Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe matured from bench during 2023 USF game

As Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe had a sensational debut to the 2024 campaign against Western Kentucky, Milroe accounted for 286 yards of total offense (200 pass, 86 rush) and five total touchdowns (3 pass, 2 rush). Milroe’s performance was a tone setter as he is a pivotal figure in the transition for Alabama as Kalen DeBoer takes over for Nick Saban and the SEC expands with Texas and Oklahoma, two of the bluest of blue bloods in college football.

The journey Milroe went on began last season, in leading up to the Texas game many felt it was Texas’ time to ascend but Nick Saban had a record of 25-2 against former assistants entering the Texas showdown in Tuscaloosa. Despite Saban’s mastery over his former pupils, Texas gave Alabama a scare during the 2022 season with a one-point win.

As the 2023 Texas matchup unfolded, it was fatal mistakes by Milroe that Texas was able to capitalize on. The 10 points Texas was able to get off of Milroe miscues were the difference in the 34-24 loss for the Crimson Tide. That was something that did not sit well with Nick Saban.

Entering South Florida week, Milroe was barely completing 60% of his passes and was a liability with the football. Saban, who had promised the room that all three quarterbacks would be given chances in games, Saban decided to sit Milroe and see what he had with Ty Simpson and Tyler Buchner. Milroe, according to Saban, was “initially frustrated” by the news, but used the opportunity to grow.

As Simpson and Buchner continued to struggle, Milroe’s support was unwavering. "He really has been supportive of his teammates, and I was happy to see that," Saban said after the 17-3 win over South Florida. "Hopefully, we’ll all learn lessons from the experiences that we have and move forward in a positive way.”

After Saban assessed the quarterbacks, the endorsement came but with a caveat, "I've got confidence in Jalen. I believe in him. The one thing that we've always talked about is you make enough good plays, but you've got to eliminate the devastating plays, the ones that are killers. It happened twice in the Texas game, but I think he's learned from it."

From the Ole Miss game to their College Football Playoff matchup against Michigan, Milroe would complete nearly 67% of his passes, and had 28 touchdowns responsible for (18 pass, 10 rush) and only four interceptions.

During SEC Media Days, Milroe indicated the South Florida game was the turning point, and didn’t dive into his personal growth, but revealed how it impacted the team, “That was a chance for us to come together as a team and talk about the LANK mentality — let all naysayers know…” Milroe said. “It was all very special for our group to come together as one and try to refocus and go attack all our short-term goals and long-term goals.”

The long term goals Milroe has is much more, the focus and concentration from that time on the bench. Whether Milroe could have matured by playing through it can be debated but the product Milroe is now is one Alabama can lean on for a deep run in the College Football Playoff.