Jalen Milroe focused on maximizing 'right now' as draft decision looms

TAMPA, Fla. – Alabama’s ReliaQuest Bowl matchup with Michigan could be Jalen Milroe’s last game in a Crimson Tide uniform. Many believe the starting quarterback will enter the NFL draft after Alabama’s season ends, but Milroe isn’t quite ready to reveal his decision.

“I think, for me, it’s all about maximizing right now,” said Milroe after Saturday’s bowl practice. “Taking care of right now because future-tense, it’s hard to get to that point unless you’re taking care of right now. So I’m just gonna take in the moment of just playing with my guys right now. Prepare as much as possible, practice and take care of the right now.”

Milroe, a redshirt junior, is in his fourth year at Alabama and could have opted out of the Tide’s ReliaQuest Bowl matchup with the Wolverines on New Year’s Eve. But the two-year starter at quarterback intends to finish the 2024-25 season in Tampa with his teammates.

The 2024 William V. Campbell Trophy winner has thrown for 2,652 yards, 15 touchdowns and 10 interceptions while completing 65.9 percent of his passes this fall. Milroe has also rushed for a team-high 719 yards and 20 touchdowns on 152 attempts in his 12 outings.

Milroe has spent the last four years at Alabama and appeared in 37 career contests. Following Saturday’s bowl practice at Berkeley Preparatory School, Milroe spoke to reporters, and he was asked if he had anything he wanted to say to Tide fans before the 2024 finale.

“The best thing for me was just the support system of my coaching staff, and just along the way, of just having the great fan base of Alabama,” Milroe said. “Playing in Bryant-Denny is like no other. So every moment I had being the starting quarterback at Alabama, I didn’t take it for granted. It’s just something special being able to wear the script A, be a quarterback for this great state and represent my family.”

Milroe has led Alabama to 22 wins as the starting signal-caller. But the Tide fell short a trio of times in 2024 and ultimately missed the first 12-team College Football Playoff. While the first round produced some duds and left some wondering if the committee made the right choice by choosing SMU over Alabama, Milroe pointed to his team’s shortcomings.

“I think for us, we gotta acknowledge what we did,” Milroe said. “We gotta take care of the opportunities we had during the season. We had every opportunity to take advantage of that to extend our season, and with that, we just can’t look at hypotheticals. We gotta take care of right now and focus on Michigan. We can’t take of what was done in the past.

“But for us, we do acknowledge what we need to do to make every weakness into a strength, make our strengths even stronger. And so all we want to do is perform. Every opportunity that we have to play the game we love, we gotta do that and not look at what we can’t control.”

Milroe and Alabama will take the field for the final time this season on Tuesday, December 31, at Raymond James Stadium. The bowl game is scheduled to kick off at 11 a.m. (ESPN).

Not a member, Alabama fans? Join BOL today!

Have you subscribed to BamaOnLine.com yet? You can sign up for ONE MONTH of premium access to our Alabama coverage for just $11.99! Be able to read all of BOL’s premium articles and nuggets covering Alabama sports and recruiting and also join thousands of other Crimson Tide fans around the globe on the BOL Round Table message board! CLICK HERE!