Selma athlete overcomes adversity with Christ

Selma High School’s Jai Miller is unquestionably one of the state’s most gifted athletes.
   
Now in his senior year of high school, Miller, who was a member of Montgomery’s Vaughn Forest Baptist Church before moving to Selma, has major colleges all over the country vying for his attention in not just one but two sports.
   
While athletics come naturally for Miller, life has not always been easy. When Miller was in the eighth grade, his mother was killed in a car accident. Suddenly Jai’s world was turned upside down. But fortunately Miller’s friends and family were there for him. 
   
Randall Miller — Jai’s grandfather — took the young man in, and together they got through the ordeal. “My grandfather is the main reason I was able to get through this,” Miller said. Before Miller moved to Selma, his friends helped lead him to Christ.
   
“Afterward, my grandfather told me we could get through it and that I could make something of myself,” Miller said.
   
At 6 feet 4 inches tall, 188-pound Miller has put in years of hard work and used his physical gifts and God-given talent to excel at a level of which most people only dream.
   
While it appears that his college career will center around football, basketball or both, at one time or another, Miller has displayed his skills in several sports. 
   
During his junior season, Miller averaged 18 points per game as he helped lead Selma’s basketball team to the southeastern regionals in Troy. He also averaged seven rebounds and six assists per game.
   
In his two years as the Selma Saints’ quarterback, he has passed for almost 2,000 yards and thrown 17 touchdowns.
   
“I’m glad he plays for me and not against me,” Selma Saints football coach Jerome Harper said.
   
“He is not just a natural athlete in every sport, he is a dominating athlete in every sport. He’s a class act,” Harper continued.
   
Miller’s talents don’t end with athletics. He was a 4.0 student at Georgia Washington Junior High School in Montgomery and has continued his academic excellence in high school.