Alabama Football: What would a Jalen Milroe-led offense look like?

It appears as though redshirt sophomore Jalen Milroe has made enough of a jump to assume a narrow (although not insignificant) lead in the race to be the next starting quarterback for Alabama Football.

Milroe was next in line after serving as Bryce Young’s backup last season and starting a game in place of the injured Young. It doesn’t seem like Milroe ever lost that spot, despite all the conversation about a neck-and-neck QB competition.

He worked with the first team offense throughout the spring, and has continued to do so in fall camp. The Alabama quarterback battle is not yet decided, but players like Ty Simpson are running out of time to eclipse Milroe with the season less than three weeks away.

So what would a Jalen Milroe-led Alabama offense look like?

It goes without saying that this offense would be dynamic on the ground. Milroe is working to improve his precision passing, but he is so electric as a ball carrier that running will likely always be his greatest strength.

Opposing defenses would have to account for Jalen Milroe as a runner on every snap, as he has the ability to score from anywhere on the field. His speed could stress defenses horizontally, taking attention away from other aspects of the Alabama offense.

Alabama Football possesses a stacked running back room, and those talented backs would certainly benefit from the constant threat of Milroe’s big-play ability. On zone reads and other option-oriented schemes, defenses may have to pick their poison.

This concept was on display last season when Milroe replaced an injured Bryce Young against Arkansas. Milroe flashed his scrambling ability on a big run, and the Arkansas defense was hyper-aware of him for the remainder of the game. This contributed to running back Jahmyr Gibbs breaking off two 70+ yard touchdown runs in the fourth quarter; by far his two longest runs of the season.

The proverbial elephant in the room is Jalen Milroe’s ability to beat opponents with his arm. He has yet to prove he can do so, and opposing defenses will almost certainly try to crowd the box against him.

Milroe was just a redshirt freshman last year and has only started one career game, so it’s difficult to imagine he won’t make major improvements as a passer. The question is, will he do so quickly enough to make Alabama Football a national title contender in 2023?

It’s a question Jalen Milroe will have to answer himself with his play on the field, given he holds onto the starting job.