Alabama middle linebacker Joshua McMillon will be returning to Tuscaloosa for a sixth season as he was granted a medical redshirt by the NCAA.
“I was also granted a medical shirt from the NCAA to return next season to play. I am truly blessed and give all praises to God, family, and friends. Many said it couldn’t be done but I’ve never stood down from a challenge. Thank you all for pushing me to be the best I can be!”
McMillon made his announcement via Facebook where he talked about his 2019 season.
During fall camp McMillon suffered a right knee injury which caused him to miss the entire season. Before he went down he was set to be the starting Will linebacker for the Crimson Tide.
With McMillon back on the team, he will add a much-needed maturity to the linebackers room as Shane Lee and Christian Harris continue to develop.
“Josh is a very intelligent kid,” said defensive coordinator Pete Golding prior to the season.
“Obviously, he’s an engineering major, but football comes easy to him. He understands the Xs and Os and all those things. My biggest message to Josh, and it has been what I think he’s been doing now, is he’s having the ability to affect the 10 guys around him. I think the biggest thing from that position from an athletic standpoint, right, we’ve got guys who are more athletic than he is, and he knows that and I told him that.
“But his ability to get guys lined up, make the calls, and then he’s smart enough based on the formation and a back set, tendencies that we’ll give him and that he studies, that he can anticipate things, which allows him to perform at the line and make some plays that athletically maybe other people couldn’t just because he understands, obviously, what’s coming.”
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Patrick Dowd is a Reporter for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can follow him on Twitter, via Pat_Dowd77
