Want to attack every day with the latest Georgia football recruiting info? That’s the Intel. This entry covers the final high school game for major UGA target Christen Miller. His Cedar Grove Saints won the Georgia High School Association Class 3A state championship on Saturday in Atlanta.
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Christen Miller began the day on Saturday smiling. He ended the day smiling with a big silver trophy in his hands at Georgia State’s Center Parc Stadium.
He was cheesing. Just in crutches. If one wanted to build an ad campaign for crutches around a football player in need, this would be the guy.
The big thing that took place in the midst of Cedar Grove’s runaway 56-26 state championship game win against Carver-Atlanta was not the stuff that should leave an All-American DT prospect smiling.
Miller was in crutches, after all.
He played both ways and was the focus of some concentrated blocking attention by the Carver offense. He was still dominant at times. Still smiling after the sprained knee he suffered in the third quarter of the state championship game with the contest still in doubt.
Miller heard his leg pop. Feared the worst. He even tossed his helmet aside in a very human act of frustration while writhing in pain on the field.
Yet afterward, he was grateful. He knew he could very well have torn the ligaments in his knee rather than just spraining his MCL.
The early diagnosis was that he had a sprain. For that, he was very thankful.
“God has given me all these blessings in my life so far,” he said. “For sure. I thank him for every moment. Everything. I played my butt off this season for my brothers. This is how I wanted to go out. A champion. If this was how I had to go out [in crutches] then fine. So God can keep me right. All of ya’ll out there keep me in your prayers and lift me up. I’m going to be good, man.”
In a nutshell, that’s Miller.
Georgia and Ohio State desperately want to sign Miller for their 2022 recruiting classes. When he was younger, his former Cedar Grove coach Miguel Patrick asked him to verbalize his goals.
Miller said he wanted to be an All-American. ✅ He also eventually wanted to have a choice between Georgia and Ohio State to go play college football for free education. ✅
While he sat in the medical tent along a soggy day and the game no longer in doubt, his Saints teammates came over to see him and pose a little bit. They did more cheering up than posing for pics.
It was just one of many photo-op moments in the delight of another state title for Cedar Grove. The best one came when the trophy was presented with all the logos and branding at midfield.
Miller wanted to be out there. So he crutched his way some 50 yards to that picture spot. It took him some time, but he was going to make it. Slowly. Surely.
“Man it is a blessing, man,” Miller said while smiling all the way.
The young man with the best ball get-off in the state of Georgia then crutched a little more. He covered maybe two yards.
“Through all of this, man,” he said. “It is still a blessing.”
Miller kept moving. He looked toward his goal of getting to his teammates in time to snap a photo with that trophy.
“I am going to keep on fighting,” he said. “Keep on doing my rehab for this thing and I am going to be straight. Got to get out there to my team. I love my team.”
When he got close enough to the euphoria at the 50, he yelled out.
He wasn’t in pain.
No, his crutches did not slip in the soggy field turf.
That yell was the sound we all make when the family starts the movie before we hit the couch with our bowl of popcorn or snack.
Or when a Southern family sits down to eat and the kids dive in before the blessing gets said.
Everyone heard Miller’s unmistakable tone. So they waited. Then they posed for the real Cedar photo op at midfield with the Class 3A state title trophy.
It was quite the sight. Miller somehow finds a way to be a core leader of his team, the energy guy on the team, the funniest guy in the huddle and the most-respected player on his team.
He’s also the best player among his state champion Saints.
As hard as that may sound, this young man is all of those things.
Christen Miller: The next steps up ahead
Everyone has that wonder of what goes through a player’s mind when they are down on the field. What goes through an All-American’s mind when the trainers have to come out and assist them?
The Cedar Grove trainers gave him an immediate ACL test on the field. He needed the help of a former Alabama lineman turned assistant coach and a trainer to get over to his sideline.
When he was in the medical tent, they tested his knee to see if they could determine a torn ACL or a torn MCL.
They could not.
When it happened, he thought the worst. He heard that dreaded “pop” as it happened while he was working upfield to get to the ball.
Miller learned on Saturday learn that you can sometimes hear that “pop” for a sprained or a torn ligament.
“I was out,” he said. “I’m out. That’s what I thought of. I just thought about my teammates and about the whole season. I gave that whole season my all. I left it out there. So now I was out there. Probably out. So I could not complain.”
Miller could put weight on his knee on Saturday afternoon. He just could not bend it.
The plan is now to rest. He had planned to sneak over to UGA on Sunday to visit with the other umpteen recruits in town for the last visit prior to the early signing period. Georgia’s coaches and committed recruits continue to work on him. Hard.
But he gave an early indication after the game he was going to chill and rest this Sunday.
Yet he also shared a preview of some news. Miller said his established timeline of committing at the All-American Bowl on Jan. 8 and signing in February was in doubt.
He said he could be making a decision much sooner. Possibly in a matter of days.
The question wasn’t posed to him if this new feeling was induced by the knee sprain or not. The feeling here is that is not the case.
It may just be time for Miller to tell the world which one of these two schools that both feel like home is the better home for him.
When he got to his team and posed with the trophy at midfield, he was also a state champion. Again.
“Man it feels great,” he said. “Second round coming around again. Second ring. Let’s go. Let’s go. Party at the house tonight.”
Miller had another slow gait ahead of him. To get back to that sideline he ambled over from. His 40-time in crutches would be measured in minutes. Not seconds.
As those crutches took him off a high school field for the last time, a fan yelled out from the stands. They were not wearing Cedar Grove colors or swag.
They told him “Good luck” or maybe it was to “Go kill it at Georgia” as he walked off.
Miller smiled. And laughed.
Then proceeded along his way. He had a happy locker room to get to. He’s just an uncommon combo of person and football player. The adversity of the day was just another validation of that very fact.
DawgNation has every right to be hoping this one goes Tray Scott and Georgia’s way. And soon.
SENTELL'S INTEL
(check on the recent reads on DawgNation.com)
- 2021 Redshirt Report: Which Bulldogs are in line for an extra year of eligibility?
- Big 2024 name Zion Ferguson picks up UGA offer after a strong showing against 5-star Travis Hunter
- What’s the latest with All-American DT Christen Miller heading into early signing day?
- Georgia football recruiting: Closing time is here for the class of 2022
- Committed to Georgia: The 2022 commits says the latest loss to ‘Bama will serve as “fuel”
- BREAKING: Georgia pulls 3-star Alabama OL Ryqueze McElderry away from ‘Bama
- BREAKING: 3-star Class of 2022 DT Shone Washington commits to Georgia football
- David Cooper: Georgia’s first-year recruiting relations director has made a big impact
- Gunner Stockton: Prolific prep career comes to an end in South Georgia
- Marquarius White: Georgia is trying to lure “Squirrel” away from the Vols
- 5-star CB Jaheim “Slim” Singletary commits to Georgia
- What Kirby Smart said to Marquis Groves-Killebrew after his season-injury knee injury was pretty cool
- The big little thing that Gunner Stockton has done each week while breaking records
- BREAKING: Top 100 cornerback Julian Humphrey commits to Georgia
- Raymond Cottrell: Bulldogs flip the elite 2023 WR commit from Florida
- Gunner Stockton: All-American QB smashes state passing TD record held by Trevor Lawrence
- LT Overton: The nation’s No. 2 overall junior prospect says he just loves the staff at UGA
- The scouting intel for new commit Big Bear Alexander jumps off the [web] page
- BREAKING: In-state DL Mykel Williams pulls off a 5-star flip from USC to UGA
- Oscar Delp: The meeting of all meetings that helped seal his commitment
- Ladd McConkey: Where would he be now if not for that very late UGA offer
