Alabama QB Claims Texas Longhorns 'Dropped The Ball' In his Recruitment

Jalen Milroe apparently wanted to be the next Texas Longhorns QB, but Tom Herman dropped the ball.

Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe (4) is sacked by Texas linebacker David Gbenda (3) during the game / Aaron E. Martinez / USA TODAY NETWORK

At one point, the Alabama Crimson Tide star quarterback was set to become a Texas Longhorn.

In the summer of 2019, Milroe was offered and quickly committed to the Longhorns and then-head coach Tom Herman. And for a year, it seemed like Milroe was in line to be the Longhorns' next QB of the future.

Obviously, that never happened. Milroe de-committed from Texas in August of 2020, and Herman was fired at the end of that season.

And according to Milroe, had Texas not 'dropped the ball' in his recruitment, he very well could have remained a Longhorn.

Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe (4) is sacked by Texas linebacker David Gbenda (3) during the game / Aaron E. Martinez / USA TODAY NETWORK

“Yeah they did,” Milroe said on a recent episode of Bussin With The Boys when asked if Texas dropped the ball. “There (were) some things during the process that (that I looked at and said for my future), I think Alabama would be best.”

Of course, Milroe went on to commit to the Tide, eventually earning the starting job and leading them to the College Football Playoff in 2023.

But did Texas truly drop the ball?

Well, in our opinion, no. What Texas actually did was make a decision - one that Milroe failed to mention in the interview.

Three days before Milroe's de-commitment from Texas, Herman and the Horns earned the commitment of a player by the name of Quinn Ewers, who at the time, was No. 1 ranked quarterback in the nation - as well as the No. 5 QB recruit of all-time, per 247Sports.

Due to the plan of Herman and his staff at the time, as well as the numbers on the roster, the Horns were only going to take one quarterback that year, and it wasn't until after the decision of Ewers that the Milroe made his choice to switch his pledge to the tide.

Of course, at the time, Ewers was considered a member of the 2022 class, but the plan was always for the DFW native to reclassify to the 2021 class. And to be fair, whether or not Milroe knew that at the time, is unknown.

Either way, Ewers eventually de-committed from Herman and ended up at Ohio State, where he stayed for a year before joining Steve Sarkisian in Austin for the 2022 season and taking over as the starter, while Milroe remained committed to the Tide.

Sep 9, 2023; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; Texas Longhorns quarterback Quinn Ewers (3) gets off a pass / Gary Cosby Jr.-USA TODAY Sports

So, whatever the case, Milroe ultimately felt like the Tide was better equipped at the time to get him where he wanted to go.

“Texas was an option and it was an option staying close to home which is Houston, staying there. And I was committed to Texas for two years," Milroe said. "The biggest thing I had to get out of my way was setting up the next 40 years of my life, not just worried about the present. But looking at the future and when it came to it, everyone wants to sell you the dream. (You come here), we’re gonna develop you and we want to put you in position to do this. But like, not the hard questions are how you gonna set me up to provide for my family one day?”

Would it have been fun to see what Milroe could have done in Austin? Sure.

Just like it would have been interesting to see Ewers progress in Ryan Day's offense in Columbus, or what could have happened if Sam Ehlinger had returned in 2021 for his final year and played under Sarkisian.

But now, it seems that things have worked out for the best for both Milroe and Ewers, who are each set to enter the 2024 season as the star and leader of a top-5 SEC program.