After five years away from Columbia, Christian Miller is coming back close to home.
The Spring Valley graduate was taken in the fourth round of the NFL Draft by the Carolina Panthers. He was the 115th overall selection.
The outside linebacker has been in the Alabama program for the past five seasons. He's battled injuries during his career, but when healthy he was a solid performer for the Crimson Tide.
After redshirting in 2014, Miller saw limited action as a freshman before seeing playing mostly on special teams as a sophomore.
After missing 10 games in his junior season with an arm injury, Miller did play in the post season. He recorded a sack in the national championship game against Georgia.
His senior season in 2018 saw him lead the team with 12 quarterback hurries. He totaled 36 tackles, including 11.5 tackles for loss (-40 yards) and 8.5 sacks in his final season in Tuscaloosa. The former Parade All-American averaged a pressure once on every 5.2 pass-rushes last year - the 2nd-best rate in the class from the SEC. No doubt head coach Ron Rivera expects Miller to be an outstanding pass rusher for Carolina.
Miller left Alabama with a pair of national championships and after five years in the Saban system, he should be more than prepared for the demands of th NFL.
