Jalen Milroe takes ownership of Alabama's offensive woes in Tennessee loss

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe was surrounded by cameras, phones and reporters in the bowels of Neyland Stadium on Saturday night. After the Crimson Tide’s 24-17 loss at Tennessee, Milroe shouldered the blame for Alabama’s struggles.

“I’ve gotta take full ownership of that,” Milroe said. “When it comes to communication up front, communication to the guys around, I’ve gotta do better on my end, playing with better detail. Communication up front and allowing our guys to line up properly with the communication. 

“So that’s something that going back, we’re just gonna build on and get better at and something that I acknowledge as we were playing. So it’s all about building, it’s all about rebuilding and also where we were not at our best today.”

Milroe threw for 239 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions on 25-45 passing in Alabama’s second loss of the season. His 56 completion percentage was his lowest of the year, and Saturday in Knoxville marked Milroe’s fourth straight game with an interception and second in a row with two picks. It was also his first game without a rushing score.

But his passing was off against the Volunteers. Alabama had an opportunity to score first at the Tennessee 2-yard line, but Milroe threw his first interception on a forced pass to Ryan Williams. He went right back to Williams on the next drive to give the Tide a 7-0 lead. But when Alabama was attempting to mount a comeback late, Milroe tossed a game-losing pick.

The quarterback was also harsh in his assessment of his accuracy in the Week 8 loss.

“That’s something I can definitely improve on, just giving our guys a chance,” Milroe said. “We harp on giving our guys a chance because they’re very explosive with the ball. So just putting it in the range of them and just trusting in them because I know they’re gonna make big plays if the ball’s in their range. That’s definitely something I’ve gotta improve on.”

Saturday was a sellout crowd at Neyland Stadium, and the raucous road environment proved difficult for Alabama with its four presnap penalties. Milroe took ownership of those, too.

“Before we go on the field, it’s important for the quarterback to understand and communicate with them so we can move forward in the drives and stuff like that,” Milroe said. “If I can make the job easier for Parker (Brailsford), that’s what I need to do, and then for our offensive line as a whole because those are the guys that are the foundation of our offense, so that we’re all clicking up front. 

“We’re gonna be an explosive offense and continue to have positive downs, positive drives with great communication.”

As one of Alabama’s team captains, Milroe must rally the troops as Alabama looks to bounce back from its most recent loss, knowing the margin for error the rest of the way is small.

“It’s all about how we refocus, how can we reflect and build on the film we just put out,” Milroe said. “Right now, it’s all about reflection and all about us. Refocusing our short-term goals and long-term goals as a group and just channeling our energy amongst each other so that we can be the best version of ourselves. 

“We acknowledge there’s so much more football left. It’s all about us when it comes to the approach and our mindset moving forward.”

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!