There's no doubt that Alabama football quarterback Jalen Milroe has shown the true makings of a star late in the season after a tumultuous start. In an interview with Bruce Feldman of The Athletic, different coaches around the SEC also sent high praise the way of Milroe and his ability to beat Michigan in the Rose Bowl.

An SEC defensive coordinator spoke with Feldman and said that Alabama football head coach Nick Saban and the team have done exceptionally well in building up Milroe. According to Feldman, the coach who is unnamed faced the Crimson Tide in the second half of the season.

“They’ve done a great job of taking what Milroe does best and allowing him to do that and manufacture everything else around him,” an SEC defensive coordinator said. “They didn’t get kicking until probably their sixth game. That’s around when they changed what they were doing.”

It's been a rollercoaster of a college football season for Milroe as there was early struggles like in the loss against the University of Texas where he was benched for Tyler Buchner. However, Saban stuck with Milroe as the starting quarterback of the Alabama football team and so far, it has paid off in a big way.

“They’re taking more vertical shots, and the intermediate stuff is coming when they’re moving (Milroe) out of the pocket and using the boot game. With him, it’s look at 1, then 2, and then he takes off. And that’s when he’s really scary,” the defensive coordinator continued.

SEC coach credits Milroe and OC Tommy Rees

Jalen Milroe saying “run it back!” with Nick Saban next to him

Milroe has really picked it up when the games have mattered the most as this season, he's thrown for 2,718 yards, 23 touchdowns, and six interceptions. On the ground since he's a dual-threat quarterback, he's rushed for 468 yards to go with his 12 scores. An SEC West defensive coordinator not only credited Milroe, but also Alabama football offensive coordinator Tommy Rees..

“They’ve found their niche as the year has gone on,” the defensive coordinator said. “(Rees) does a good job of formationing people, and he’s taken away half their reads for Milroe. I do think that kid is special. He’s the fastest guy on their team and I heard the kids love him. He throws it better than people give him credit. The other big thing: (offensive line coach) Eric (Wolford) has done a great job of developing those guys up front.”

Alabama with an upset over Michigan?

Going into this matchup where the No. 4 Alabama Crimson Tide take on the No. 1 Michigan Wolverines at the Rose Bowl, coaches believe Milroe and the Crimson Tide will provide disruption to the top seed. A defensive backs coach said to The Athletic that the sophomore quarterback is the “best athlete on the field.”

“(Milroe’s) going to be a big problem for Michigan,” an SEC defensive backs coach said. “There is nobody in the Big Ten like him. He’s the best athlete on the field. He can run over your DBs and your linebackers can’t catch him.”

Another defensive coordinator in the SEC said that the Alabama football signal-caller is going to be too elusive for the Michigan football team to capture. The anonymous coach even went to past experience facing him and was worried about when Milroe had space to run.

“I think Michigan is going to struggle to tackle Milroe,” the SEC defensive coordinator said. “He’s very dangerous. I was not worried about the QB-designed runs. I was worried about when the pass is not there and he takes off and he has space.”

A possible flaw with Milroe?

There was a head coach that spoke to Feldman and basically gave a game-plan when facing Milroe. While he is eye-opening when on the run, this coach said that when standing in the pocket, he can't beat the opposing team.

“I don’t think he can stand in the pocket and beat you,” the coach said. “But that’s not what he’s doing. I don’t think that’s what they want to do. He’s a 50-60 percent passer in the pocket if he has to read through a progression.”

There's only one way for Milroe to live up to the hype and it's to go into the Rose Bowl and defeat the No. 1 ranked team in Michigan. There's already controversy with the Crimson Tide being there in the first place as they got the fourth spot in the College Football Playoff over the undefeated Florida State.

Alabama is coming into the CFP with a 12-1 record as the only loss was against the aforementioned University of Texas.The game between Alabama and Michigan will be on the start of the new year on Monday, January 1.