How Offseason Tampa Trip Strengthened Bond Between Several Alabama Offensive Players

Jalen Milroe, Ty Simpson and a few other Crimson Tide players took a trip down to Florida to build connections on and off the field.

The Crimson Tide works out on the first day of practice for the 2024 season Wednesday, July 31, 2024. Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe (4) hands the ball off to Alabama running back Justice Haynes (22). / Gary Cosby Jr.-Tuscaloosa News / USA TODAY NETWORK

Alabama offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan described football as a game that rewards people that trust each other when talking about the relationship between a quarterback and his pass-catchers. Sheridan was a college quarterback himself at Michigan and has worked with quarterbacks at various jobs around the country, so he almost two decades of experience watching that relationship play out.

"The anticipation that's required to play and to count on one another when the wideout runs the route to be in a certain spot and the quarterback is going to throw it at the right time to the right location– I think that requires trust, and we're building that everyday," Sheridan said.

This offseason, seven Crimson Tide offensive players–– Jalen Milroe, Ty Simpson, Emmanuel Henderson Jr., Justice Haynes, Jaren Hamilton, CJ Dippre and Richard Young–– spent five days training at House of Athlete in Tampa, Florida to further build those bonds and prepare for the season.

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"That trip was amazing," Haynes said. "It was a trip where we got closer as a brotherhood. We spent five days in Florida together. We were working out, but we had chemistry. We were learning the offense. We were learning things, helping each other, pushing each other just like we push each other here."

In the middle of summer break, it was an opportunity for those players to get out of Tuscaloosa and into a new environment, but still work on football. The guys were also able to have some fun shopping, eating together and hanging out. Haynes joked that there are a little better shopping options in Tampa than Tuscaloosa.

"We really went down there just to really build our connection with each other and build that relationship," Henderson said. "Get away from Alabama and do some things outside of here. It went really well.”

Henderson is entering his third season with the Crimson Tide at wide receiver and said he already had a good relationship with Milroe before the trip, but it grew stronger with both Milroe and Simpson.

"It’s improved tremendously from the spring," Henderson said. "We built a great connection— not only with Jalen, but Ty. Just practicing with each other has been going real great.”

If you've listened to any Milroe press conference or media availability over the last year, there's a good chance you've heard the phrase "getting 1 percent better every day." Whether he threw for four touchdowns or had multiple interceptions in a game, the messaging doesn't change much. Milroe is constantly focused on consistent, steady improvement. And that didn't slow down for the Alabama quarterback in the offseason.

"From that time when the offseason starts until now, there’s a lot of growth that happens if you have the mindset of 1 percent," Milroe explained.

As the returning starting quarterback, Milroe already has a good relationship with a lot of his teammates. He was voted a team captain in 2023. Kalen DeBoer has consistently pointed to Milroe as one of the guys who helped hold the team together during the coaching transition when Nick Saban retired back in January.

A quarterback is usually looked to as the leader of the offense and the team as a whole, and his work ethic can set the tone for everyone else. It was the second summer in a row that Milroe and a group of teammates went to train in Florida, and this trip helped strengthen the bonds that had been created last season.

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"Jalen definitely works hard," Dippre said. "I went down to Tampa with him in May, me and a few guys. We trained. Just having another connection on another level that we definitely became closer. He’s become closer with a lot of other players on offense."

The connection is playing out as the Crimson Tide is in its third week of fall camp and just over two weeks away from the season opener against Western Kentucky..

See also:

Where the Alabama Right Tackle Competition Stands Through Two Weeks of Camp