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Kalen DeBoer shares reason behind excitement for Jalen Milroe in 2024
By Paul Harvey
Published:
Kalen DeBoer is gearing up for his first season at Alabama, and a lot of expectations for the 2024 season are tied to Jalen Milroe’s performance.
After ascending into the starting quarterback role in 2023, Milroe showed what he can do as a game-changing dual-threat option under center. Now, he needs to take a leap as a passer in 2024 in DeBoer’s offensive system, but the head coach is excited about what he’s seen so far.
In a conversation with Greg McElroy for “Always College Football,” DeBoer said there’s no doubt Milroe is the leader in the QB room, but it’s a talent-rich group as the Crimson Tide move into a new era. DeBoer praised Milroe’s intangibles and said he’s seen the QB take things a step further in connecting with his teammates.
“His leadership, his character traits, all those things: you’re never going to question those,” said DeBoer.
As for Milroe’s talent on the field, DeBoer said he has paid a lot of attention to what Milroe produced late in the season, particularly during the SEC Championship. Those performances provide the excitement around the QB heading into the fall.
“I watched the SEC Championship a number of times, and just some things you really see that were happening at the end of the year. Gives you really lot of excitement and hope going into the fall,” DeBoer explained.
Alabama’s expectations
Alabama maintains some high expectations, even without the recently retired Nick Saban. The Crimson Tide are +950 to win the SEC Championship at FanDuel, the 4th-best odds entering the season behind Georgia, Texas and Ole Miss.
On a larger scale, the Crimson Tide also have the 5th-best national championship odds in the country at +1400 with Georgia the betting favorite entering the season.
In order for Alabama to compete, Milroe will need to deliver some big-time performances, but DeBoer’s comments throughout the offseason have been consistently positive about what his outlook for the position. Shortly after the spring game, DeBoer said Milroe’s big-play ability has been progressing in the offseason.
“It’s just timing, it’s confidence, it’s read progressions and things like that. And identifying ‘there’s my one-on-one. There’s my guy.’ Where to put the ball,” said DeBoer. “So I think it’s something that has gotten to this point and it was great to see [Milroe] continue to take that next step and have that progression.”
More recently, DeBoer pointed to Milroe’s improved processing ability as a factor that allows the QB to play more freely within the offense:
“Processing, whether it be processing and going through progressions and being more disciplined with his footwork and really paying attention to his footwork,” said DeBoer. “…I think as the spring went along, he continued to elevate and just play ball. Just moving the chains and playing ball and not trying to run a play but run an offense.”
DeBoer is saying all the right things about his QB in the offseason and the progress Milroe has made. However, it’s just about time to put it all on the field, and Milroe will need to be on top of his game to help fans adjust to a new era of Alabama football.
Paul Harvey lives in Atlanta and covers SEC football.
