Alabama is the No. 4 team in the country heading into the 2023 season, but questions abound about the Crimson Tide’s quarterback situation.

On Saturday night against Middle Tennessee, starter Jalen Milroe eased some of those concerns, combining for 5 total touchdowns in Alabama’s 56-7 blowout victory.

After the game, Middle Tennessee head coach Rick Stockstill had plenty of praise for the Crimson Tide.

On Alabama’s dominance: 

“I’ll give Alabama credit. Obviously, they’ve got a heck of a football team. The first half, we did some things offensively, moved the ball a little bit. Hit a pass, got on their side of the 50, but we got a lineman downfield and backed us up. Then, the next possession, we get another little drive going, and we had a chop block that backed us up. They hit us pretty quick. Out of the gates, it’s 14-0 in the first quarter. But we hung in there. Their quarterback’s a heck of a player and made some really special plays with his feet. He had the bad snap there and just improvised and had a 25-, 30-yard touchdown run, whatever it was.

“But we hung in there. It’s 14-0, and the last couple, three, four, five minutes of the second quarter, they kinda bombarded on us a little bit. We drive down there, got a chance to make it 14-3, 14-7, we missed the field goal, and then they hit us, two quick ones. A couple deep balls over the top of us there to go into halftime 28-0. Then they hit another one coming out of the second half right off the bat. They’ve got really good players, obviously. But I was proud of our team, how we fought, how we competed. We played extremely hard, and when you play teams like this, you gotta play perfect, and we didn’t play perfect. But I like our team. Told them in there, I told them last couple minutes of the game, we’re gonna have a heck of a team, heck of a year. I like our team. We just gotta make the corrections where we made mistakes tonight and get ready for another really good SEC team … next weekend.”

On Alabama QB Jalen Milroe’s big day: 

“Very impressed with their quarterback. Obviously very dynamic with his feet. Throws the ball really well, has a great touch. I think he’s gonna have a special year for them. I thought he was really good. Their offensive line is ginormous and protected really well for him for the most part, and their backs run downhill. They have good players. Their receivers can run, they’ve got tight ends, guys that are athletic and are big targets there. And then they’ve got a really, really good offensive football team, and to me it starts with No. 4. I mean, he’s pretty dadgum special.”

Here’s a video of Stockstill’s postgame press conference from Saturday night: