Alabama staff evaluates Jalen Milroe's performance vs. South Carolina

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe has had an excellent season to this point. Under new head coach Kalen DeBoer, Milroe has taken a huge jump, being talked about in Heisman conversations through the first half of this season.

Despite his strong start to the season, Milroe played possibly his worst game of the season against South Carolina in a closer-than-it-could’ve-been 27-25 win on Saturday. Milroe completed 16-of-23 passes for 209 yards and one touchdown, while throwing a season-high two interceptions.

The first interception came on the second-to-last play of the first half, where Milroe forced a throw into a window that wasn’t there, and the pick was ran back into field goal range, gifting the Gamecocks a free three points heading into halftime. That pick came off the heels of an intentional grounding rule safety on the previous possession. Those two plays spotted South Carolina five points, when Alabama had a touchdown lead.

Still, despite his mistakes, Milroe was relied upon heavily by the Alabama offense in the fourth quarter when he was needed most. He threw his lone touchdown in the fourth quarter, and extended drives when it was necessary with his legs as the game dwindled down to its end.

DeBoer, speaking to reporters on Monday, spoke about how he handles Milroe when those mistakes are made, and the importance of moving forward.

“I’m really intentional with him because I know how hard he is on himself,” DeBoer said. “And this is really going back to – I wasn’t with him last year, but I know in spring ball and just how he was and knowing that we are fighting for each other, fighting with each other – that’s not just me and him. That’s our football team. When we’re in those moments, it’s all about moving forward. No regrets when we walk off this football field, knowing we’ve given everything we’ve got, and that’s just what I try to do when it comes to those times, not just with him, with our whole team.”

DeBoer emphasized the togetherness that a team has to have when a game isn’t going perfectly and they’ve ended up in a tight situation.

“Those tight game moments, we’re all in this together, and we wanna to continue to learn,” DeBoer said. “And so I’m gonna remind him, coach him up on the situations we’re in, how to apply the things we’ve talked about throughout the course of our time together so far. How to learn what’s happening this game and then just continue to move on. And we just keep stacking these moments on top of these moments. He’ll remember anything that happened this game. He’s gonna remember what happened to him four weeks ago, and that’s what I love about him.”

Milroe faced immense pressure from a dominant South Carolina defensive front all game, being sacked four total times and hurried an additional time. Offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan evaluated how Milroe handled his decision making while facing that pressure throughout the game.

“I think Jalen has responded great in those moments. I think there’s always going to be plays where you wish you could handle it differently, I think that’s the nature of the position,” Sheridan said. “And so there were some learning opportunities that occurred in the game this past week and that occur every game, where choices you make, decisions make, that work out in your favor, and maybe it wasn’t the right decision, so you still learn from there. And then, obviously, when the result isn’t what you want, relative to the play, you learn, you grow, you improve.

“You have conversations and communication of why that happened. And there’s always a story to whatever poor decision or every mistake that you make, so we just talk through that, learn, grow, improve and try to get better throughout the week of prep. And try to just put them in, Jalen, but all the other players, in position to where things that you didn’t execute as well as you’d like, put them in that position in practice so you can get better.”

Sheridan was asked what the next step is in Milroe’s progression, and his answer was simple, and expected: steady, continuous improvement. A message that Milroe has been preaching since the first day of fall camp.

“I think each week is a new challenge. You know, I think you’re just continuing to grow, continuing to learn,” Sheridan said. “We talk to the players every week that every time you go out there on the field you send a message or an invitation. So when you have things that you do well, you’re sending a message to the other team that this is something that we’re really good at. When you struggle with something — any player, any scheme, any coach — then you’re inviting them to try to see if you fixed it. I think that occurs each and every week for us. Jalen’s no different.”

The improvement for Milroe has been undeniable since last season, not only on the stat sheet but in his visible level of comfortability with the offense and the things he’s asked to do.

He’s proved he’s one of the most explosive and capable quarterbacks in the country so far this season, and gets another massive stage to show it this weekend in Neyland Stadium against No. 11 Tennessee.