Alabama QB Jalen Milroe announces he will play in ReliaQuest Bowl vs. Michigan

Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe has made it official: he will be playing in the ReliaQuest Bowl game on Dec. 31 against Michigan, according to The Wolverine’s Clayton Sayfie.

The second-year Crimson Tide starter made the announcement Thursday morning.

Alabama starting QB Jalen Milroe says he'll be playing in the ReliaQuest Bowl against Michigan.

“My thought process right now is finish this game out and get Michigan, so just being my absolute best I can be for my teammates, coaches."

— Clayton Sayfie (@CSayf23) December 12, 2024

“My thought process right now is finish this game out and get Michigan, so just being my absolute best I can be for my teammates, coaches,” Milroe said, per Sayfie.

Milroe, a redshirt junior who received the William V. Campbell Trophy on Tuesday, is still contemplating whether he will enter the 2025 NFL Draft or return to Tuscaloosa for his senior season.

Milroe had a roller coaster first season under new Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer. Despite combining for an SEC-leading 35 total touchdowns, including ranking second in the league with 20 rushing scores, Milroe struggled with consistency in the passing game with a 15-to-10 touchdown-to-interception ratio while throwing for 2,652 yards on 189-of-287 (66%) passing this season. Milroe also contributed 719 rushing yards on 152 carries this season.

“The mission right now is to complete the season. We have one more mission ahead, which is attacking Michigan, and that’s the whole thought process right now,” Milroe said Thursday, via NextRoundLive. “Being our absolute best so we can take care of our business when we play in Tampa. It’s all about going 1-0, preparing the right way, so that’s where my focus is at. Winning this game, preparing the right way, taking care of my body so we can be our best us. … I will be playing.”

Paul Finebaum expresses concern for Alabama in Year 2 under Kalen DeBoer

Alabama head football coach Kalen DeBoer quickly learned that life in the SEC is never easy. And, Paul Finebaum believes it could get worse in Year 2.

“I think it’s very tricky. I think most people are going to assume FSU will be an easy win. There’s no way you can’t assume that. But that’s it. The rest of the games may not look gigantic, if you’re watching from afar. But if you remember Alabama this year, the only time they played well in the conference on the road was LSU,” Finebaum explained. “The other games, I mean, they were terrible – the Oklahoma game, obviously, the Vanderbilt game. Tennessee, they lost. So, I really worry about this second season for Kalen DeBoer. There’s going to be a lot of pressure, the quarterback situation is going to be a little bit up in the air. Georgia, Missouri, South Carolina, Auburn – they could lose all four.

“That job comes with pressure on Day 1. He already has a lot of pressure. No matter what you say, you look at the season from a distance, ‘9-3, not bad. That’s about what we expected.’ But Alabama fans expected to get into the playoffs, and when that didn’t happen Sunday, it felt flat. He has to improve next year.”

Wade Peery contributed to this report.