C-MILLI
I think Tahoe is one of the hidden gems in the country, and I've played a lot of golf around the country.
- Trent Dilfer, UAB head football coach
I’m willing to give Dilfer the benefit of the doubt when it comes to his golf course recommendations (clearly he spends a lot of his time on something other than coaching). However, while we’re on the topic of hidden gems, his third year WR Corri Milliner should probably change his nickname from “CMilli” to Señor Tahoe.
Milliner is a 6-foot-2 inch tall playmaker out of Alexandria, Alabama who came on strong at season’s end last year. This story sounding familiar? Well, I did shamelessly use the same opening lines last year when I wrote about Amare Thomas:
Inspired by my-almost Oracle like prediction with Ricky White in 2023, I may have overextended myself somewhat with the headline on Thomas. Though to be fair, I still think there was a lot going for him in 2024.
I probably underestimated Dilfer’s ability to run this program down / Jacob Zeno’s poor passing. Again, to be fair, Zeno was better in 2023. Some players just regress in performance. And, Thomas actually had a pretty deadly stretch in October, once Jalen Kitna took over as QB. I’m guessing Thomas mentally checked out from the program around November.
In case you are wondering—yes—Kitna is the son of the player you’re thinking of.
But now, Thomas moves on to Houston of all places. As does last year’s WR2 Kam Shanks. That leaves the cupboard a bit bare at WR, but the Blazers do return two notable names. The first is Mr. Milliner, who we will discuss today, and the second is Iverson Hooks.
They also return last year’s QB starter in Kitna, who, as mentioned, showed a strong rapport with Milliner once taking over in October.
Coaching & System
WR1 PPG AVERAGE — HC: 12.4 — OC: 12.41 (half ppr)
Both head coach Trent Dilfer and OC Alex Mortensen have a two year sample of data to draw from as play callers. Both seasons occurred at UAB dating back to 2023. In each case, the WR1 PPG average was virtually the same (~12 PPG).
However, the WR1 from this past season, Amare Thomas, commanded over a 20% target share and saw just under eight targets per game, which are pretty good averages. While Thomas’ overall season stats weren’t otherworldly, his production from October onward (coinciding with when QB Jalen Kitna took over as starter) was very strong.
From October 5th to November 16th, Thomas never saw less than nine targets in a game. He also scored no less than 14.8 points during this stretch.
Notably, a similar pattern emerged for second year player Corri Milliner, who—starting in November—saw six or more targets per game for the remainder of the season, including back to back games of 20+ points in his final two appearances.
Thomas has since moved on, taking 62 receptions, 670 yards and eight scores; ditto for UAB’s former WR2 Kam Shanks, who takes with him 62 receptions, 565 yards and six scores. Between the two, that is just over 180 targets vacating the roster.
The QB, however, returns, as does the HC and OC (miraculously). Our man Dilfer might have run this program into the ground, but at least his Blazers have a solid pattern of throwing targets to the WR1 and WR2.
The Blazers have averaged an almost-even split at 51/49% pass to run plays during 2023-2024. Some good news is that this offence moves fairly quickly, averaging around 70 plays per game, which is above average in the FBS.
Corri Milliner (6’2, 180)
2024 RECEIVING STATS: 24 (40) - 416 - 3 (8.3 ppg)
CMilli is the quintessential gas station gangster as I like to call them. What does that mean? Well, let’s just say that I like the cut of his jib.
Recently, on an interview with the G5 Hive, a UAB beat writer highlighted Milliner’s name as a guy who UAB will have to rely on this year, saying “he needs to be the show—he needs to be the first option”.
However, this writer also expressed that he didn’t feel like Milliner stepped up in such a way during the spring (WR discussion around 20 min mark).
It’s undoubtedly Milliner’s time now after sitting virtually idle for two seasons behind other players. His finish towards the end of the 2024 season was encouraging. I like that there is a rapport established already between him and Kitna.
His most notable competition for targets is Iverson Hooks, who himself is an interesting prospect this year as well. UAB also brought in Kaleb Brown from Iowa (and formerly of Ohio State) this offseason.
I wish I could find some quotes out of camp but it looks like Dilfer’s keeping a lid on everything down there in Birmingham. Unfortunate.
Milliner is a formerly unranked(!) prospect in the class of 2023 from Benjamin Russell High school, which coincidentally is where Alabama’s #1 WR and five star prospect Cederian Morgan currently plays.
He redshirted in 2023, appearing in only two games, but then became a rotational player/starter for UAB in October 2024. His best two games of the season were his final two appearances vs. Rice and UNCC. Against Rice, he caught six of seven targets for 90 yards and a score (21 points); and caught seven of ten targets for 126 yards and a score vs. UNCC (25.6 points).
During the month of November, Milliner never saw fewer than six targets in a game. Hooks was the opposite, going cold in November but had a solid October. I’d guess that Milliner, Hooks, and Brown will be the starting three for UAB in 2025. I don’t think Milliner has ‘nuclear’ upside, but I do view him as an interesting later-round option to be a solid floor player. ◾
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Sample of 2018-2024, excluding 2020.