Nick Saban's message to Jalen Milroe ahead of QB's return to Texas

Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe will make his sixth career start Saturday, and while this past weekend at Mississippi State was the first road start, the Crimson Tide’s trip to College Station, Texas, will mark the first-ever game that Milroe will see the field in his home state.

The last time Alabama played at Kyle Field in 2021, Texas A&M pulled off an upset and handed the Tide its lone loss of the regular season. Appearing on The Pat McAfee Show on Thursday, head coach Nick Saban said he doesn’t really bring that loss up when addressing his team, and he also shared his message to his quarterback before his homecoming game.

“I try to prepare them for what we’re going to get into,” Saban told McAfee and company. “It’s going to be a tough environment, a lot of noise – we’ve got to practice that today – so that we can stay focused on what’s happening on the field and not let all the external factors of what’s happening around us influence or affect our play.

“I just met with Jalen, and I told him the same thing. I said, ‘Just because you’re going back to Texas, that doesn’t mean you’ve got to do something different. You’ve just got to play your game fundamentally, do what you’re supposed to do so that gives you the best chance to be successful.’”

Milroe has started four of Alabama’s five games this fall and has improved his accuracy over his last two starts. The Katy, Texas, native was 27-of-45 (60 percent) across the Middle Tennessee and Texas matchups, but after an absence at USF, Milroe has maintained an 81.8 percent mark on 27-of-33 passing to begin SEC play against Ole Miss and Mississippi State.

RELATED: Jalen Milroe reflects on first start vs. Texas A&M

He will look to continue his upward trend against a tough Aggie defense, which ranks second in the SEC in both passing defense (157.6 ypg) and sacks (20). But to help him and the rest of the offense, Alabama has played more to Milroe’s strengths of late, Saban told McAfee.

“I think we’ve had to make some subtle changes to feature things that he can do, which I think he’s responded to very well, and I think our entire offense has responded to well,” Saban said. “I do think he’s getting more and more comfortable and confident in the passing game – anticipating things, getting the ball out of his hand a little bit quicker. And of course, his ability and his athleticism to create plays is really a tremendous asset and puts a lot of pressure on the defense.

“So I’m happy with the progress that we’ve made. Not satisfied with where we can and want to be, but every day that we look at the film on Monday, and I tell the players this all time, most of the time it’s what we didn’t do, not necessarily what the other team in terms of what is stopping us from getting better and better.”

Speaking to reporters Monday, Milroe was naturally asked about playing less than an hour and a half from his hometown of Katy, Texas, but he quickly diverted back to UA’s preparation.

“Texas is a great place,” Milroe said. “That’s where I was born and raised. I’m from Texas, love Texas. I will have a lot of family there. But it’s going to be a great game, great atmosphere down in Texas. We have a challenge this week, a big opponent. They have a great defense, great offense. So we’re excited. We have to prepare as much as possible, and we’re just trying to grow every single day of this week.”

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