Kalen DeBoer has never had a quarterback like Jalen Milroe, and that might be the most exciting part

With former Washington head coach Kalen DeBoer taking over for the legendary Nick Saban at the University of Alabama, everyone is anxious to see exactly what Crimson Tide football looks like moving forward. Based on his track record, you can expect two things from Coach DeBoer: winning football games and scoring a lot of points. Alabama was built on stellar defenses and controlling the line of scrimmage under Coach Saban, and that could very well be changing.

Although it will take some time to get used to, people are expecting some offensive fireworks under Coach DeBoer in Tuscaloosa. The passing game especially, which was not great in 2023, is something everyone is anxious to see take a step forward. They will be led by redshirt junior signal caller Jalen Milroe , who is coming off a 2023 season where he finished sixth on the Heisman Trophy ballot.

Milroe showed incremental improvements as a passer in 2023, throwing for 2,834 yards and 23 touchdowns. When the 6-2, 220-pound dual threat quarterback was at his best, however, was when Alabama took the shackles off and let him become the playmaker he has the upside to be down the stretch of the season. Milroe added another 531 yards on the ground and 12 more scores, which could have been a lot greater if the offense allowed earlier in the season.

Everyone is excited for what DeBoer can accomplish with Milroe, and for good reason. He is a unique talent at the quarterback position and has the upside to become the top dual threat signal caller in all of college football under his tutelage. Funny enough, this isn’t a skill set that DeBoer has worked with a ton in the past. His preferred style of signal caller has been pocket oriented, which Milroe can do but it doesn't align fully with him being the best version of himself.

When you trace back Coach DeBoer’s experience as a play caller, including stops all the way back at NAIA Sioux Falls, it illustrates just how unique Milroe is. It begs the overarching question: Just what will Milroe and this Alabama offense look like in 2024 in this new offense?

Sioux Falls Cougars

It was back to humble beginnings for DeBoer, who was a football and baseball player for Sioux Falls from 1993-96. After playing semi-professionally in both sports following his graduation, DeBoer began coaching high school football at Washington High School in South Dakota. After two years, he returned to his alma mater as the offensive coordinator. It was a quick ascension for DeBoer, eventually taking over as head coach in 2005, proceeding to a 67-4 overall record while at the helm.

During DoBoer’s final four seasons, Sioux Falls finished with a 56-1 record. They won three NAIA national championships during that run in 2006, 2008 and 2009. The reason for that big success was a dynamic offense orchestrated by Coach DeBoer.

During those four years, DeBoer had two tremendous starting quarterbacks, both of which were very different football players. The first was Chad Cavender, who went 27-1 during the 2006 and 2007 seasons, while also being named the GPAC Player of the Year in 2006. A pocket passer by trade, Cavender threw for 6,789 yards and 64 touchdowns during that stretch. In those two years, Cavender did manage to score 12 rushing touchdowns but ran for just 354 yards in 28 games. It just wasn’t a major part of his game.

It was, however, a big part of what made Lorenzo Brown Jr. special during his two years under center (2008-09). Going 29-0 during those two seasons, Brown made opponents pay both in the run and passing game. Brown helped lead the team to two NAIA national championships, including a win over FCS power North Dakota State. He was an All-American selection both years, winning the NAIA Player of the Year award in 2009.

Through the air, Brown totaled 5,353 passing yards and 65 touchdowns. He was equally as dynamic with his legs, rushing for 1,633 yards and 30 touchdowns. Brown parlayed that success to a prominent career in indoor football, including winning three United Bowl Championships with the Sioux Falls Storm in 2015, 2016 and 2019.

It’s likely that many people don’t remember vividly the Sioux Falls career of the legend Lorenzo Brown Jr. For the sickos out there, you can catch a glimpse of No. 10 in action. More about him later on.

Southern Illinois Salukis

Here’s where DeBoer’s ascension really began. After dominating the NAIA level, the next stop was in the FCS. During his four years with Southern Illinois, DeBoer also had two quarterbacks who took the majority of the snaps for his team. While his previous stop had two very different styles of signal callers, these two were very similar, both huge with strong arms and very little running threat.

During his first year in 2010, DeBoer worked with Chris Dieker, all 6-5 and 230 pounds of him. During that lone year, it was a struggle offensively. Dieker threw for 1,816 yards and 15 touchdowns against 11 interceptions, chipping in with a modest 276 yards rushing and six more scores on the ground. Dieker would spend time in the Arena League (Iowa Barnstormers, Chicago Gladiators, and Philadelphia Soul), as well as the CAFL with the Beijing Lions and Shenyang Black Rhinos.

Over the next three seasons, Kory Faulkner would be DeBoers’ top quarterback. Like Dieker, Faulker was a big guy, standing at 6-4 and 227 pounds. There were some big struggles the first two years for Faulker, throwing for just 16 touchdowns combined. There was clear improvement his final year in 2013, throwing for 18 scores and just four interceptions. During those three years, Faulkner ran for just 546 yards total. That is just barely more than what Milroe ran for just this season.

Eastern Michigan Eagles

NAIA, check. FCS, check. Now DeBoer was off to the next challenge, taking his offense to the FBS level. With his first stop at Eastern Michigan, the 2014 season was a transition to say the least. His quarterback that year was Reginald Bell, a pretty good athlete who ran for 562 yards and four touchdowns. The problem was that Bell was not much of a thrower, at all. He threw for just 1,297 yards and nine touchdowns that season.

He could be replaced the very next year by Brogan Roback, a 6-4 pocket passer who fit what had typically been the mold under Coach DeBoer in recent memory. Roback would start for the final two years of DeBoer at Eastern Michigan in 2015 and 2016. He would throw for 4,979 yards and 34 touchdowns, while rushing for just 270 yards and three more scores.

For the draftniks out there, Roback was someone who was mentioned as a NFL Draft sleeper briefly. Unfortunately, he returned for the 2017 season without DeBoer and regressed mightily. His success under DeBoer was a big reason he received his next big opportunity, the first Power Five chance as the offensive coordinator with Indiana University.

Related: New Ohio State running back Quinshon Judkins bringing mixed reviews as a 2025 NFL Draft prospect

Fresno State Bulldogs

DeBoer has had two stops with the Fresno State programs the first time was as an offensive coordinator in 2017 and 2018. That’s where his prowess as an offensive play caller really gained national notoriety. A big part of it was his work with Marcus McMaryion, a former transfer from Oregon State.

McMaryion put together a very solid 2017 season for the Bulldogs, throwing for 2,726 yards and 14 touchdowns, while only throwing five interceptions. He also scored another four touchdowns on the ground as a part of his 302 yards as a runner.

It was the 2018 season that really showcased improvements that a quarterback can have under Coach DeBoer. McMaryion turned in a tremendous final year, throwing for 3,629 yards and 25 touchdowns, only throwing five interceptions on top of completing 69 percent of his passes and adding another eight rushing touchdowns on the ground. His maturation as a passer in year two was stellar to watch.

After his one year at Indiana in 2019, DeBoer returned to take over as head coach at Fresno State. As a widely regarded offensive genius, DeBoer was still in charge of the offense. He would once again catch on with a former Pac-12 signal caller, this time with former Washington signal caller Jake Haener.

The trajectory for Haener was very similar to McMaryon. It started off with a condensed 2020 season due to the Covid-19 pandemic, throwing for 2,021 yards and 14 touchdowns in just six games. Haener would parlay that experience into a tremendous 2021 season, throwing for 4,096 yards and 33 touchdowns, completing 67 percent of his passes and just throwing nine interceptions.

Haener fit the mold that had been excelling under DeBoer, a pocket passer who wins most with their arm. To illustrate that, Haener ran for a grand total of six yards on 36 carries under DeBoer those two seasons.

Indiana Hoosiers

During his one season with the Hoosiers in 2019, DeBoer got to work with a very talented quarterback duo. In that season, both Peyton Ramsey and Michael Penix Jr. would play a lot of football. As a duo, they would throw for 3,848 and 23 touchdowns, only throwing nine interceptions along the way. The duo would complete a stellar 68 percent of their passes:

While neither was an exceptional runner, they would combine to run for 371 yards and nine touchdowns that season. Even though that number was higher than just about every other quarterback under Coach DeBoer, it still was considerably lower than what Milroe did last season.

There’s no questioning what Ramsey and Penix did best: throw the football. They were functionally good enough to maneuver in the pocket and extend some plays. Being true running threats was not necessarily in their wheelhouse.

Washington Huskies

The evolution of DeBoer continued after just two seasons as a head coach at Fresno State. The University of Washington opted to hire him prior to the 2022 season. The rest was history. Over that two-year span as head coach, DeBoer would go 25-3 with the Huskies. That included a national championship appearance in 2023.

There was no questioning what the main catalyst of that team was, offensive fireworks. A familiar face led DeBoer’s team under center. After working with the coach during his lone year at Indiana, Penix opted to transfer to Washington. It has been a frustrating couple of seasons since working with him, dealing with a series of injuries and a frustrating offense in Bloomington.

You may have as well renamed the University of Washington “Boomington” during those two seasons. Penix would put up some prolific numbers during that time. That included throwing for an astounding 9,544 yards and 67 touchdowns. He would complete over 65 percent of his passes, helping the Husky offense average just under 38 points per game.

For as good of a passer Penix was, his impact as a runner was almost nonexistent. In two years, he ran for 95 yards and four touchdowns. That included a grand total of three yards in 2023.

Quarterbacks under Kalen DeBoer

Quarterbacks under Kalen DeBoer

What to expect from Milroe

People love comparisons in this business. So if you were to compare Milroe to a former quarterback under Coach DeBoer, it would be? Who would it be, Lorenzo Brown Jr. about 15 years ago? Even then, comparing a 6-0 (generous), 195-pound dual threat quarterback from the NAIA level doesn’t exactly give you the full scope of just how talented of an athlete we are talking about with Milroe.

As a high school junior, Milroe had some verified testing numbers that put it into proper context. That included a 4.64 second forty-yard dash, which would have finished him in second at the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine among quarterbacks. His vertical leap of nearly 35 inches would have been in contention for second as well.

Those numbers are tremendous for anyone, especially for a junior in high school. Projecting forward, including physical development in a college strength program, you can expect Milroe to test at a much higher level when he eventually goes through his own NFL Draft process. We aren’t talking about a good athlete at the quarterback position, we are talking about an elite one.

So what does that mean in 2024? Is Alabama going to feature his running ability with some added zone read and quarterback power? Does Alabama, increase, highlight that athleticism as an extender in scrambling situations?

Those are the questions we don’t have an answer to, and honestly, we don’t even have a good guess based on a past track record under DeBoer. Not unless you are checking out some 2008 film from Sioux Falls, which I’m sure is regularly available to everyone. Just call the All-22 genie.

That makes the possibilities even more exciting. A betting man would guess that the Alabama offense is going to be pretty darn good in 2024. You can also guess that Milroe will take a step forward based on working with the new staff and Coach DeBoer. What it exactly looks like, nobody truly knows. The anxiousness doesn’t come from wondering if it’ll be good or not, but with the lack of understanding of what it will remotely look like on the field.

“It’s a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma…”