Following a 27-24 win for Alabama Football in an instant classic of an Iron Bowl game, quarterback Jalen Milroe could not contain his excitement.
As the clock expired, Milroe stormed onto the field along with the rest of his teammates in full celebration mode. Having just thrown an improbable game-winning touchdown pass that will go down in Alabama Football lore, Milroe demanded the Heisman Trophy.
Milroe has displayed one of the most dramatic improvements in all of college football over the course of this season, and has been on a meteoric rise over the latter half of the year. There is little doubt now that he is one of the most electric quarterbacks in the sport, but is he Heisman Trophy material?
The Heisman goes to the most outstanding player in college football, and I just don’t think Milroe has the full-season body of work to win the award. However, he has received increasing consideration in recent weeks and could very well elevate himself to Heisman finalist status with a convincing performance in the SEC Championship game.
Personally, I think LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels is head and shoulders above the field, despite his team having three losses. Daniels’ statistical production, consistency, and his handful of jaw-dropping performances make him the clear-cut Heisman winner in my opinion. The fact that he has accomplished all of this against a difficult schedule makes it that much more impressive.
Behind Daniels, Oregon QB Bo Nix and Washington QB Michael Penix are also worthy candidates. Although they fall short of Daniels’ eye-popping numbers, they may be more appealing to voters given that they are on playoff-contending teams. Whichever one of these signal-callers delivers a PAC-12 Championship and a playoff berth when they meet next week could very well win the award.
As for Jalen Milroe, I think he falls in the next tier, along with Georgia QB Carson Beck and skill players such as Ohio State receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. and Michigan running back Blake Corum. This means it is a very realistic possibility that Milroe could get an invitation to New York for the Heisman ceremony. Conference championship weekend will go a long way towards determining the finalists.
Some Alabama Football fans may be displeased with Milroe’s outburst, which was certainly out of character for the redshirt sophomore. I wouldn’t worry too much about Bama’s young quarterback. It seems Milroe just got caught up in an emotional moment after making arguably one of the greatest plays in college football history to help his team keep its championship aspirations alive.
In an era where nearly everything is filmed and recorded, raw moments like this are bound to get caught on camera and distributed. Milroe has shown on plenty of occasions that he is one of the most humble stars Coach Saban has ever had, and one emotional moment should not be enough to alter one’s perception of him.
It’s also important to recall that just a couple short months ago, we were imploring Jalen Milroe to play with more confidence. I don’t think that will be an issue going forward.