Report: Alabama quarterback race leaning toward Jalen Milroe

As Alabama gets ready for next week’s spring game, the biggest storyline is the ongoing quarterback competition. Jalen Milroe and Ty Simpson are both vying to replace Bryce Young as the starter, and it sounds like one of them has an edge.

AL.com’s Mike Rodak joined The Paul Finebaum Show and said Milroe might have the upper hand as spring practice rolls along. The Crimson Tide had their first scrimmage last week and their second one on Wednesday, meaning there’s still plenty of time for things to change. But in that short time, Milroe has looked good — especially as a passer.

That’s why Rodak said if he had to choose, Milroe would be the more likely choice at this point.

“I think if I was a political reporter [and] this was a Congressional race, I’d say it leans Jalen Milroe at this point,” AL.com’s Mike Rodak said on The Paul Finebaum Show. “But this is only one scrimmage in and there’s still within the next eight days, you’re essentially tripling the amount of live reps that these guys are going to see in actual scrimmage game situations because they have a scrimmage Saturday then the spring game next Saturday.

“So there’s still a week and a half here where things can continue to progress, but it does seem like Jalen Milroe’s gotten better as a passer, which was his big question mark. It seems like Ty Simpson has gotten better, but I don’t know if there’s been that undeniable ‘We need to get him on the field’ sort of talent that was seen with Bryce Young before him.”

Greg McElroy: Alabama QB Jalen Milroe has ‘taken a lot of really nice strides forward this spring’

That assessment is consistent with what former Alabama quarterback and current ESPN analyst Greg McElroy told On3’s J.D. PicKell. He joined The Hard Count and suggested Milroe has progressed well in the offense under new coordinator Tommy Rees, and his athleticism is a reason why he could find himself becoming QB1.

“I think in order to first understand the quarterback competition, we must first look at the offensive identity that they’re going to lean on and what their points of emphasis will be,” McElroy said. “Now, based on all accounts, Jalen Milroe’s taken a lot of really nice strides forward this spring. I would say because of his athleticism and knowing how many off-schedule plays have occurred not just for Alabama, but across college football, that athleticism, that explosiveness, being arguably the most gifted guy with the ball in his hands on the entire roster, that would go a long way in allowing him to keep hold of that starting quarterback job.

“But there are issues, because sometimes, when you let someone down and you have a disappointing performance as it relates to ball security, those are difficult things to forget and that’s a difficult narrative to adjust. That was clearly something he struggled with last year. … I think that is going to be a difficult thing for him to shake, but his athleticism I think does give him an advantage over Ty Simpson knowing that if a play breaks down, he can still potentially take it the distance.”