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Alabama names Jalen Milroe starting QB, what it means

47377776_10156854436900775_2208546246019252224_nby:Clint Lamb•09/19/23•

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alabama-football-names-jalen-milroe-starting-quarterback-what-it-means

Join the BamaOnLine staff Clint Lamb and Jimmy Stein as they react to the news of Alabama naming redshirt sophomore Jalen Milroe as its starting quarterback.

  • What the move means
  • How the offense needs to be built around Milroe
  • Similarites between Milroe and former Alabama QB Jalen Hurts
  • And more!

Snap count observations – Defense

Inside Linebacker

Deontae Lawson – 76 snaps (98.7%)

Trezmen Marshall – 33 snaps (42.9%)

Jihaad Campbell – 27 snaps (35.1%)

Kendrick Blackshire – 13 snaps (16.9%)

Observations: Lawson is a superstar. There’s really no other way to put it. The official stat sheet has him with a team-high 10 tackles on Saturday, but PFF has him with 12 total (10 solo). Of those tackles, a whopping 11 of them were defensive stops, which PFF describes as “tackles that constitute a ‘failure’ for the offense.” I don’t know that I’ve ever seen that many from a single game.

Lawson has been all over the place, too.

He’s making an impact in every facet. So far, he’s been an elite run-stopper with a good feel for gap responsibility. There’s plenty of physicality in the way he plays. He’s been a Plus defender in coverage, and he’s applied consistent pressure on quarterbacks when blitzing. His two sacks are tied for second-most on the team, and his pressure rate (six pressures in only 27 pass rush snaps) is up there with Turner and Braswell.

Alabama is getting elite play from its MIKE linebacker. There was once again rotation at the WILL spot though. Marshall continues to see the most reps there, but we saw Campbell’s share substantially increase in his second game back from a knee scope. After only getting eight snaps against Texas in Week 2, that number jumped to 27 against the Bulls. He’s getting closer to putting it together.

He was a lot better against the run. Plus, Alabama didn’t mind sending him on blitzes (18.5% blitz rate), which is a strength of his after playing a lot of EDGE in high school. I like Marshall, but I wouldn’t be shocked if Campbell eventually takes over as the full-time WILL. I know Blackshire is also still in the mix (and rightfully so), but I can this spot playing out similiarly to how it did with Lawson and Jaylen Moody in 2022. We’ll see.

For more defensive snap count observations, click here (requires On3+ subscription).

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