Most pressing question for Alabama: How to use Jalen Milroe

In the wake of Alabama‘s 34-24 loss to Texas, the Crimson Tide will be looking for answers on how to piece together the parts and make them functional enough to still make a run at the College Football Playoff.

The margin for error is now razor thin.

At least one Alabama insider believes there’s a fundamental question the Crimson Tide has to answer before it can do much else.

“To me the first question is what is (Jalen) Milroe?” BamaOnline’s Tim Watts said on the Andy Staples On3 show. “We know what we think he is. How are you going to use him? You can’t really put in an AJ McCarron gameplan for him, or a Bryce Young gameplan. You’ve almost got to use him like a Blake Sims.

“He’s going to throw the ball deep. Let him power run. Again, he’s built like Herschel Walker. He’s a big, muscular, weight-lifting guy back there. If you’re going to run him, run him, have a meaning to him.”

“Now, having said that, Texas did a nice job containing Milroe and forcing him to operate from inside the pocket more often than not.”

Milroe finished the game with only 44 yards rushing, while he went 14-of-27 passing for 255 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions.

“One of the best things that Texas did the best job of that nobody’s mentioned really is they had a spy on him, a big, athletic kid that can run with him, kind of contained him,” Watts explained. “He got loose a few times, did some nice things with his legs, but for the most part with all that pressure coming up front I would have expected more bigger runs.”

With Milroe kept in check, the Alabama offense struggled to keep pace with an elite Texas offense.

Is Alabama’s talent level suspect?

One of the key questions coming out of the game against Texas was whether Alabama’s talent is everything it’s cracked up to be. But Watts believes Texas was simply loaded offensively.

“On paper that’s one thing. I still think Alabama’s got a lot of talent on the field,” he said. “Not being the best wide receiver of that duo last night, you’ve got a guy that’s probably a first-round pick and probably a second-day pick at worst, for Texas. You’ve got a tight end that’s going to get first-round consideration. You’ve got a quarterback that’s going to go in the first three rounds, I think it’s still to be determined exactly where he goes. There’s a lot of talent out there.”

Alabama’s issue isn’t, to Watts, a lack of talent. Rather, it’s about figuring out how to get the most out of Milroe by using him properly.

Do that and the rest likely falls into place.

“(Amari) Niblack was no joke, either. He had some plays for Alabama, did some nice things,” Watts said. “And Alabama’s wide receivers made some big plays theirselves. So not being as good as Texas on the short end for Alabama doesn’t mean they lack talent. They’ve still got a lot of talent, they’ve just got to get it out there.”