Rural Scranton may not have been talked about a lot on Saturday when Iowa State defeated Northern Iowa, 30-9, in Ames in the football season opener for both teams, but the small western Greene County town had ties to both teams. Current UNI assistant coach Bryce Paup and current ISU offensive tackle Tyler Miller are from the same general area between Scranton and Churdan.

Paup was an All-American in his playing days for the Panthers, then enjoyed a long and successful NFL career. He was inducted into the Greene County High School Athletic Hall of Fame on Feb. 2 of this year. Nearly ignored by college football programs as part of the final Scranton High School graduating class, he beat the odds time and again in college and the pros, and has been a college football coach for some time.

Miller is in his fourth season with the Cyclones and his second as a starting offensive lineman. He switched from left offensive tackle to right tackle this season. At 6′ 9″ and 330 lbs., the 2020 Greene County grad was dominate for the Rams and is making his mark with the Cyclones. Miller is already listed on multiple NFL scouting reports, so it’s possible that Miller could one day join Paup as a player from Greene County on football’s highest level.