Jalen Milroe pays homage to Jalen Hurts, credits him for committing to Alabama

From one Jalen to another and one Alabama quarterback to the next, Jalen Milroe certainly looks up to Jalen Hurts.

Following the 41-34 win over Georgia on Saturday, Milroe came to postgame media wearing a shirt with Hurts on it. When asked about it, he shared the influence that the former Crimson Tide quarterback had on him – even to the extent of making him want to come to Tuscaloosa. The opponent also made it no better time to honor him and what he did while at ‘Bama.

“Jalen Hurts is a great person to look at when it comes to handling adversity, when it comes to playing the position. I’m a Texas kid, he’s a Texas kid,” said Milroe. “He was one of the reasons why I came to the University of Alabama. If you look back when Alabama played Georgia, Jalen Hurts stepped into the game so I wanted to represent him today.”

“If he’s out there watching? Hey, Jalen Hurts,” Milroe said with a salute.

Hurts spent three seasons at Alabama over his collegiate career. While there, he completed 63% of his throws for 5,626 yards, 48 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions. He also rushed for nearly 2,000 more yards at 5.2 per carry for 23 more scores.

However, Hurts’ final year there was complicated by Tua Tagovailoa in a well-known quarterback competition. After leading the Tide to an SEC Championship and consecutive appearances in the national championship, Tagovailoa ended up being their starter in 2018.

After an ankle injury to Tagovailoa late in that year’s conference title game, though, Hurts came back into the lineup. He went 7-9 (77.8%) for 82 yards and a touchdown while also running for 28 yards and a score to help Alabama to a 35-28 victory over the Bulldogs.

Now, six seasons later, Milroe is the starting quarterback for the Tide for the second straight season. He has had an incredible start to his redshirt junior year, including last night’s career outing against the ‘Dawgs. In the all-time victory, he went 27-33 (81.8%) for 374 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception. He also rushed for 117 more yards with two more touchdowns.

There’s a lot of similarities between the two Jalens. Their successes against Georgia are among them with Milroe paying homage to Hurts this weekend.

“I love Jalen Hurts and I think he’s a great quarterback,” said Milroe. “I just wanted to represent him today.”