Report: TCU running back Kendre Miller ruled out for national championship

TCU will reportedly be without its top rusher for Monday night’s College Football Playoff national championship. Kendre Miller has been ruled out, NBC Dallas-Fort Worth’s Newy Scruggs reported.

Miller suffered a knee injury in last week’s Fiesta Bowl against Michigan and his status has been a topic of conversation all week leading up to the national title game against Georgia. TCU coach Sonny Dykes said Miller would be a true game-time decision depending on how he felt after warm-ups, but it sounds like the Horned Frogs will go forward without him.

Emari Demercado, TCU’s second-leading rusher, is expected to get the bulk of the carries in the backfield in Miller’s absence.

Georgia and TCU are gearing up to kick off the national championship from SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.

Sonny Dykes on Kendre Miller: ‘We’ll warm him up and see how he feels’

Dykes told McGrath the plan is to see how Miller does after warm-ups. He’s a key part of the TCU offense this season, leading the team with 1,399 rushing yards and 17 touchdowns. Last week, before his injury, Miller totaled 57 yards on eight carries.

“We’ll warm him up and see how he feels,” Dykes said. “If he feels good, we’ll give it a go and see how he does. I love Kendre and what he’s meant to our program. We just want to make sure he’s healthy and can go full-speed.”

Dykes said Miller’s health is going to be the most important factor in the decision. He and the TCU staff won’t rush him onto the field if they think they’re putting his health at risk.

“The biggest thing is a level of comfort from him. I think that’s the biggest thing,” Dykes said. “I know he’s going to want to play. My job’s to take care of him, even though he wants to play and he’s got that adrenaline. We’ll kind of see how he warms up and how he does and how he feels. And then he and I will sit down and we’ll make a decision.”