Athletes from the state of Texas are built with a different mindset.
Jalen Milroe accomplished a lot in 2023 as a first-year starting quarterback for the University of Alabama football team.
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He was nearly a 3,000-yard passer (2,834), totaled 35 touchdowns, delivered an iconic touchdown pass to beat Auburn in the Iron Bowl, guided Alabama to dethroning Georgia in the Southeastern Conference Championship Game, and put the Crimson Tide back in the College Football Playoff after it missed the cut in 2022. Milroe appreciates his success; however, he remembers every naysayer that Alabama encountered. He developed a slogan or battle cry for his team, Let All Naysayers Know, or “LANK” and everyone bought into it. LANK became a driving force from a team that lost to Texas in week two of last season to a unit that returned to the CFP. Nick Saban has retired and assistant coaches have left the Tide, but Milroe is hungry in his return.
His recruiting class, the 2021 group, has yet to capture a national championship. The native Texan is determined to backspace a three-year national title drought from the memory of fans. He is excited for Saturday’s spring game, yet Milroe knows the doubters have tarted early counting out Alabama without Saban. He was featured this week on the Paul Finebaum Show.
Milroe double down on the LANK mentality for the ESPN analyst.
“The only opinions that matter is all of us in the building.” @AlabamaFTBL QB @JalenMilroe on dealing with the doubters entering next season. pic.twitter.com/UE4s0Va8c4
— Paul Finebaum (@finebaum) April 11, 2024
“The only opinions that matter is all of us in the building,” Milroe said. “Our coaches and the players within our team…that’s all that matters for us. You are going to have critics. You are going to have a bunch of things to try and pull you away from your goals, no matter if you win or lose, you are going to have opinions and criticisms. We know it is a tough task, and we acknowledge that. We know it is a tough task to go back-to-back SEC Championships, ended up back in the College Football Playoff, ending up in a national championship, we know it is a hard grind. We like that, we appreciate that, because not too many people can say they played in a Rose Bowl or played in a national championship game. It goes back to our short-term goals and long-term goals.”
Alabama players are in its short-term goals now, which are learning teammates, learning coaches, and learning a new system.
They want to be prepared to accomplish the long-term goal of winning a national championship. Milroe can silence doubters on the college football and National Football League landscape with a marquee season. He has a chance to put himself in the Heisman conversation among other national accolades. We will see how he performs, starting with the A-Day matchup.
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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.
