Skip to main content
Texas

What Texas's unsung coach, AJ Milwee, brings to the table

Eric Nahlinby: Eric Nahlin07/19/25
AJ Milwee
AJ Milwee (Will Gallagher/Inside Texas)

Without a shadow of a doubt, A.J. Milwee is the least discussed Texas football coach. That’s sort of odd given he coaches the highest profile position—quarterbacks—and was one of a handful of coaches to follow Steve Sarkisian from Alabama when he was hired in 2021.

[Sign up for Inside Texas for $1 and get PLUS access up to the Ohio State game!]

Probably the most Texas fans have talked about Milwee was when he led the recruiting effort of Arch Manning. Per a source close to that recruitment, it was Milwee’s doggedness on the recruiting trail that helped put Texas over the top.

The day after Manning committed in June 2022 that source said, “Because I want to make sure he gets his laurels, the relationship between Arch and AJ Milwee is the strongest of any head coach, coordinator or QB coach at any school that recruited Arch, including Sark (who clearly did a phenomenal job). I know you probably know this but I’m not sure this happens without Milwee.”

High praise.

Earlier this week at SEC Media Days, Manning offered a quote on his position coach, “Milwee is great. He’s really detailed oriented and doesn’t let anything go by. He helps me everyday and we’re always improving. It’s been great working with him these past two years.”

Years ago, sources told IT that it was Milwee’s attention to detail and thoroughness that won him the position of offensive analyst when he interviewed with Sarkisian at Alabama. At the time, Milwee was the offensive coordinator at Akron.

At Media Days, Sark went into more detail on what Milwee brings to the table, “We forged a great relationship at Alabama when I was the quarterback coach and offensive coordinator. Coach Milwee was an analyst on staff. He had just come from Akron, where he was one of the younger offensive coordinators in the country. When I got the job at the University of Texas, he was the first guy I hired. We had worked step by step all the way through those two years at Bama, winning the national title.”

While he’s known as the QB coach, Milwee’s duties extend much further beyond. Said Sark, “Brought him on here to Texas, and he’s grown into now he’s not just our quarterback coach, he’s our co-offensive coordinator. There’s nobody I work closer with on a daily basis than AJ Milwee from the development of game plans, to the scripting of practice, to talking about play calls during the game, to recruitment of players.”

At just 39 years of age, one wonders if Milwee will eventually branch out from the Sarkisian tree, but for now he gets to reap the rewards from his strong recruiting efforts and time spent with one of the game’s greatest offensive minds.

You may also like