Alabama Football: What to make of Jekyll and Hyde Offense

Alabama Football Quarterbacks: B

Jalen Milroe gave Alabama Football a fairly standard performance. He did a lot of good things and provided some splash moments, but also made a couple of frustrating mistakes.

For the game, he completed 67 percent of his passes for 220 yards (10.5 yards per attempt) and two scoring strikes. Milroe has been among the SEC leaders in YPA average all season. He currently ranks second in the league behind LSU’s Jayden Daniels with a 10.6 average, and was right on par against the Vols.

Milroe committed two first half turnovers, but it could be argued that neither was completely his fault. He lost a fumble late in the first quarter when he was hit from the blind side by James Pearce Jr. In just his eighth career start, Milroe is clearly still learning the intricacies of pocket awareness and developing his internal clock.

Later, he threw an interception in the end zone that felt like a back-breaking turnover at the time. While the decision to throw to a well-covered Jermaine Burton could be questioned in hindsight, Milroe can’t shoulder too much blame for giving the Tide’s top receiver a chance in the end zone. Burton probably makes that play more often than not.

Instead, the pass was broken up by the Tennessee corner, and safety Jaylen McCollough made an opportunistic play coming over the top late to collect the loose ball.

Milroe has felt the wrath of an overly-critical portion of the Alabama fan base and the national media for some of his deficiencies. While he is not a perfect quarterback and has had some stagnations in his development, he continues to do enough to win games.

He seemed more willing to use his legs in this game, and it remains unclear if his health has been a concern in recent weeks. Regardless, the bye week comes at a good time for Jalen Milroe and Alabama Football. Through the ups and downs, Milroe continues to progress in terms of his confidence and understanding of the position.