WHERE ALABAMA QUARTERBACK JALEN MILROE RANKS AMONG FELLOW SEC QUARTERBACKS

The 2023 season was a whirlwind of a year for Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe.

He was the team's starter for the first couple of weeks before being yanked following the Texas loss. After a close call against USF in which neither Ty Simpson nor Notre Dame transfer Tyler Buchner got things going in the ugly win, Nick Saban turned back to Milroe the following week against No. 15 Ole Miss.

The Tide won and Milroe never relinquished the starting spot the rest of the season. Heading into 2024, the biggest question around Milroe and possibly the team, is how offensive guru and new head coach Kalen Milroe will utilize Milroe. He has a huge and sometimes inaccurate arm, but is also one of the most dynamic players in college football.

DeBoer may have to incorporate more designed quarterback runs than he did with Michael Penix Jr. at Washington. Regardless of how he uses him next season, Milroe is still viewed as one of the best quarterbacks in the conference.

In a recent ranking by 247Sports of the top SEC quarterbacks, Milroe was ranked as the No. 4 signal caller in the conference. Brad Crawford's biggest takeaway from spring ball was that he expects for DeBoer to build the offense around Milroe's strengths. He also broke down the key to Alabama succeeding in 2024, which he revealed is highly dependent on DeBoer not making Milroe be someone he's not.

"If Kalen DeBoer intends on keeping the football in the hands of his best playmaker this season, Milroe should be seen as the Swiss Army Knife of sorts for this offense. He's strong enough to absorb hits and we're going to see that early as a ball carrier. Milroe was able to maintain his first-team status during the spring despite a charge from Ty Simpson, but in practice, there's only so much he can show. He's at his best when live, evading pressure and extending plays with his legs. For DeBoer's offense to work with this potential Heisman candidate at quarterback, he must allow for Milroe to run a bit more than we've seen from previous quarterbacks in recent years at Washington," wrote Crawford.

Alabama will have a chance to ease Milroe into things with a matchup against Western Kentucky to open the year, and will also have a revenge game of sorts against USF. While he didn't play this past season, he will have a chance to make up for lost time.

The three quarterbacks that were ranked ahead of Milroe were Ole Miss' Jaxson Dart, Texas' Quinn Ewers, and Georgia's Carson Beck. The Tide will only run into one of them next season, as they will be facing the Bulldogs during their fourth week

2024-05-08T15:42:57Z dg43tfdfdgfd