First-year Alabama football head coach Kalen DeBoer has not been around quarterback Jalen Milroe very long, but the coach has come away impressed by the dual-threat star.
DeBoer, who took on the task of replacing Nick Saban following the longtime Alabama coach's retirement in January, praised Milroe's unique combination of skills on a recent episode of The Athletic's “Until Saturday” podcast.
“He's got some tools that are really uncommon,” DeBoer said. “He had great deep-ball skills a year ago that showed up, and he's shown that already this year some. Obviously, what sticks out to a lot of people is his ability to run too. Meshing those things together is the trick, right? It's [about] where's that balance because we have other great skill players that we want to make sure get their opportunities to help us win football games and, hey, the key is move the chains. But when he moves the chains, sometimes that moving the chains isn't 10 yards, it's 70.”
Kalen DeBoer, Jalen Milroe trying to find success in post-Saban era of Alabama football program
After a 63-0 drubbing of Western Kentucky in Week 1, it wasn't the prettiest of wins for Alabama in Week 2 vs. USF. While the Crimson Tide are 2-0 and are heading to Wisconsin this weekend, it seemed for a second consecutive year that the Bulls might be able to pull off an upset.
Last year, Alabama endured a hard-fought game in which it won 17-3 despite scoring just three points in the first half. Coincidentally, Milroe, who had been the Tide's starting quarterback for the first two weeks of the season, was benched for that game vs. USF — in his place, Tyler Buchner and Ty Simpson completed just 10 passes for 107 yards combined. The next week, Milroe returned as the starter and remained the Tide's quarterback for the remainder of the season as Alabama reached the College Football Playoff semifinal.
This year, there was no doubt about who would be Alabama's quarterback for the USF game. Nonetheless, the Tide's offense came out slow again, scoring just 14 points through the first three quarters of last weekend's contest. Fortunately, Alabama pulled away in the fourth quarter with a 28-point performance. Milroe threw for 199 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another pair of touchdowns on the ground.
So when Kalen DeBoer says that Milroe has “uncommon” tools, he is not wrong. But it remains to be seen how DeBoer, who last year coached Heisman Trophy finalist Michael Penix, a definite pocket passer, will be able to adjust to the dual-threat ability of Milroe when the Tide face stiffer competition. So far in 2024, Milroe is 23-for-35 for 394 yards, 5 touchdowns, and zero interceptions. On the ground, he has carried the ball 22 times for 81 yards and 4 touchdowns.
But Alabama, as always is the case, has a tough road ahead of them. After a road matchup with Wisconsin this weekend, Alabama will have a week off to prepare for the highly anticipated annual game vs. Georgia, which the Tide defeated in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) Championship Game last December to punch Alabama's proverbial ticket to the College Football Playoff and simultaneously keep the Bulldogs out of the playoff entirely.
Additionally, DeBoer, Milroe, and Alabama will play at Tennessee, vs. Missouri, at LSU, at Oklahoma, and vs. Auburn this season.
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