Earlier this year, not long after Alabama‘s 2024 season came to a close with a 19-13 loss to Michigan in the ReliaQuest Bowl, rising junior quarterback Ty Simpson decided to take several off his Crimson Tide teammates rabbit hunting. Simpson, last season’s backup quarterback who is the frontrunner to replace Jalen Milroe as Alabama’s starting QB this upcoming season, is an avid hunter from northwestern Tennessee.
Of course, not all of Simpson’s assembled teammates came into the late January rabbit hunt with a similar affinity for the sport, including Crimson Tide running back Jam Miller. The 5-foot-10, 220-pound senior tailback from Tyler, Texas, opened up about his first-ever hunting experience Monday during the team’s preseason media day event inside the team’s Hank Crisp Indoor Facility.
Suffice it to say, Miller’s recollection of the rabbit hunt was a lot different from his quarterback.
“We went on a rabbit hunt. Me, I ain’t never been hunting before, so I’m ready (in) full camo, got my orange hat, OK. So Ty ended up shooting a rabbit, and I’m like ‘OK.’ So they’re running, and Ty shot one,” Miller recalled Monday. “Then, later, Ty gave me his gun. So, like, I’m walking through the woods and everybody screaming: ‘One is heading this way, so be ready.’
“So I’m ready, and the next thing (I know) it just zoomed by me. Ain’t even have a chance to shoot, ain’t even have the gun ready to shoot,” Miller added, laughing. “That was a fun moment, (but) I told ‘em I don’t want to ever go rabbit hunting again, because that was probably the hardest hunting ever.”
Miller was among seven Tide teammates that joined Simpson on the late January rabbit hunt, according to a screenshot of Simpson’s Instagram story from that time period, including safety Bray Hubbard, defensive linemen Tim Keenan III and LT Overton, offensive linemen Joseph Ionata and Graham Roten, and tight end Peyton Fox.
While rabbit hunting might not be his thing, Miller doesn’t need a gun to do what he does best — run the football. After establishing himself as Alabama’s top tailback with 668 rushing yards and seven scores on 145 carries last season, Miller returns to lead a rebuilt Tide running back room that lost 448-yard rusher Justice Haynes to Michigan by way of the NCAA Transfer Portal earlier this offseason. Also returning include sophomores Daniel Hill and Richard Young, who combined for 207 rushing yards and three scores on 48 total carries between them last season.
