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Kalen DeBoer criticizes Jalen Milroe’s poor tackle attempt on pick-6 vs. OU
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Kalen DeBoer knows the interception itself was crushing enough.
Alabama was already down 17-3 midway through the 3rd quarter, Memorial Stadium was rocking and the Crimson Tide’s offense was going nowhere fast. Then complete disaster struck when quarterback Jalen Milroe threw short in the direction of, well, somebody apparently wearing crimson and white.
But the ball ended up in the waiting hands of Oklahoma linebacker Kip Lewis, who took off down the left sideline. It turned into a 49-yard pick-6, which gave the Sooners a 24-3 lead with 8:05 left in the 3rd quarter and effectively ended things for Alabama on this forgettable night.
PICK. SIX. SOONERS. ⏩@OU_Football x 📺 ABC pic.twitter.com/p1sJG2b66w
— Southeastern Conference (@SEC) November 24, 2024
DeBoer’s not under any illusions about his porous offense on Saturday, which managed a meager 234 yards. What he would’ve liked to see is a better effort from Milroe in trying to push Lewis out of bounds to at least make the Oklahoma offense have to score the touchdown itself.
“He’s got to find a way to get him out of bounds,” said DeBoer, who said that Milroe is a good enough athlete to be able to force Lewis to the sideline. “Find a way. Find a way to get the defense out there, hold them to a field goal. It’s not something you practice a lot. Find a way. That’s all I’ll say.”
"He's got to find a way to get him out out of bounds." – Kalen DeBoer when asked about Jalen Milroe's effort to tackle Kip Lewis on the pick 6 in Alabama's loss at Oklahoma pic.twitter.com/hzpty2W2H8
— The Next Round (@NextRoundLive) November 25, 2024
It was an altogether horrible night for Milroe, other than the dreadful pick-6. Milroe was just 11-of-26 passing for 164 yards and 3 interceptions, and he was a total non-factor with his legs.
Milroe and the Crimson Tide will look to finish the regular season strong this Saturday in the Iron Bowl, as resurgent Auburn comes to Tuscaloosa for a 3:30 p.m. ET kickoff on ABC.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
