Steve Spurrier believes Nick Sheridan has been key in Jalen Milroe's growth

Steve Spurrier was always high on Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe but he’s been fully unlocked thanks to offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan.

Think of a video game where you try to get every single Milroe ability. Sheridan already beat the game based on the way the QB has played so far.

Spurrier referenced the difference from last year to this one and raved about Milroe’s rapport with Sheridan.

“It was so interesting to me, about a year ago, Jalen Milroe was on the bench when Alabama played South Florida,” Spurrier said on Another Dooley Noted Podcast. “He wasn’t good enough to beat them, and I heard somebody say, the offensive coach, that’s there now. I think his name’s Sheridan. His scheme of things really has made him odds on favorite to win the Heisman right now. 

“So Jalen Milroe, and of course, Kalen DeBoer, you know, I went early in the year picking him to win the SEC and so forth. So we’ll see. We’ll see how long that goes. They played well but their defense gave up a bunch of stuff there at the end, right, which is interesting.”

Sheridan came over from Washington, following head coach Kalen DeBoer. While with the Huskies, he was the tight ends coach and was in the same role in 2019 at Indiana, while DeBoer was with the Hoosiers as an assistant.

A former Michigan quarterback, Sheridan seems to be pushing all the right buttons from Milroe. Remember that video game reference?

Jalen Milroe could be Heisman winner in 2024

And perhaps even scarier, as impressed as DeBoer was on Saturday, he thinks Milroe has room to grow, still.

“Yeah, coming out of the gates and I really felt like the last two weeks of practice, there was steps that were made and some little things,” DeBoer said on the ABC broadcast postgame. “And he’s got more ahead of him, too. There’s more room to grow. He did a great job. We gave him some time, he got comfortable early and he did with his legs and through the air.”

All told, Milroe finished with 491 yards of total offense and four touchdowns. He passed for 374 of those yards on 27-of-33 attempts with two touchdowns while rushing for 117 more and two more touchdowns. He accounted for three of those scores in the first 20 minutes of the game, as Alabama poured on an early 28-0 onslaught.

Let’s not forget the poise to throw a touchdown pass to Ryan Williams, who had his own highlight reel, for the game winning score following a 34-33 deficit too.

Alabama is back in action this weekend on the road at Vanderbilt.