Alabama football needed so many things in 2007.
The program needed a head coach that could restore it to national prominence for conference championships, national championships, and especially recruiting. Nick Saban left the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League and changed the landscape of college football for 17 years. He turned the University of Alabama into the gold standard for everything and made other schools feel less significant. Saban stockpiled numerous top-ranked signing classes and guided them to national championships. He put over 100 players — including 47 first-round picks — in a position to create generational wealth in the National Football League for their families.
Jalen Milroe, a native Texan, was the final starting quarterback of the Saban era for the Crimson Tide.
He came as a four-star in the 2021 recruiting class from Tompkins High School. Milroe was a first-year starter in 2023 and despite getting benched in week three versus South Florida, he made an incredible turnaround. He finished the campaign with 2,834 passing yards and 35 total touchdowns, leading the Crimson Tide to a Southeastern Conference title.
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Milroe returns under a new head coach, Kalen DeBoer, but his mission is the same.
He desires to lead Alabama to a College Football Playoff National Championship and become a first-round draft pick. The Tide was not Milroe first choice in recruiting, yet it was the place that won his heart. In an interview with “Bussin’ With The Boys,” Milroe explained how he was committed to the University of Texas. The Longhorns fumbled the bag, and the rest is history.
The power of Nick Saban needs to be studied pic.twitter.com/LN7Y4OdlPO
— Bussin’ With The Boys (@BussinWTB) April 30, 2024
“I was committed to Texas, but I was taking calls and answering other people,” Milroe said. “Coach Saban was one of them, and the one thing that stuck out to me was like he told me during the draft ‘when Tua gets selected, I’m going to call you.’ I’m like ‘man, you ain’t gonna call me.’ Saban calls me and said, ‘Hey, if you come here, this will be you in the next five to six years.’ I said, ‘I’m committing.’ It was on FaceTime, so I seen his face and he was serious. I’m like ‘Man, this is the place I need to be at.’ This is when I was committed to Texas and no one knows this, but I silently committed to Alabama. Before I even posted it, I silently committed to Alabama.”
Milroe admitted on the podcast that Texas dropped the ball.
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“Yeah they did, you know,” Milroe said about the Longhorns.
“Yeah. It was some things during the process that was best for my future. I think Alabama was the best.”
He created a motto, “Let All Naysayers Know,” or LANK that pushed the Tide into the CFP in 2023.
Milroe finished last year as the Most Valuable Player of the SEC Championship Game and tossed the “Gravedigger” pass on 4th and 31 to defeat Auburn in the Iron Bowl at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
He stamped himself in the hearts of Alabama fans as a legend by not leaving the program upon Saban announcing his retirement from coaching.
Alabama fans are thankful Texas fumbled his recruitment because they will have a chance to watch him propel this Crimson Tide team to a national championship shot.
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Stephen M. Smith is the senior writer for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can “like” him on Facebook or “follow” him on Twitter, via @CoachingMSmith.
