Kirk Herbstreit praises Kalen DeBoer for adjusting offense to fit Jalen Milroe's skill set

Last year, Kalen DeBoer and Washington made it to the national championship thanks to a high-powered offense led by Michael Penix Jr. But when DeBoer took the job at Alabama, some wondered how Jalen Milroe would fit into the scheme – and Kirk Herbstreit sees some adjustments.

Penix averaged 37 passing attempts per game as he put together back-to-back 4,000-yard seasons in Seattle. Milroe, by comparison, is averaging just 17 through the first three games of the year while adding 12 rushing attempts per contest. While he can throw the deep ball well, the ability to make plays with his legs can open up the offense even more.

Through three games, Alabama has gotten Milroe involved in the running game. That’s where Herbstreit said DeBoer made the biggest adjustment, and it will continue to be a key part against Georgia on Saturday.

“I think when we found out that Kalen DeBoer was going to be the coach to replace Nick Saban, we thought, ‘Oh, okay, he’ll probably bring that Michael Penix offense to Tuscaloosa and run that with Jalen Milroe,'” Herbstreit said on SportsCenter Friday night. “But if you’ve been watching them here in the early part of this offense, Kalen DeBoer has done exactly what you’d expect: adjust to his personnel, which means utilizing No. 4 – yeah, he can throw the ball, and the deep ball, by the way, will be what Georgia needs to be able to defend against.

“But you want to be able to utilize this: when Bama is rolling with Jalen Milroe, it’s his ability to create. It’s his ability, even if you have a plan for his legs, at the end of the day, you’ve still got to go out there and execute. And that’s what Kirby’s probably been thinking about all summer, not just this week, is, ‘We’ve got to make this guy play from the pocket. We’ve got to spy him with one, spy him with two.’ They just played him last year in Atlanta, so they have a really good feel for what worked and what didn’t. If they can contain him, they can get out of here with a win.”

Milroe is off to a strong start in DeBoer’s new system at Alabama. He enters Week 5 with 248.5 total yards per game, which ranks ninth in the SEC. His dual-threat ability was on full display last time out against Wisconsin when he threw for 196 yards, ran for 75 and had five total touchdowns – three in the air and two on the ground.

Georgia and Alabama will square off Saturday in primetime at Bryant-Denny Stadium for the first time in the post-Nick Saban era. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET on ABC.