Alabama Football: Jalen Milroe to use doubters as fuel

Within the Alabama fan base, there is a lot of excitement surrounding quarterback Jalen Milroe as he returns for his second season as the Tide’s starting quarterback. 

Milroe showed lots of promise and significant growth in the 2023 season, ultimately transforming from a player who didn’t look like the long-term answer at the position to a Heisman candidate by season’s end. Most importantly, he proved to be a winner.

Even when he didn’t have the best games, he found ways to lead Alabama to victory and was the clear emotional leader of the team. With Milroe at the helm, the Crimson Tide rebounded from an early loss, ran the SEC gauntlet with an undefeated record, and made the College Football Playoff.

Early returns from spring practice indicate that Jalen Milroe has continued to make major jumps in his development.

He will presumably be more comfortable in Kalen DeBoer’s quarterback-friendly system, and has already impressed the new coaching staff as a player and as a person.

At the national level, however, stale narratives about Milroe’s presumed weaknesses still linger. Media members that cover opposing teams are not as close to the Alabama program, and therefore cling to the memories they have from the first couple times they saw him play. 

These naysayers will only make Jalen Milroe go harder this offseason, which will only take his performance this fall to another level. While he doesn’t often show it, Milroe internalizes the words of critics and uses them as fuel. He did it throughout the 2023 season, and he is once again being given incentive to prove people wrong.

Be prepared for Jalen Milroe to explode onto the college football scene in 2024. He will be one of the best players in the sport, and is the perfect QB to lead Alabama into the DeBoer era.