Alabama football has a confident quarterback at the helm of its offense for the upcoming season.
Jalen Milroe believes in himself, but he also believes the players and coaches around him.
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Nick Saban’s retirement, though bittersweet, may have been the best thing to happen for Milroe.
The redshirt junior has an offensive coaching staff that know he can produce incredible numbers to win a national championship. Milroe totaled 2,834 passing yards and 35 touchdowns with Tommy Rees to secure a Southeastern Conference Championship in 2023, but he knows more is out there. He suffered a regular season loss to Texas at Bryant-Denny Stadium last year and did not play in the matchup against South Florida — benched for Tyler Buchner — but Milroe’s confidence never faltered. He expressed in an interview with Adam Breneman of Next Up about how his confidence kept him going. Milroe is all in on the Tide winning it all this year.
Jalen Milroe is the definition of consistency & patience.
Now, after leading his team to the CFP, he’s ready to take the next step on and off the field.
I sat down w/ @JalenMilroe to talk his journey, change at Bama & future of his career.
This is Jalen Milroe — unfiltered. pic.twitter.com/q9vJihl8uI
— Adam Breneman (@AdamBreneman81) July 3, 2024
“One thing you gotta have as a player is confidence,” Milroe said. “When someone takes away your confidence, you are beaten, you can’t get better. No one took away my confidence throughout the process.”
Milroe, a former four-star, was the backup to Bryce Young in 2021 and 2022. He could have transferred to another program, but he wanted to stay at Alabama. He now has an opportunity to capture numerous individuals and win a College Football Playoff National Championship. The 6-foot-2, 220-pounder represents perseverance and all other good qualities in sports.
“The odds were always stacked against me with me playing the position,” Milroe said. “Throughout the years, I was told not to play the position, that I could not play it. At camps, you line up and you say where you are from, height, weight, all that good stuff, and we go through every position … the last thing they say is ‘quarterback?’ And I say ‘yeah, I play quarterback.'”
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Milroe’s transition from Saban to Kalen DeBoer has been smooth.
“It has been great,” Milroe said.
“I love being around him [DeBoer]. He is a great person around me and then, he speaks belief into me every day.”
Milroe has endured battles, but he attributes the opportunity he has now to those tough times.
He is prepared as a returning starter to lead the Crimson Tide to a national title.
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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.
