Alabama linebacker Christian Miller won’t play in the 2019 Reese’s Senior Bowl due to the hamstring injury he suffered in the Orange Bowl vs. Oklahoma, game officials confirmed Wednesday.
Miller plans to be in Mobile next week to meet with NFL teams and to participate in fan events, Senior Bowl spokesman Rob Lehocky said. His departure from the game leaves only center Ross Pierschbacher and defensive end Isaiah Buggs as Crimson Tide players in the 70th annual Senior Bowl, which takes place Jan. 26 at Ladd-Peebles Stadium.
The 6-foot-4, 240-pound Miller missed the College Football Playoff National Championship Game vs. Clemson due to the injury, finishing the season with 34 tackles, 11 tackles for loss and eight sacks. He is projected as a potential mid-round pick in April’s NFL draft.
From the Auburn side, quarterback Jarrett Stidham, linebacker Deshaun Davis and defensive tackle Dontavious Russell are confirmed for the game. Davis, a Vigor High School graduate, is one of two local players in this year’s Senior Bowl, along with Jacksonville State offensive tackle B.J. Autry (Blount).
Other late deletions from the game are Kentucky edge rusher Josh Allen, Northwestern quarterback Clayton Thorson, Washington running back Myles Gaskin and Appalachian State running back Jalin Moore. Thorson, Gaskin and Moore pulled out due to injury, game officials said.
Allen, projected to be a Top 10 pick in April’s NFL draft according to many analysts, pulled out voluntarily. He “decided not to come,” executive director Jim Nagy said.
Thorson’s departure puts the game back at eight quarterbacks, four on each team. North Carolina State’s Ryan Finley, Duke’s Daniel Jones, Missouri’s Drew Lock and Penn State’s Trace McSorley will quarterback the North, while Stidham, West Virginia’s Will Grier, Washington State’s Gardner Minshew and Buffalo’s Tyree Jackson will direct the South.
Kickoff for the 2019 Reese’s Senior Bowl is set for 1:30 p.m. Jan. 26, with the game broadcast live on NFL Network. Senior Bowl week events begin Tuesday morning with the National Scouting Weigh-in at the Mobile Convention Center (the weigh-in is closed to public).
Practice sessions at Ladd-Peebles Stadium are open to the public. The practice schedule is as follows:
Tuesday, Jan. 22
South practice, 1:30 p.m.-3:30 p.m.
North practice, 3:30 p.m.-5:30 p.m.
Wednesday, Jan. 23
North practice, 12:30 p.m.-2:30 p.m.
South practice, 3 p.m.-5 p.m.
Thursday, Jan. 24
North practice, 12:30 p.m.-2:30 p.m.
South practice, 3 p.m.-5 p.m.