Kalen DeBoer on how he can help maximize Jalen Milroe

Alabama Crimson Tide head football coach Kalen DeBoer has many objectives to accomplish in 2024. But there is none bigger on the field than finishing this season as champions of the college football world. And in order to do so, DeBoer, we’ll have to maximize the talents of star quarterback Jalen Milroe.

Getting the most out of Milroe this season will be no easy task, especially when playing in the college football gauntlet known as the SEC. Still, DeBoer has a plan to do it, and it all starts with the individuals surrounding the Crimson Tide quarterback.

“I mean, it’s Jalen, but it’s also the guys around him,” said DeBoer. “I think our system, when you’ve done it for 25 years especially when you’re at a smaller college level, the FCS level, Southern Illinois [and] Eastern Michigan, you’re adjusting to the guys that you have. The offensive volume of different things you’ve done, of course, it starts with your quarterback. I remember running G option back in 2002, and the quarterback had 25 carries a game sometimes. And then, in the years after that, there was a little more passing.

“You just adjust to your personnel, and that’s all built within. I’ve got smart people that I can work with on that offensive staff, like Brian Ellis, a coordinator coming from Georgia Southern, who can see things from a quarterback standpoint. So, [with] us all being in a room, we can make sure we’re really guiding and not have too many voices in Jalen’s ear. But also just making sure we’re making good decisions and continue to formulate a plan around him [and] also the other personnel that he has surrounding him.”

Milroe and DeBoer showed off what they could do last season in separate situations, with both playing a significant part and their program making it to the College Football Playoff. In 2023, DeBoer was successful in cultivating Micheal Penix Jr. into a Heisman-worthy quarterback who’s successfully led the Washington Huskies to the national championship game. Milroe showed that he could do it with more than just his legs, leading Alabama to a College Football Playoff semifinal matchup against the Michigan Wolverines under the tutelage of legendary head coach Nick Saban.

It is not a foregone conclusion that Alabama will be part of this year’s CFP 12-team field. The Crimson Tide must execute on the field to turn that dream into a reality. However, if DeBoer can squeeze every ounce of elite play out of Milroe, the road to a national championship will be a lot easier for the Crimson Tide in 2024.