Isaac Bruce held the University of Memphis football single season receiving yards record for 24 years. Not anymore.

Before the South Florida game, redshirt junior star Anthony Miller needed 131 receiving yards to break the record. He got 153.

Before the game TigerSportsReport got a chance to talk to former Tiger great Isaac Bruce and asked him about his time at Memphis and to get his thoughts on Miller.

Interestingly, when Bruce sees number 3 making catches, he actually thinks of one of his Tiger teammates.

“We as human beings tend to look at the outside,” Isaac began. “With (Miller) wearing that number (3), I automatically think of Russell Copeland. So I'm thinking, he has a little make up of Russell, he's not as tall but I go from there.”

The former NFL star with the Rams keeps close tabs on his former college team. He knows how Miller first came to the U of M out of Christian Brothers High here in Memphis.

“The path he's walked...he came in as a walk-on. A lot of walk-ons fizzle out,” Bruce said.

Miller did the opposite of fizzle out. He excelled and earned a scholarship.

“I have great respect for guys who walk on and earn a scholarship and endure to the end.”

Bruce loves how competitive Miller is.

“As far as his game goes, I think he's a great competitor,” Isaac explained. “He's gotten better every year. He's strong and has the ability to take it to the defense and he's very confident. That's everything I look for in a football player. I have tremendous respect for Miller.”

Bruce never thought his record would last as long as it did.

“Honestly I did not,” he admitted. “I thought some earlier guys would have beat it, they played with pretty good quarterbacks. But records are made to be broken.”

One record that Memphis didn't have when Bruce came to Memphis was a 1,000-yard receiver.

“That was one of my goals. I noticed the Tigers never had a receiver go over 1,000 yards and we had guys in the NFL at that time like Earnest Gray so I was like, 'OK, that's going to be one of my goals.' I was going to be the first Tiger to do it.”

In his 2nd season at Memphis, Bruce hauled in 1,054 receiving yards to become the first Tiger receiver to eclipse the 1,000 mark. That year he also set the mark for receptions with 74.

Anthony Miller, with 10 more receptions Saturday night versus USF, is on the verge of breaking that record, too. He's 8 receptions away.

“I think Miller is the right guy to shatter the mark and set the new bar.”

Miller, a redshirt junior, could forgo his senior season and enter the NFL Draft. Would staying at Memphis benefit him?

“You know I think it would but at the same time I think he has enough playing time from where he's come from,” Bruce said with surprising candor. “He's actually been on the field for a very long time.

“He's had a professional quarterback (Denver Bronco Paxton Lynch) while he's been there. He has the ability to separate, he has the ability to run a crisp route. He's one of the guys I'm excited about when I scan college football.”

Bruce would know, as a 4-time Pro Bowler and a Super Bowl Champion with the Rams.

If Miller chooses to go in the 2017 Draft, Bruce knows he'll do well in the NFL.

“He has everything. He has the confidence, he has the courage, it really doesn't matter who you put in front of him. He's producing. Selfishly, I'd love to see him stay and give us another shot at it. But he's ready.”