Alabama’s offense has allowed 30 sacks of Jalen Milroe — third-most in college football — however, its passing game has improved since its season opener against Middle Tennessee State.
Milroe, a first-year starting quarterback, has progressed in several ways throughout the year. He’s proven to be dynamic with the deep ball, and decision-making on short to intermediate passes has gotten better. The redshirt sophomore needs to improve his timing on when to run versus throwing the ball away under pressure, but he has the Crimson Tide in the driver’s seat to win the SEC West and compete for a conference championship. Pro Football Focus has documented his deep ball accuracy, and it has been a sight to behold. Ten of Milroe’s 13 touchdown passes have come on throws of 20+ yards to different wide receivers.
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He carries a passer rating of 131.8 and a passing grade of 98.7 on deep passes.
Isaiah Bond, a sophomore receiver, has benefited from Milroe’s development. The former four-star in the 2022 recruiting class has 23 receptions for 360 yards and three touchdowns. He averages 15.6 yards per catch and gets free for long touchdown opportunities from Milroe, including a 46-yard score against Tennessee last week. Bond recognizes the difference between playing with Milroe from Bryce Young, but he has confidence in the native Texan. He spoke Wednesday about how the passing game has grown with Milroe. Alabama has a chance to torch LSU’s secondary next week in an SEC West showdown.
“He has shown great improvement,” Bond said about Milroe.
“I believe in Jalen Milroe, and I believe in where this team can go in a couple of weeks.”
Milroe spent intentional time working with wide receivers in the summer. He took Bond and others to train in Tampa, Fla.
Milroe gained chemistry with the group, and it allowed him to win the starting job in fall camp. He’s built trust with Bond and Jermaine Burton has his primary receivers. Kobe Prentice, a sophomore, has been involved and Amari Niblack has three touchdowns from his tight end position. Bond expressed to reporters how significant it was to get all kinks worked out in the summer for the passing game to grow.
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“We were able to get better in the offseason, knowing that it would help us in the long stretch,” Bond said.
Bond said it’s the ‘raw talent’ Milroe has that makes him an exceptional deep ball thrower.
“Physically, look-wise, you see he is a bigger quarterback, and also he has receivers that can stretch the field as well,” Bond said about what makes Milroe a good deep ball thrower. “It is a tale of two ends.”
He is the fastest receiver on the team, but Bond’s exciting moments come when Milroe has time to get the ball to him.
Milroe ranks in the top 10 among quarterbacks in the nation (No. 10) and SEC (No. 2) for passing rating at 175. He is tied for second in the nation for yards per passing attempt (10.6) and tied for fourth in the SEC for touchdown passes (13).
Milroe has five games with 2+ scoring tosses, including a season-high three touchdown passes versus Texas A&M in a 26-20 comeback victory for Alabama at Kyle Field. He has improved the passing game, but Milroe eyes a shot at outplaying Jayden Daniels of LSU next week. Daniels, a Heisman candidate, looks for his second straight victory over Nick Saban and the Tide.
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Stephen M. Smith is the managing editor and senior writer for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can “like” him on Facebook or “follow” him on Twitter, via @CoachingMSmith.
