It hadn’t been a walk in the park for Kalen DeBoer in his first year in Tuscaloosa. With Nick Saban out of the picture, Alabama hasn’t sunk deeper than this season in forever as far as judgements go, especially when they lost to Vanderbilt. Fans wanted DeBoer’s head! But through it all, the Crimson Tide rose above the current and maintained their winning culture, thanks to the resilience of their star QB Jalen Milroe. 

Following their 52-7 victory over Mercer, Pat McAfee poured all the credit to Jalen Milroe on The Pat McAfee Show. On November 20, BOSS RIPS uploaded an excerpt from the show where the ESPN analyst reminded us of the Crimson Tide’s poor performance in October. Then he added, “Now their strength of schedule is better than everybody, the football judgment watching them better than everybody, and if Jalen Milroe is gonna continue to just kind of do Jalen Milroe s—, I mean they’re almost unstoppable.”

When Jalen Milroe lost the game against Tennessee in October, a lot of intense evaluation was done on him. And some experts and analysts even came to the conclusion that he isn’t NFL-ready. But he silenced every one by winning his third straight win after that fateful week against the Volunteers. In the last game, he shone as the dual threat he is by recording 186 yards and throwing two TD passes while racking up 43 yards on the ground with one touchdown. 

Saturday’s victory over the Bears took Alabama’s record to 8-2 as they moved three spots higher in the College Football Playoff rankings. They’re currently No. 7 in the latest release, meaning they would be a No. 9 seed against Notre Dame if the rankings were final. Their playoff hopes could become a reality, given that they don’t suffer any more losses. While the remaining two weeks can still impact the rankings, McAfee believes Alabama is in good hands as long as Jalen Milroe keeps up with the momentum. 

Jalen Milroe’s popularity sees new heights

If you’ve talked behind Jalen Milroe’s back, perhaps it’s time to reconsider your words. With the Mercer victory, he has now solidified his prominence in the SEC as one of the five players in the conference history to record 15 passing touchdowns and 15 rushing touchdowns in one season. This season, he recorded 2,232 yards and 15 TDs in passing and 608 yards and 17 TDs in the run game in 10 games. 

Alabama’s OC and QB coach Nick Sheridan said of Jalen Milroe, “He’s uniquely talented. His ability to throw the football, and obviously his speed and quickness as an athlete.” He’s also in the Heisman Trophy race as the 6th favorite to win. The 21-year-old still has two more games against Oklahoma State and Auburn in the regular season along with at least one postseason game. So the stats are only going to grow as Milroe looks to lead Alabama to their first playoff appearance under Kalen DeBoer.