Zach Arnett praises arm strength, vertical passing of Alabama QB Jalen Milroe

It’s been an up-and-down start to the season for Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe, who now seems to have taken over the starting role. If there’s one thing he’s shown he excels at as a passer in a few weeks is throwing the deep ball, though.

And Mississippi State head coach Zach Arnett, prepping for the Crimson Tide, knows Milroe has the ability to drop a bomb over the defense. As such, Arnett explained on the SEC coaches teleconference what his defense will need to be prepared for.

“Well he’s got an extremely strong arm, so he can launch it over your head in the secondary. And at some point, far enough down the field pretty much all coverage is turned to man-to-man at that point,” Arnett said.

Along with Milroe, Arnett said, Alabama has some receivers that can really move and take the top off the defense, such a Jermaine Burton.

“They have great speed, Burton, No. 3, tremendous speed. So he can take the top off the coverage, a bunch of other receivers who can, too. And Milroe can let it fly,” Arnett said.

In three games this season, Milroe has thrown for six touchdowns and three interceptions, with a penchant for connecting on the long ball, like he did for a 54-yard touchdown this past Saturday.

The Bulldogs have a number of injuries early in the week

Arnett was asked at first about defensive tackle Trevion Williams and defensive end De’Monte Russell earlier in the week. Williams didn’t travel to South Carolina for Saturday’s game due to an injury, while Russell was banged up during the game.

“Trevion was unfortunately unable to go last week. De’Monte was in the game and he played. He just got dinged up a little bit,” Arnett said. “So like everyone on our roster, we evaluate them week to week and if medically it’s safe for them to be out there and the trainer’s good to go with them, then they’re cleared to play and we play them. And if not, then it’s next man up mentality.”

Williams, who is a redshirt freshman, has 6 tackles, including 1.5 tackles for loss. He has played off the bench for Mississippi State in three of four games. Russell has started all four games on the season. He has 15 tackles, 1 tackle for loss and a quarterback hurry.

Arnett also provided an update on Bulldogs star running back Jo’Quavious “Woody” Marks, who was also banged up against South Carolina.

“I think Woody’s going to be… just as I was saying, we’re going to evaluation, give him as much time as possible during the week. If Woody feels good to go and the training staff clears him good to go, he’ll go,” Arnett said. “I mean we know Woody will go. If not, that’s why you’ve got depth. That’s why you’ve got other guys in the room.”