Nick Saban on Jalen Milroe: It's all about how he performs

After months of speculation, there will be a quarterback taking the field for Alabama. For now, Jalen Milroe has won the job, getting the nod for Middle Tennessee State. Nick Saban is going to play other guys as well but Milroe will be the first to walk out there with the first team.

Cole Cubelic of the SEC Network asked how Milroe can make an impression on Saturday night. He just wants the third-year quarterback to be confident in himself in the midst of a good performance. Saban likes how Milroe has prepared for the game alongside offensive coordinator Tommy Rees.

“I think it’s all about how he performs and how he plays,” Saban said pregame. “We want him to be confident in how he plays and what he’s doing. He’s prepared well. I think Tommy has a good job with him. I think we got a good plan. Just got to perform.”

Alabama will walk onto the field as a 40-point favorite against Tennessee State. This could be the national championship game in Houston and Saban would likely be looking for the same thing out of Milroe. Making good throws while still impressing with his feet would be considered a quality performance from the starter.

We could potentially be looking at a new era of Alabama’s offense — even if we have possibly seen it in the past.

Jalen Milroe taking Alabama “back to the future”

Offensively, the Nick Saban era can be split into two different periods. Pre-Tua Tagovailoa was running the ball down people’s throats. Once Tagovailoa took over as the starter, Alabama was throwing the ball all around the field.

If Milroe winds up being the guy long-term, ESPN’s Tim Tebow believes Alabama is heading back to the pre-Tagovailoa offense — “joyless murder ball” as the Alabama players in Tuscaloosa like to call it.

“Jalen Milroe is someone that I believe has won the locker room with his leadership. He’s so likable,” Tebow said on ESPN Saturday morning. “I think he’s galvanized the locker room and proved his deep ball accuracy. This kid is an absolute freak. He’s a legit 4.4 [40-yard dash] guy and he can also run over people.

“If you go back to last year and you saw him against Arkansas, he ran over and around that entire defense. He’s a very gifted kid so within Alabama’s offense, it’s back to the future for them.”