Ahead of first Iron Bowl start, Jalen Milroe recalls Bryce Young's 2021 heroics

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe will be playing in his first Iron Bowl on Saturday, Nov. 25, but it won’t be his first trip to Jordan-Hare Stadium. Milroe traveled to Auburn two years ago and watched Bryce Young lead the Crimson Tide to an overtime win.

Young orchestrated a game-tying drive in the final 1:32 of regulation, throwing a touchdown to Ja’Corey Brooks to make it 10-10. He went on to hit Slade Bolden and John Metchie for two overtime touchdown passes before connecting with Metchie again to win the game.

Ahead of his first start against the Tigers, Milroe looked back on Young’s road performance.

“When you talk about four quarters, you talk about Fourth Quarter Program, you talk about mental toughness, you talk about willing to compete, you talk about grit, it all goes into that game,” Milroe said on Monday. “There’s many areas where you can see how evident that was. So seeing football in different lenses my freshman year, that’s what I saw. 

“It shows nothing but how great of a leader Bryce Young is. His mental toughness, willing to lead the offense through every situation. And then, our whole team as a whole. They showed mental toughness, they showed grit, they showed we can finish. They showed all kind of different areas. 

“We talk about naysayers, we talk about people that doubt Alabama as a team. That was an opportunity for us to sustain throughout a game and then push through all external factors.”

Milroe will be making his 11th start of the season when Alabama takes on the Tigers in its final regular-season game, and the Crimson Tide quarterback is playing his best ball of late. In the last three games, Milroe has thrown for 650 total yards and six touchdowns on 43-of-61 passing (70.5 percent) while adding 31 runs for 190 rushing yards and seven scores.

Auburn, on the other hand, is coming off a 31-10 loss to New Mexico State. But when asked if a disappointing loss can galvanize a team, Milroe pointed to needed improvement of his own.

“We’ve got to fix some things from that game and see some things we need to improve on moving forward,” Milroe said. “We’ve got to work on the task at hand, which is really to improve on this past weekend. Try to clean up some things from that game. 

“I’ve got to do a better job on my end being a better quarterback for the team. We’ll worry about Auburn as we approach this week. We know we’ll have a tough task going into Auburn this weekend and we’re excited for the challenge.”

Having already watched some film on Alabama’s in-state rival, Milroe said he saw a “gritty” team that is “going to give us their all.” The Tigers have the SEC’s fourth-best passing defense (1965 yards per game) and have recorded 11 interceptions through their first 11 contests.

Although he has never faced Auburn and didn’t grow up in the state of Alabama like some of the Tide’s other players, Milroe is well aware of the challenge he will face Saturday on The Plains.

“No matter what state you’re from, you do know about the Iron Bowl,” Milroe said. “Being from Texas, I know about the Iron Bowl, for sure. I grew up watching it. But to be able to experience the Iron Bowl, it’s going to be a great experience, for sure. Especially going on the road to Auburn. It’s definitely going to be a big challenge for us. 

“But I do know about the history of it, of the game. It’s very exciting going into the week.”

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