. Steve Beuerlein – the backup quarterback from the previous year – had signed with the Phoenix Cardinals as a free agent. Aikman was expected to miss from 6 to 12 weeks at the time, as he rehabbed from his surgery, while Millen and Jason Garrett would fill the void in the meantime. Millen himself had separated his left shoulder three times during the previous season. [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CE3D61239F932A15755C0A9659582] As it turned out, Millen never did attempt a pass in the regular season, as Aikman healed well from his injury, and eventually the Cowboys signed Bernie Kosar as their third quarterback – along with Aikman and Garrett – after Kosar had been released by the Cleveland Browns midway during the 1993 season.

Millen would play his final two years in the NFL as a backup to John Elway in Denver during 1994 and 1995. He played in 8 games for the Broncos, starting twice, and throwing for 1090 yards with three TD passes and a 63% completion percentage. [http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/M/MillHu00.htm]

Notes