When four-star recruit quarterback Jalen Milroe committed to play college football at Alabama in August 2020, the Crimson Tide were entering the 14th season under coach Nick Saban and would go on to win their sixth national championship later that year.
Milroe spent three seasons with Saban, serving as Alabama's backup quarterback in 2021 and '22 before being promoted to the starting role last season. When Saban announced his retirement in January, Milroe was met with countless offers from other big-time programs to ditch Alabama in the transfer portal before he ultimately decided to stick with the Crimson Tide.
A few months into new coach Kalen DeBoer's tenure, Milroe is certainly glad he stayed in Tuscaloosa.
In an exclusive interview with Sports Illustrated's Claudette Montana on the "College Road Trip" series, Milroe talked about one play from spring ball that gave him his first glimpse of DeBoer's coaching philosophy.
"I took a shot downfield and I completed it," Milroe told Montana. "Everyone was happy, excited. It was a great play. Coach DeBoer pulled me aside and said, 'Is everything O.K.?'"
Milroe wasn't sure how to respond.
"[DeBoer] was like, 'You made a really good pass there. You don't want to go celebrate?' I was like, 'Next play, coach. You talk about a 1–0 mentality, next play.' ... He's like, 'Nah, uh uh. I want you to celebrate those big plays. You made a really good play there. Celebrate those plays.'
"That was my quick initial [impression] right there. There's positive reinforcement behind everything. There's always a sense of joy just being around him."
There have been plenty of big plays for Milroe to properly celebrate over Alabama's first three games of the 2024 campaign. The redshirt junior has thrown for 590 yards, eight touchdowns and no interceptions on 35-of-52 passing, good for a 213.4 passer rating, in Alabama's blowout wins over Western Kentucky, South Florida and Wisconsin.
The cupcake matchups are over now, though, heading into Week 5 of the college football season. No. 4 Alabama is set to meet No. 2 Georgia at Bryant-Denny Stadium on Saturday in a rematch of the 2023 SEC Championship Game.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Alabama's Jalen Milroe Shares Moment That Best Represents Kalen DeBoer's Coaching Style.
