The transition from six-man high school football to NCAA Division II football is quite the leap, but DeWayne Miles, of Amherst, Texas, did just that after redshirting his freshman year in 1996. New WT head coach Stan McGarvey did not put him in the starting lineup until the seventh game, but it helped start Miles down the road towards setting Buffalo career football records for rushing yards, rushing attempts, scoring and touchdowns.
His 1997 freshman year saw the 6-0, 247-pounder carry the ball 165 times for 845 yards and 12 touchdowns, averaging 5.1 yards per carry, as WT rebounded from a 1-9 season to a respectable 7-4 mark.
He was the Lone Star Conference Freshman of the Year and was selected first-team all-LSC and Daktronics all-West Region second team.
Miles proceeded to rush for 937 yards and 15 TD's in 1998 and 1,053 yards and eleven touchdowns as a junior in 1999. His senior year of 2000 saw him tote the ball 270 times for 1,524 yards (the second highest total in Buff history behind only Mercury Morris) and 16 touchdowns. He was tabbed the LSC Offensive Player of the Year, and Miles was selected first team all-LSC and all-West Region, Daktronics second-team all-America and Football Gazette first team All-America.
His total career rushing yards of 4,359 surpassed great Buff running backs of the past like Morris, Pistol Pete Pedro, Duane Thomas, Bo Robinson, and Bill Cross. He finished with 770 rushing attempts, 55 TD's (all but one on the ground), and a 5.6 yards per carry average.
Following his graduation from WT in May, 2001, with a degree in General Studies, he signed a free agent contract with the NFL Detroit Lions and later was claimed off waivers by the Minnesota Vikings. Miles was released by Minnesota on March 26, 2002.
