The Tide will see Jalen Milroe step up as the starting quarterback in their season opener against Middle Tennessee this Saturday, according to ESPN.
Milroe, the redshirt sophomore, emerged as the pick in a tight preseason race over Tyler Buchner, redshirt freshmen Ty Simpson, and true freshman Dylan Lonergan.
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We learned about the call one before the showdown with Middle Tennessee at Bryant Denny Stadium.
Jalen Milroe will start at QB for @AlabamaFTBL in Saturday’s opener against Middle Tennessee State, sources tell ESPN. Milroe has taken most of the first-team reps this preseason while competing with Notre Dame transfer Tyler Buchner and freshmen Ty Simpson and Dylan Lonergan.
— Chris Low (@ClowESPN) September 1, 2023
Milroe is set to step into the shoes of Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young, who shook out as the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft. by the Carolina Panthers.
Nick Saban did not publicly name Milroe as the starter during his Thursday show. But he did hint at having made his decision known to the quarterbacks, sources say.
Saban also expressed a desire to showcase multiple quarterbacks in the opening game against MTSU.
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While the question of who will be Alabama’s quarterback in week one has been answered, Saban has been sure to communicate the conditional nature of the QB spot.
“I do think one thing, and I know everybody’s going to be interested in this whole quarterback situation, is the quarterback who plays on Saturday, that’s the quarterback for Saturday,” Saban said.
“The life of a quarterback, any quarterback, depends on how they perform.”
“If a guy plays well, that’s what creates security at that position, and if you don’t play well, because the first thing everybody does when you have success, the quarterback gets a lot of credit. But also, when things don’t go well, the first guy they point at is the quarterback. So a guy’s got to understand that the way he performs is really, really important.”
Grayson Everett is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @Grayson270
