Nick Saban delves into his decision to sit Jalen Milroe vs. USF, name him starter afterward

Alabama head coach Nick Saban seemingly benched quarterback Jalen Milroe following the Crimson Tide’s loss to Texas in Week 2.

However, Milroe has regained his starting job ahead of Saturday’s game against Ole Miss.

Milroe didn’t play at all last weekend against USF as Tyler Buchner and Ty Simpson handled all of the snaps. But he is now “the guy” at quarterback, according to Saban. The Crimson Tide head coach joined The Pat McAfee Show on Thursday and explained his handling of Milroe and the Alabama quarterback situation.

“I think that, first off, the other quarterbacks had very close competition. And they didn’t really get much of an opportunity to play,” Saban explained. So we started this conversation [with Milroe] with the fact that, ‘Hey, we’re going to maybe look at somebody else playing the position. May last for a quarter or whatever. But then, you’ve gotta get ready to play, and I want to see you handle this.'”

Nick Saban was pleased with the way Jalen Milroe handled it as he named him the starting QB on Monday. Saban cited Milroe’s leadership in the USF game as a part of the reasoning.

He believes the whole process will end up being good for Milroe and his career moving forward.

“Everybody handles frustrations a little differently, and I think sometimes you’ve gotta direct your frustration and make it a motivator. You can get upset by it. You can get angry by it. But you can also get motivated by it,” Saban said. “I think in the end this will make him better.”

Saban recalled a Hall of Fame moment that involved Michael Jordan when discussing how Milroe has a chance to grow from being benched.

It remains to be seen what kind of impact the decision ultimately has on Milroe, but he expects it to be a positive one.

“I always remember Michael Jordan, one of the greatest basketball players of all time, and he had three people when he gets into the Hall of Fame – the coach that cut him, the coach that benched him and the guy that took his place when he got benched,” Saban explained. “And he said, ‘This directed my feelings for my whole career, in terms of how it motivated me to be the best player that I could be.’ We want our players, when these things happen, to direct their feelings in a way that’s going to help them be better players.”

Saban is happy with the way Milroe responded this week in practice and expects him to play well on Saturday against the Rebels.

“Jalen did that this week, and I’m pleased with his performance. He’s got nothing to prove here. He’s our guy. He’s the guy that we have confidence in,” Saban said. “I just had a meeting with him a little bit ago. Clean up some fundamental things and watch him play.”