Nick Saban dishes on how Alabama adjusted offense to best utilize Jalen Milroe

Jalen Milroe has been back as the starter for Alabama over the past two weeks with quality returns in both. That led Nick Saban to give his QB1 some positive props on his development on Thursday.

In his weekly appearance on ‘The Pat McAfee Show’, Saban was pleased with Milroe’s growth in just the past two or so weeks. He has seen him add more to the passing side of his dual-threat ability. Meanwhile, he’s also seeing the entire offense embrace the approach with Milroe as their quarterback.

“I think we’ve had to make some subtle changes to feature things that he can do, which I think he has responded to very well and I think our entire offense has responded to well,” said Saban.

“I do think he’s getting more comfortable and confident in the passing game. Anticipating things, getting the ball out of his hand a little quicker,” Saban noted. “And, of course, his ability and his athleticism to create plays is really a tremendous asset and puts a lot of pressure on the defense.”

Since Milroe returned to the lineup, he has completed 27 of his 33 attempts for a completion rate of 82.2%. That’s just over a 20% difference from what he put up during their opener over MTSU and loss to Texas.

That efficiency has led to nearly 400 passing yards, a touchdown, and an interception against the Rebels and Bulldogs. Mix in nearly 100 rushing yards and two scores and it has been a decent bounce-back from Milroe.

Those steps altogether have made Saban a pretty happy man. They have led him to see his offense in a new light over this stretch. Now, he thinks he is looking at a unit that’s a few self-inflicted wounds away from really finding its footing.

“I’m happy with the progress that we’ve made, not satisfied with where we can and want to be,” said Saban. “But every day that we look at the film on Monday? And I tell the players this all the time. Most of the time, it’s what we didn’t do, not necessarily what the other team did, in terms of what is stopping us from getting better and better.”

Milroe has elevated his game to close out September in a way that has those in Tuscaloosa pretty pleased. He’ll need to keep it up, though, if the Crimson Tide want to score enough to leave Kyle Field with a win over Texas A&M this weekend.