Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Jalen Milroe said his former offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien once told him that he shouldn’t play quarterback.
Milroe was answering a question about having doubters while talking to reporters ahead of Alabama’s College Football Playoff against the Michigan Wolverines when he mentioned O’Brian being one of his detractors.
‘All my life, even when I was in college, my own offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien told me I shouldn’t play quarterback,’ Milroe said on Thursday.
‘There’s a lot of things I had motivation on, and that’s something that added motivation.’
Milroe joined the Crimson Tide in 2021, the same year O’Brien was hired by Alabama and has since thrived as Bryce Young’s successor following the 54-year-old coach’s departure to become the New England Patriots offensive coordinator.
‘How would you feel if somebody told you you suck?’ Milroe said in repsonse to a follow up question about how O’Brien’s remarks made him feel.
‘The biggest thing for me – be true to myself and stay the same. Nothing changed about me. Only thing that changed was that I had an opportunity, and I seized it.
And so for me the biggest thing was stay true to myself and add a bigger purpose to anyone’s opinion…
‘He told me there´s a bunch of positions I could have switched to, but look where I am now. So who gets the last laugh?’
In his first full season as Alabama’s starting QB Milroe has thrown for 2,718 yards, 23 touchdowns and six interceptions. He’s also picked up 468 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns on the ground.
Milroe also led the Crimson Tide to a win in the SEC Championship over the then No. 1 Georgia Bulldogs, which allowed them to make this year’s CFB playoff.
O’Brien and the Patriots on the other hand have limped to a 4-11 record this season and rumors have run rampant that the coaching staff will be searching for new jobs once the season in completed.
Milroe says he isn’t a finished product, and he has ample room to improve. But after those back-to-back landmark victories, both the quarterback and his Tide teammates are confident Milroe’s skills and resilience will give them a chance against the powerhouse Wolverines.
‘I think the biggest thing was embracing hard,’ Milroe said, echoing a phrase used by coach Nick Saban.
‘For a quarterback to succeed in the SEC and to play at an elite level, you have to embrace hard, because there are a lot of uncertainties while you play the position, and you have to have the right, proper mindset,’ Milroe added. ‘The biggest thing is having the right mental approach to the games, the week and everything that goes on with being a starting quarterback, especially in the SEC. That´s the biggest thing, trying to learn as much as possible.’
Although Milroe prefers to pass, he´s an all-around athlete who can run aggressively and physically. Michigan defensive coordinator Jesse Minter didn´t bite on comparisons to NFL star Lamar Jackson, but said Milroe is a major dual threat.
‘It´s not like a quarterback that´s scrambling and he´s going to slide and make sure you don´t hit him so you don´t get a penalty,’ Minter said. ‘This dude is going to run like a legit tailback or like a legit slot receiver once he´s in space.’
Along with his obvious skills, Milroe has developed a reputation as a tenacious competitor who wills his team forward. He etched that determination into Alabama lore when the stepped up in the final minute of the Iron Bowl and threw a miraculous touchdown pass to Isaiah Bond on fourth-and-31.
‘I went home for the holidays, and that´s all I heard,’ Milroe said with a grin. ‘Being around family (saying), `What was going through your mind on that play?´ Well, you had to be there.’
Milroe beat out two contenders for the starting job last summer, but it lasted only until Week 2, when a two-interception performance in the Tide’s home loss to Texas prompted Saban to bench him.
When both of his backups struggled, the benching lasted only one week. After cheering from the sideline, Milroe returned and promptly led Alabama to a win over Ole Miss.
‘I took it as a learning moment,’ Milroe said. ‘Looked in the mirror. Figured out some things I need to improve on. At the end of the day, it´s all about being the right teammate, being the best teammate I can be. I lean on the FAMILY acronym: Forget About Me, I Love You. That was critical when I went into that week. … When it was an opportunity for someone else to play, I was just trying to be the best teammate I can be.’
