Nick Saban details positives of Jalen Milroe's dual-threat abilities

Alabama has leaned heavily on Jalen Milroe during his first three starts of the 2023 season. Not only is he the leading passer as Alabama’s QB1, but he’s one of three players on the Crimson Tide’s roster to rush for at least 100 yards heading into Week 5.

Head coach Nick Saban has seen first-hand what Milroe is capable of, and revealed what sets his talents apart from other quarterbacks in the league — and how it benefits the Crimson Tide on a play by play basis.

“That should be helpful in terms of protecting [Milroe] better,” Saban said. “If [opposing defenses] play man to man and everybody turns their back, he has an opportunity to make plays if he can beat [the defender] one on one. But there are also opportunities to take it off.

“Everybody is going to have a different philosophy on how they want to play when it comes to how they want to control the quarterback … You never know how a team is going to approach that.”

Milroe’s numbers tell a similar story. Teams are pressuring Milroe to throw the ball and has been sacked 11 times so far because of it. He’s thrown three interceptions to boot, only adding to the notion that the Alabama QB1 struggles with decision-making.

That’s not all on him, as the Crimson Tide’s offensive line has struggled at times this season. Saban, as he does each week, is calling for everyone on his roster to step up ahead of the next game.

Even with the sack numbers, Milroe has accounted for 794 of the Crimson Tide’s 1,459 yards (54%) from scrimmage this season — and didn’t even play against USF in Week 3.

During Week 4’s 24-10 win against Ole Miss, Milroe threw four incompletions on 21 attempts while taking four sacks to boot. He scrambled or took a designed run on 16 occasions but totaled 28 yards on the night — proving to his critics that he can be a successful passer when Alabama can’t get the rushing game going.

Alabama faces Mississippi State for its first real road test of the season this Saturday. Milroe wasn’t a part of the USF neutral site game in Tampa, so he hasn’t played away from Bryant-Denny Stadium at all this season.

The cowbells will be out in full force as the Bulldogs — who, on paper, have no business hanging with the Crimson Tide regardless of the atmosphere. According to Vegas Insider, The Bulldogs are 14.5-point underdogs inside Davis Wade Stadium.

Kickoff is scheduled for 9 p.m. ET live on ESPN.