Dax Milne: From BYU Walk-On to Making NFL Roster

It is amazing how the game of football can change someone’s life.

Dax Milne walked on to the BYU football team in 2018, after turning down a scholarship to play for the FCS program Weber State. He eventually earned a scholarship in Provo and became one of the top pass-catchers this side of the Rocky Mountains.

He caught his first career touchdown in the 2018 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl during the 49-18 pounding the Cougars served Western Michigan. After that, it was off to the races. He emerged again in 2019 against No. 24 USC, when he caught a key 30-yard touchdown to give BYU the lead in the second quarter. He caught at least three passes in four games in 2019.

It came to a head in 2020, when Milne was the main benefactor from Zach Wilson’s breakout as one of the best quarterbacks in college football. Against Houston, he turned in one of the best games for a BYU receiver in recent memory, with nine receptions for 184 receiving yards and three touchdowns. He caught 70 passes from Wilson last season, tallying 1,188 yards and eight touchdowns, the former ranking fourth in all of college football.

Consequently, Milne heard his name called in this spring’s NFL Draft, going in the seventh round, as the second-to-last pick in the entire draft, to the Washington Football Team. Still, many seventh round picks never sniff an NFL roster and are cut before the season begins.

Milne looks to have avoided that fate through the first roster cut-down day of his NFL career. NFL teams needed to trim their rosters down to 53 players by 4 PM EDT on Tuesday. After a strong training camp, which included five catches for 52 yards in the three preseason games, it looks as if Milne made the initial 53-man roster in Washington.

Washington head coach Ron Rivera sang Milne’s praises during camp, “He is a good route runner with good size. To me, that is a pleasant surprise. For a guy that plays slot, you usually have a smaller guy. This guy had a little more size and he looked good out there on the football field.”

A former BYU receiver has not caught an NFL pass since Jordan Leslie made one reception in his NFL career for the Browns in 2017. Before Leslie, Austin Collie, who last played in 2013, was the last former Cougar receiver to make an impact in the NFL. Milne seems likely to break that drought.

The South Jordan, UT native will be catching passes from 16-year NFL journeyman Ryan Fitzpatrick in D.C. Milne is on a journey of his own. Next stop- Week 1 against the Chargers.