Kalen DeBoer raves about Jalen Milroe’s leadership at Alabama

Alabama‘s season didn’t pan out the way head coach Kalen DeBoer envisioned it. Nonetheless, he’s still thankful for his players, specifically his quarterback. After the Crimson Tide’s loss to Michigan in the ReliaQuest Bowl, DeBoer praised QB Jalen Milroe for his leadership in the 2024 campaign.

“I think everyone would probably share the same feeling I have, is that the guy always speaks about the team. He always speaks about his teammates,” DeBoer said. “It’s not about him. He leads that way every day in our program.

“When you’re the quarterback of any football team, the eyes are always on you, especially when you’re at Alabama, and you’re going through some ups and downs once in a while in the course of a season, it takes on a heavy burden sometimes.”

Milroe had a tumultuous season, ultimately finishing with just 10 more passing yards than he had in the 2023 campaign while nearly doubling his interception total. Alas, Milroe still had numerous shining moments.

Perhaps most notably, Milroe completed 27-of-his-33 pass attempts for 374 yards and two touchdowns compared to one interception in Alabama’s Week 5 win over Georgia. The Crimson Tide standout also rushed for 117 yards and two scores in the victory.

Unfortunately for Milroe, he also had his fair share of lackluster performances. For example, in Alabama’s Week 13 loss to Oklahoma, Milroe completed just 11-26 passes for 164 yards while throwing three interceptions and zero touchdowns.

Despite Milroe’s questionable moments, DeBoer never gave up on him. DeBoer said part of his faith in Milroe is due to his positive attitude.

“He’s just steady. He stays the course,” DeBoer said of Milroe. “The ability to move forward, I thought that that is something even in the midst of times when he maybe didn’t make a play that he could have made or wanted to make or even a mistake, which everyone is going to make a mistake here or there, I thought that that’s one area where he’s really improved, especially the last half of the season.

“I think our guys appreciate that in him. I think that they have taken on as a team, too, and always tried to move forward, even when we’re not perfect.”

On Jan. 2, Jalen Milroe officially declared for the 2025 NFL Draft. ESPN NFL Draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. recently ranked Milroe as the third-best available quarterback in the 2025 NFL Draft.