Nick Saban 'Jalen Milroe Has Nothing To Prove'

One of the biggest stories in college football this season has been the Crimson Tide's attempt to replace Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Bryce Young.

After three weeks it seems that Alabama head coach Nick Saban has found his leading candidate as he named redshirt sophomore Jalen Milroe starting quarterback in his Monday press conference.

Thursday the seven-time national champion joined Pat McAfee for the second of his new weekly appearances on his show and discussed why Milroe didn't play against South Florida, and why he's going to be the guy going forward for the Crimson Tide.

"Ya, well. I think that first off, the other quarterbacks had a very close competition and they didn't really get much of an opportunity to play. So we started this conversation with the fact that 'hey we're going to maybe look at somebody else at the position. May last for a quarter or whatever, but then you've got to get ready to play and I want to see you handle this'," said Saban to McAfee. "And everybody handles frustration a little differently. I think sometimes you've got to direct your frustration and make it a motivator, you can get upset by it, you can get angry by it, but you can also get motivated by it."

"I always remember Michael Jordan, one of the greatest basketball players of all time, he has three people when he gets into the Hall of Fame. The coach that cut him, the coach that benched him and the guy that took his place when he got bench. He said, 'this directed my feelings for my whole career in terms of how it motivated me to try to be the best player that I could be'. We want our players when these things happen to direct their feelings in a way that's going to help them be better players. Jalen did that this week and I'm pleased with his performance. He's got nothing to prove here. He's our guy. He's the guy that I have confidence in. I just had a meeting with him a little bit ago. Clean up some fundamental things and watch him play."

"He has nothing to prove. He's our guy."

Nick Saban on Jalen Milroe 🔥
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— Alabama DieHards (@DiehardsAlabama) September 21, 2023

Milroe will lead Alabama in his fourth career start, third this season, against the Ole Miss Rebels on Saturday as the Crimson Tide opens up SEC play.

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