Jalen Milroe's decision to enter the 2025 NFL Draft saved Alabama from a mass exodus in the Transfer Portal, according to an anonymous NFL coordinator.
In a wide-ranging piece on Milroe and what NFL evaluators think about him by Cody Nagel for 247Sports, Nagel quoted an anonymous NFL coordinator as saying this:
"He's got a fastball that's not very accurate. He doesn't know when to take it off the ball. We heard out of Alabama all the skill (players) would've transferred if he came back. He wants to be known as a pocket quarterback and your best skill is you're frickin' fast."
Alabama still saw an exodus of wide receivers in the Transfer Portal, with six players from last season's room leaving the program. But those six players were by design, and it was more of a purging of the room by Kalen DeBoer and WR coach JaMarcus Shepherd to get the right guys in. The Crimson Tide held onto the players that mattered, such as last season's two leading receivers, Ryan Williams and Germie Bernard, as well as some talented youngsters like Rico Scott and Jalen Hale.
Milroe's struggles last season, particularly over the second half of the season, were well documented. After a blistering start to the season that included a win over Georgia, Alabama lost four of its final nine games.
Milroe threw a costly pick-six in a five-point loss to Vanderbilt, and then played poorly in losses to Tennessee, Oklahoma, and then Michigan in the ReliaQuest Bowl. He has always had the potential, but in DeBoer's offensive system, Milroe was a square peg trying to fit in a round hole, and those issues seemed likely to cost the Crimson Tide some of its most talented players.
Jalen Milroe entering the NFL Draft was the right move for him and Alabama
Alabama and Jalen Milroe needed to part ways. You can appreciate what Milroe accomplished in Tuscaloosa (particularly in 2023) and still understand that it was time for both he and the program to move on.
It's impossible to know whether the anonymous assistant coach has correct information, but it was also evident to anyone watching the games last season that Alabama's WRs were incredibly frustrated. And not just the receivers, either. The running backs were frustrated with a lack of carries due to Milroe's struggles reading defenses on read-option looks.
Alabama's offense will look different next season with Ty Simpson or one of the other two QBs at the helm. It will look more like the offense DeBoer wants to run, especially with Ryan Grubb in Tuscaloosa calling plays.
DeBoer and company are looking for a QB who can distribute the ball to the Crimson Tide's talented group of receivers. Whether that's Simpson, Austin Mack, or freshman Keelon Russell, the player best able to do that will be the one starting games this fall.