Alabama’s Dee Milliner: Bama corner’s stats, highlights and more

Milliner was truly lockdown for Alabama, and had to face a lot of passes as teams tried to rally back from big deficits against the Crimson Tide. He led the nation in pass breakups and was third in passes defended, with 18 and 20, respectively. The 6-foot-1, 200-pounder added two interceptions, four tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, a forced fumble and fumble recovery, as well as a blocked kick in 2012.

The junior was considered the No. 1 cornerback in the country by Scout, and wasn’t far behind in other categories. He started 11 games as a freshman and was Freshman all-American, but was demoted to third corner as a sophomore. This year, however, he really showed off his talent: Milliner’s tremendous stats on the No. 2 scoring defense in the country earned him unanimous first-team All-American honors, as well as finalist status for the Jim Thorpe and Bronko Nagurski trophies.

As the indisputable No. 1 corner for the Tide, Milliner will likely end up squared off against T.J. Jones, Notre Dame’s top receiver. Jones reeled in 43 receptions and a team-high touchdowns for a team that preferred to move the ball on the ground. Roll Bama Roll projected that Milliner could also spend time on tight end Tyler Eifert, Notre Dame’s leading target in the passing game, which could be an interesting matchup considering the 6-foot-6 Eifert’s height advantage and leaping ability.

Milliner stormed up mock draft lists to be the top corner in the nation, according to Dan Kadar of SB Nation’s Mocking the Draft. Kadar projected Milliner to be a top-5 pick come April.

Here’s a highlight reel of Milliner this past season (language in background music NSFW)