Alabama QB Jalen Milroe named to both the Manning and Unitas Golden Arm watch list

After Nick Saban announced his retirement from college football in January, the Alabama Crimson Tide roster suffered several losses to the transfer portal. But one guy who decided to stay in Tuscaloosa to be a part of the Kalen DeBoer era was quarterback Jalen Milroe.

Milroe and the Crimson Tide suffered an ugly Week 2 loss to the Texas Longhorns a year ago, and consequently, Milroe was benched the following week against the USF Bulls. He earned the starting job back in Week 4 against a top-15 Ole Miss squad, picked up a key win, and never looked back.

The Crimson Tide went on to win the SEC Championship and earn an eight-CFP berth. As for Milroe, he finished No. 6 in the Heisman voting, which is pretty remarkable given where he was after the USF game. Heading into this season, Milroe is the highest-returning Heisman vote-getter from last season with the top five guys all departing for the NFL.

DeBoer turned former Washington Huskies QB Michael Penix Jr. into a top ten pick, so it will be very fun to watch Milroe progress in this QB friendly offense. All the tools are around Milroe for him to have a massive season, and as a result he has been named to both the Manning Award and Unitas Golden Arm Award watch lists.

The Manning Award is presented annually to the best quarterback in college football with LSU Tiger’s Jayden Daniels winning the award in 2023. Mac Jones (2020) and Bryce Young (2021) are Alabama’s only ever recipients.

The Unitas Golden Arm Award is awarded annually to the nation’s top upperclassmen QB. LSU’s Daniels also won this award in 2023. Alabama has had three winners ever in Jay Barker (1994), AJ McCarron (2013) and Mac Jones (2020).

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