Nick Saban has been a well of advice for both players and coaches across his tenure in college football, which could make it difficult to determine what the most important snippet of advice was.
Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe, who Saban coached for three seasons, attempted to answer that very question during an appearance on ESPN’s “Get Up” on Thursday.
“If I was to choose one, I’d say trust the process,” Milroe said. “Every process is different when it comes to trusting your journey. As a guy that came in from Texas and being acclimated to a new environment at Alabama and how you push every single day to accomplish any goal you want to achieve … there’s adversity that comes along with the process.
“There goes times of self-doubt. There goes times where you have to push through hard circumstances. Throughout that time, never waiver from that. It comes from a leader in Coach Saban pushing you each and every day to be the best you, and that’s very important. Just kind of go 1-0 each and every day and just try to attack the day at hand. It’s all about trusting the process.”
Milroe has certainly trusted the process during his time with the Crimson Tide as he sat his first two seasons behind Heisman Trophy winner and the 2023 NFL Draft’s first overall pick Bryce Young before he had an opportunity to start. But even then Milroe’s path was difficult as he was benched ahead of Alabama’s Week 3 matchup with USF before being named the full-time starter the very next week.
With his second chance, Milroe didn’t waste any time as he would grow alongside the offense and helped lead the Crimson Tide to an SEC Championship victory over Georgia and an appearance in the College Football Playoff.
Milroe’s path to the field was earned through the several obstacles and challenges put in front of him but another was set in his way when Saban announced his retirement in January. But rather than enter the transfer portal, Milroe remained committed to Alabama under new head coach Kalen DeBoer and is now entering the season as one of the higher regarded quarterbacks in the SEC.
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Patrick Dowd is a Reporter for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can follow him on Twitter, via Pat_Dowd77
