Kalen DeBoer reveals first impression of Jalen Milroe, progress this season
Many were curious how the Jalen Milroe and Kalen DeBoer pairing would work out after DeBoer became Alabama‘s new head coach this offseason and Milroe decided to stay in Tuscaloosa for another year. An experiment that’s safe to call a success so far following the Crimson Tide’s 3-0 start heading into their biggest game of the year against Georgia this weekend.
DeBoer recently joined The Triple Option podcast ahead of the marquee matchup and spoke about Milroe. Pulling back to the curtain on his first impression of him before even knowing he’d be his starting quarterback this season.
“I was excited to meet him,” DeBoer said. “When we were playing and getting ready to play the Sugar Bowl, and he was obviously on the field in the Rose Bowl, I remember walking by a TV just going to the locker room. And I was with a couple other coaches and seeing him make one play, just passing and seeing it on the TV, one of our coaches goes, ‘Man, (if) we face him, that’s going to be a problem.’ I told Jalen that, that’s kind of the visual that I had from afar really not having dissected and watching him play.”
DeBoer led Washington to a national championship appearance last season that was just a few plays away from being a matchup against the Crimson Tide instead of Michigan. Followed just a few days later by Nick Saban stepping down and DeBoer stepping up as Alabama’s next head coach, taking center stage in Tuscaloosa and meeting Milroe for the first time.
“Walking into the team room, it’s kind of a blur as I told you how fast everything happened,” DeBoer admitted. “I specifically remember seeing him front, not center, because he’s off to the right a little bit. But how can you miss — he’s got the smile from ear to ear usually and I think that was maybe a little different at the time. Because there were some stressful moments that those guys were all going through with the transition and meeting their new head coach.”
31 players transferred out of Alabama following Saban’s retirement, but not Milroe. One of the nation’s premiere dual-threat quarterbacks with an infectious personality that’s beloved by his teammates and coaches. Even his new staff who has gravitated toward his leadership quickly.
“But I do remember just even a short interaction with him and in a meeting with the leadership group where you could get a sense very quickly of what he was all about and how important it was to him to stay. To see things through along with many of the others who did the same. They had some unfinished business to do, it was important to get the train rolling as quick as you could,” DeBoer explained. “And he’s done nothing but help lead the charge in every way both as a player, as a leader, and as a person who represents our program every single day.”
Through three games this season Milroe has thrown for 590 yards and rushed for 156 yards with 14 touchdowns between the air and the ground. But maybe more importantly as it pertains to this weekend, he helped lead Alabama to a win against Georgia last season in the SEC title game. As the rematch and DeBoer’s biggest game with the Crimson Tide yet kicks off at 7:30 p.m. ET on ABC and streaming on Fubo.