Pete Thamel: 'Seems pretty obvious' Jalen Milroe is starting QB vs. Texas

Jalen Milroe seemingly erased any doubt, at least through one game, that he’s Alabama’s rightful starting quarterback.

Now, he’ll have a huge spotlight on him during Week 2 as the Crimson Tide host the Texas Longhorns in primetime. Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian was very complimentary of Milroe ahead of facing the signal caller.

ESPN’s Pete Thamel noted if Nick Saban wanted to potentially extend any quarterback competition, Milroe would’ve been pulled earlier, not later.

“Well, no matter what you look into for the future for your fortune teller, it seems pretty obvious Jalen Milroe will get the start against Texas on Saturday,” Thamel said on College Football Live. “He led Alabama to six touchdown drives.

“And after those six drives, they put Tyler Buchner in the game. So, if Nick Saban wanted some semblance of competition, he could have done it when the game was already a blowout in the second quarter. 

“The way Saban played the quarterbacks marked a clear line of delineation between one and two and Jalen Milroe did what Nick Saban wanted. He was efficient, he managed the game, he didn’t turn the ball over.”

Jalen Milroe impresses in first Alabama start

Milroe went 13-of-18 passing for 194 yards, three touchdowns and ran seven times for 48 yards and two scores. That seems like a pretty darn good performance regardless of the opponent, in this case, Middle Tennessee.

“I think Jalen did a good job,” Saban said postgame. “I think he’s had a good fall camp, I thought he played well in both scrimmages, I think he’s more confident, doing a good job in the passing game. His athleticism helps him. I mean, we score a touchdown on a fumbled snap, which wasn’t his fault. The center, the ball slipped out of his hand and rolled back. He picks it up and runs it for a touchdown. He’s a threat to pull the ball on the zone plays, which we scored on that. And I thought he threw the ball effectively. I thought he played well.”

Buchner went just three-of-five passing for 27 yards and Ty Simpson also had a little playing time, throwing one pass and completing it for five yards.

But all of the buzz around Alabama’s QBs was about Milroe.

“There was one play in the game where they ran sonic field blitz, which we were supposed to check out of the play,” Saban said. “We didn’t get it checked. So there’s always things like that you could do a little bit better, but I think that experience is basically an accumulation of things that you learn from the mistakes that you make. 

“That’s what experience is. And I think as he continues to develop and gain experience, he’s gonna play better and better. But I thought he played well tonight.”