Alabama’s quarterback proven his coach’s assessment incorrect

Jalen Milroe proved Bill O’Brien suggestion wrong with rebound that changed Alabama’s season

Alabama quarterbacks have trailed from Jalen Hurts to Tua Tagovailoa to Mac Jones to Bryce Young in recent years; first-round pick to first-round pick.

This year was different: a three-way competition in which no one took the reins right away.

Jalroe lost the starting job after passing two interceptions in a home loss to Texas in September, while Tyler Buchner and Ty Simpson also struggled in a dismal 17-3 win against South Florida.

All of this resulted in Alabama being rated 13th, an unheard-of position, as Milroe was granted another shot.

“I think the most important thing was admitting that I’m not a finished product,” Milroe told reporters this week. “It was very important to acknowledge and embrace my constant desire to grow in every aspect of my game.”

“I believe that embracing hard is something that allows a quarterback to grow and be successful as an individual.” That was something I was challenged by the coaching staff, coach [Nick] Saban, and everyone around me to embrace hard and embrace the job as quarterback and team leader.”

Embracing hard has propelled Milroe and the Crimson Tide from obscurity to the College Football Playoff, where Alabama will meet Michigan in the Rose Bowl on Monday, and where its 6-foot-2, 201-pound quarterback has transformed himself from a liability to a source of strength.

Milroe even went so far as to blame former Alabama offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien for a conversation years ago in which O’Brien suggested he look for a another job.

When asked how he felt, Milroe responded, “How would you feel if I told you that you suck?”

Milroe does not have the normal physique of a quarterback. But he’s turned it into a strength this season, running for 468 yards and 12 touchdowns in addition to the 2,718 yards and 23 touchdowns he’s accumulated through the air.

“The guy has always been a great ad-libber as a quarterback in terms of scrambling and making plays when the play breaks down,” coach Nick Saban said. “But I think he’s gotten so much better at executing the play, reading the play out, getting the ball to the right guys at the right time, distributing the ball more like a point guard and not thinking he has to make every play.”

Even as he prepares to play on the sport’s largest stage, Milroe has a distinct advantage.

“[O’Brien] told me a bunch of positions that I could have switched to, but look where I’m at right now,” he informed me. “Who will have the last laugh?”