Nick Saban and Alabama continue looking for senior linebacker Joshua McMillon’s replacement.

McMillon went down last week with a knee injury that will likely keep him out the rest of the season.

During Alabama’s final preseason scrimmage Saturday, Saban started true freshman Christian Harris (6-2, 244 lbs) alongside Dylan Moses. The Baton Rouge, Louisiana, product replaced McMillon at inside linebacker, and he had a strong scrimmage.

“He did a good job,” Saban said. “I’d like to watch the film. He’s a football player. It’s important to him. He runs and hits people. Is he where he needs to be in terms of what to do, how to do it, why it’s important to do it that way?”

Then, Saban gave Harris quite the complement, comparing him and his role to former linebackers CJ Mosley, Dont’a Hightower and Rolando McClain.

“But when we’ve had guys like this in the past whether it was CJ Mosley playing as a freshman, Hightower playing as a freshman, Rolando McClain playing as a freshman, we just put them in there and play them, and they got to get some on-the-job training.”

Harris is going to take his lumps as a true freshman facing SEC talent. That’s just a reality, but by the time Week 5 rolls around, Harris will no longer be considered a freshman. He could be a staple on the defense alongside Moses.

Harris was rated a 4-star prospect and ranked as the nation’s No. 6 inside linebacker and the state of Louisiana’s No. 5 overall prospect, according to 247Sports Composite Rankings.

That’s big medicine for Harris to garner a starting position on Alabama’s defense as a freshman.

You can watch Nick Saban’s pull press conference below: