Nick Saban: Jalen Milroe played with a lot of anxiety vs. Texas A&M

Jalen Milroe was thrown under some very bright lights this weekend. With Bryce Young missing Alabama’s highly covered game against Texas A&M, it was left to Milroe to get the job done. He did in the end, but it didn’t come without them being on upset alert. While Milroe helped them get the win, Nick Saban does think the moment may have gotten to his backup quarterback.

Saban spoke about Milroe’s performance during his press conference on Monday. He believes Milroe had anxiety throughout the game and that it led him to not play to their expectation.

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“I just think Jalen played with a lot of anxiety. I don’t think he allowed himself to let his training sort of guide him. (He didn’t) trust and believe in it so that he could have success in executing plays. You can’t turn the ball over and not execute plays like they’re designed relative to the read of what you should and shouldn’t do,” said Saban. “Those are all things that we definitely need to improve on so that we can utilize all 11 players on our offensive team.”

Milroe finished the contest with 12/19 passing for 111 yards and three touchdowns. However, he accounted for three of Alabama’s turnovers with an interception and a pair of lost fumbles. It stifled the Crimson Tide offense at times and allowed A&M to hang around up until the final buzzer.

With the weapons at the disposal of the Alabama offense, Saban wishes Milroe had found a way to slow down and better rely on his teammates. It was all down to decision-making and Saban didn’t seem to be a huge fan of some of the choices at this point of Milroe’s development.

“We’ve got skilled guys that can make plays. We’ve got to distribute the ball at the quarterback position so they can. Whether it’s a run, pass, an RPO, or an advatage throw, you’ve got to make the right choices and decisions on those things,” Saban said. “I think we definitely need to improve on all those areas.”

Milroe did an admirable job filling in for Young by not letting Alabama stumble where they very well could have. It’s hard not to blame the 19-year old for feeling the pressure based on the moments he was forced into. With Young on his way back, though, he can continue his development as QB2 until his next opportunity arises.