Georgia preparing for 'Lamar-like' QB in Alabama's Jalen Milroe
ATHENS, Ga. — Georgia is preparing for a challenge this Saturday as the Bulldogs go up against an Alabama offense led by quarterback Jalen Milroe. Finding a comparison for the 6-foot-2, 220-pound athlete in the Crimson Tide backfield isn’t easy. He has the power and speed of the sport’s best running backs but is capable of throwing it like a top tier quarterback. While one reporter mentioned the name Tim Tebow to Kirby Smart, the Georgia head coach had another idea.
“No offense to Tim Tebow, but this guy is different. Tim was — I mean it was a different running style, very different running style in terms of what they did and how they did things. This guy is — I mean it’s like when I used to ask my sons who they were playing with on the Madden game, and they would say, ‘I’m playing with the Ravens,’ and I would say, ‘Why are you playing with the Ravens?’ And they would say, ‘I got Lamar Jackson and nobody can tackle him.’ Well, this guy’s a bigger, physical version of that,” Smart said. “He’s playing in a different speed than everybody else when you watch it. And that’s the way the Madden game was for him. And, you know, people — and the guy throws the ball really well.”
Milroe has helped Alabama’s offense go from a struggling unit early in the season to one that’s found an identity later on. A large part of that identity is tied to the legs of Milroe. The Katy, Texas native leads the Crimson Tide with 12 touchdowns on the ground this season. He’s gained 697 yards on the season, losing 258 as well to bring his total to 439, on 126 attempts. Milroe also has 2,526 yards and 21 touchdowns to just six interceptions on 158-of-238 (66.4%) passing.
“He has the ability to do both. He is a tremendous, tremendous football player. I mean, I didn’t really know until I got further into the games and watching them last night how good he really is at what he does,” Smart said of Milroe. “I think anytime you can scramble and extend plays, á la Stetson, really anybody, it makes it harder to defend. When you have the component of designed runs mixed in with that, it complicates it even more because he becomes an extra player, an extra guy to tackle, a physical guy to tackle.”
“Big, physical guy that has running back characteristics, but he has the ability to throw the ball, and he throws the ball well, especially off their play action game,” Smart continued. “He does a really good job of taking shots and throwing the ball down field. He sees it well, and they’ve got a massive offensive line to protect him with. So when you’ve got ability to run the ball as a designed run and then you also can run the ball in your scrambles, it just makes it harder to defend.”
Of course Milroe isn’t the only threat that the Alabama offense has to offer. He’s got talented players around him like running backs Jase McClellan and Roydell Williams and receivers Jermaine Burton and Isaiah Bond.
“You’re focused on the whole package. I mean, you’re trying to stop the entire unit, the entire group, as well as, you know, they’ve got a really good defense and they’ve got tremendous special teams. There’s no areas that you look at and go ‘Oh, that’s a weakness,’ or ‘Oh, they’re not very good at,’ Smart said. “They got really good football players. They’re well coached. Their special teams units, you see it. It pops out on the screen. They got starters all over it. So when you go to offense and you see Milroe and the leaders they have there, they’re really talented. They’re really tough. They’re sound. And he makes plays. He makes lots of plays, number one, with his athletic ability, but he makes them with his arm as well.”
“They’re athletic. They’re fast. They got speed all over the place. They’ve got some guys that really do well on the vertical balls. Obviously Milroe throws the deep ball really well. They’ve got intermediate routes. They got teams that play off of them, and they hit timing routes. They’re able to throw and quick gain and RPOs. Do a really good job of that. Their run after a catch has been good, and one of the key contributing factors to explosive plays for them has been if a play breaks down and the timing is not right, some quarterbacks have to throw it away. Some quarterbacks have to take off and run. They turn plays into massive explosive plays,” he continued. “So part of their plan, they know their quarterback is going to be able to extend plays. He has the longest time to throw in the entire NCAA. And they make plays out of those plays, and I think that’s really a contribution that they’ve made as a receiving core to him is the ability to get open on plays that may not have been by design.”
It’s not just Smart that’s aware of the challenge that the Alabama quarterback presents. His Georgia players know what awaits too.
“You know, he’s a very good quarterback. He manages the offense very well. He’s able to read coverages and do things very well, and with him being a dual threat, he has the ability to extend plays, and that allows his guys to do extra things to get open, so just being able to try to prevent that, that’ll be a great challenge for us,” cornerback Kamari Lassiter said. “I would say he’s definitely more of a different guy. We haven’t really faced anyone to his caliber like that this season, so he’s definitely more of a different guy in the things he’s able to do and the way that he’s able to play.
Kickoff time for Saturday is set for 4:00 p.m. ET on CBS. Georgia, according to oddsmakers, has risen to almost a touchdown favorite over Alabama.
