Ken Stabler. Bart Starr. Joe Namath. Three of the best quarterbacks to ever take the field for the Alabama Crimson Tide. While Jalen Milroe may not be on their level, he does still hold a place in the program’s history.
Football is hard. And it is not strictly the toll that it takes on your body. For many positions, it also takes a toll on your mind. No position may prove that more so than quarterback. And for Milroe, it did not come any easier with a change from the greatest head coach in the history of the sport, to one still carving out a name for himself.
Jalen Milroe Still Holds a Place in Alabama Crimson Tide History
The Early Years
Milroe was recruited out of Tompkins High School in Katy, Texas. A true dual-threat quarterback, Milroe tallied 5,350 yards through the air, and 1,220 on the ground as a starter for the varsity squad. The quarterback posted a combined 74 touchdowns in that time. He helped lead Tompkins to an 11-2 record in 2019, good enough to finish second in their district.
Tompkins QB Jalen Milroe scrambles for a 22 yard TD to cut Taylor's lead to 21-17 with :29 left 3Q pic.twitter.com/E2CFnnS3nz
— Katy Times Sports (@KatyTimesSports) October 26, 2018
For Bama, Milroe began his career behind Bryce Young on the depth chart. Milroe was already an intimidating presence when he entered college at 6-2, 208 pounds. He would become even more so throughout his tenure on campus, culminating in a 220-pound measurement in his senior campaign.
In true Nick Saban fashion, Milroe would see the field in games rendered out of hand. In those appearances, he showed what fans had to look forward to in the future. Across 12 games in 2021 and 2022, Milroe threw for 338 yards and six touchdowns while rushing for 320 yards and one touchdown. It was but a taste of the dual-threat capabilities he had to offer.
2023
In his first year as the starting quarterback, Milroe faced adversity early. After handling Middle Tennessee State as expected, the quarterback struggled against the Texas Longhorns. A 255-yard performance through the air with two touchdowns and two interceptions would not be enough, and the Longhorns won a 34-24 battle. Milroe would be benched for the Crimson Tide’s next game, a road contest against the South Florida Bulls.
Weather would prove to be a key factor in the contest against the Bulls. A late-summer storm would roll through Tampa, Florida, with the game even being delayed because of the heavy downpour and nearby lightning for over an hour. While both Ty Simpson and Tyler Buchner would take turns at quarterback, both struggling to find any consistency, Milroe would not see the field.
It proved to be only a one-week benching, as Milroe would be back under center for game four. It would be a place he did not leave for the rest of his tenure with Alabama.
The Grave Digger
While both the Tide and Milroe handled their business as expected, there was nothing that quite stood out in the team’s victories. All of that would change in the 2023 Iron Bowl.
Crazy things always tend to happen when the Iron Bowl is played at Jordan-Hare Stadium. 2023 would be the 10th anniversary of the infamous “Kick Six,” a play that will never be forgotten in the annals of college football. This time, however, Bama would be on the right side of history.
The Tide would enter as the eighth-ranked team in the country. The Auburn Tigers were unranked, and looking to secure an above-.500 season. Late in the fourth quarter, the Tigers held a 24-20 lead. On fourth and goal from the 31-yard line with 43 seconds left in the game, Milroe found the source of the Jordan-Hare voodoo. He also found receiver Isaiah Bond in the back of the endzone for six.
JALEN MILROE TO BOND! 🤯 INSANITY! pic.twitter.com/pqhlTLp7WR
— Complex Sports (@ComplexSports) November 25, 2023
With one of the greatest plays in the history of the program under his belt, Milroe helped lead the team to a 12-2 record. On the back of 2,834 yards through the air with 23 touchdowns, and 531 rushing yards with 12 touchdowns, Milroe would finish sixth in Heisman Trophy voting for the year.
2024
In the offseason between the 2023 and 2024 seasons, coach Saban would retire. It would not be long before the program hired the man to fill the large shoes left behind in current head coach Kalen DeBoer. Many expected great things from the pairing of DeBoer and Milroe, but it would not come to be.
The ball was left in Milroe’s hands more often in 2024 than it was in 2023. In 2023, Milroe tallied 445 combined pass and rush attempts. In 2024, that number increased to 487. While an increase of 42 may not seem like much, it is nearly a full game’s worth of plays left in the hands of Milroe.
The increased game impact did not favor the quarterback. The Tide played to a disappointing 9-4 record. Two of those losses came at the hands of the Vanderbilt Commodores and the Oklahoma Sooners. The loss at the hands of the Commodores was the team’s first since 1982. The Sooners finished the year with a 6-7 record. It was a showing that held Alabama out of the first 12-team College Football Playoffs, a tournament eventually won by the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Despite a 10-yard increase in passing yards year-over-year, Milroe struggled to find consistency on the field. His passing touchdown total decreased from 23 in 2023 to 16 in 2024, while his interceptions increased from six to 11. Fumbles would be an issue for the dual-threat, too, with a whopping nine of 16 for his career coming in 2024.
2024 would be Milroe’s last season with the program. The quarterback declared for the 2025 NFL Draft and is preparing to transition to the professional side of the gridiron.
Jalen Milroe Still Holds a Place in Crimson Tide History
Recency bias has clouded the judgment of many. There is no denying that 2024 was a rough year for Milroe. But, you also cannot take away what he did on the field across his entire tenure with the Tide.
In two years as the starter, Milroe accounted for 72 combined touchdowns. He helped end a rough patch Alabama was in against the Georgia Bulldogs with two key victories. One came in the SEC Championship game in 2023, and one came in a regular season contest in 2024.
What may prove to be the most important thing he did throughout his tenure, however, is hold the team together during the transition of head coaches. Not many quarterbacks would step up and be a leader the way Milroe did. Many would transfer to try and avoid the adjustment period. Milroe stuck around.
It may not have always been the best product on the field. Alabama may not have won any National Championships during his stint as the starter. Milroe may not be on the level of Stabler, Starr, or Namath. Milroe does, however, still hold a place in Alabama Crimson Tide history. And that can never be taken away from him.
Main Image: Vasha Hunt-Imagn Images
