Kalen DeBoer’s resume of developing elite quarterbacks is getting richer by the year.

The head coach and his high-flying offense at Washington helped Michael Penix Jr. parlay his pinpoint accuracy into a top-10 selection in this year’s NFL draft. DeBoer’s fingerprints are also on Jake Haener, who earned a fourth-round selection in 2023 after picking apart defenses from the pocket at Fresno State.

That streak of NFL passers might continue next spring, as Jalen Milroe is projected as a possible early-round pick. However, if the Alabama quarterback is indeed destined for the next level, his path might look a bit different than his DeBoer-led predecessors.

Milroe’s game doesn’t mirror Penix’s or Haener's. Not even close. The 6-foot-2, 225-pound playmaker can sling the ball around with his arm, but it’s his 22-mile-per-hour speed that truly sets him apart as a prospect. That’s led some to question how he’ll fit in under DeBoer at Alabama this fall.

That is, those who haven’t seen what the head coach can do with a dual-threat quarterback.

Lorenzo Brown laughs at the notion that DeBoer’s offense is built exclusively for pocket passers. The quarterback’s mobile skill set worked just fine during his two seasons at Sioux Falls where he posted a 29-0 record while helping DeBoer collect a pair of NAIA national titles.

Brown earned NAIA Player of the Year honors in 2009, completing 68% of his passes for 3,221 yards and 40 touchdowns with only six interceptions while leading the league with a 190.5 passer efficiency rating. He was just as deadly on the ground where he ran for 844 yards and 16 touchdowns while averaging 6.0 yards per carry.

Milroe will face much steeper competition this fall than the defenses Brown torched at the NAIA level. Then again, Brown (5-foot-11, 195 pounds) humbly points out that he didn’t exactly match Milroe’s freakish athleticism during his college days.

As for what to expect this fall, Brown is as anxious as anyone to see what his former head coach has cooked up. If it’s anything like what he experienced 15 years ago, Alabama is in for a treat.

“It’s going to be exciting,” Brown said. “People are going to be shocked at what’s going to happen. Not to say that Penix wasn’t able to run, but that wasn’t necessarily the strong suit of his game. The wrinkles that Kalen can put together for Jalen are going to shock people. I’m not saying it’s going to be a night-and-day difference, but it’s going to add a bit more flavor to the offense.”

The footage is dark and grainy, but if you’re looking to find elements of how effective Alabama’s offense can be, this four-minute highlight reel of Sioux Falls’ 2009 win over North Dakota is a good place to start.

Due to USF’s dominance at the NAIA level, it was often hard to judge its offense against overmatched opponents. During the 2009 season, the Cougars outscored their opposition by a combined 347-33 over their first six games. However, a Week 7 trip to FCS-level North Dakota figured to present a more fitting challenge.

That lasted all of one quarter, as DeBoer quickly diagnosed a hole in the Fighting Hawks’ defense before using Brown to nickel and dime them down the field.

After seeing his quarterback attempt to force the ball downfield early in the game, the head coach noticed North Dakota’s defense was leaving the underneath routes open. Wide open.

“You thought, there’s no way it can keep being that open,” said Kurtiss Riggs, who served as USF’s quarterback coach at the time. “Well, it was. And Coach DeBoer just kept calling it. He just kept helping Lorenzo with disguising it, but they were still the same plays. … I think we ran four plays the entire game. I mean, we disguised the formations, we motioned, we did everything we could to dummy it up, but it was still essentially the same four plays.”

Brown accounted for all four touchdowns in USF’s 28-13 win on the day. That included three scores through the air on 20 of 33 passing without an interception. He also racked up 116 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries.

“He definitely knew how to utilize every player’s skill set to the best of their ability, and he always put us in situations where we had a good scheme but then our natural abilities could also take over,” Brown said. “It’s really what separates him on the coaching side of things. He sees everything in a defense, and he’s always prepared to attack any weaknesses. As a quarterback, he really sets you up for success.”

DeBoer isn’t tearing up his playbook for Milroe. He’s just altering it.

The head coach’s system at Alabama still has all the same calls it did at Washington. He’s not necessarily spending his nights scheming up entirely new looks for the dual-threat quarterback either. Think of it rather as ordering a different item off the menu. The trick is finding which courses pair with Milroe’s palate and playmaking ability.

“We’re opening the whole playbook to what I wanna run,” Milroe said at the beginning of camp. “So that’s been awesome to have that opportunity. So now that we’re in fall camp, it’s all about narrowing down the plays I like. The offense is catered to me. That’s been the best thing so far is seeing that.”

With mobile passers such as Milroe and Brown, the key is creating a Catch-22 for the opposing defense. With Brown, DeBoer focused on shifting the pocket or having his quarterback roll out to the perimeter to develop run-pass options. The plan figures to be similar for Milroe, who has the speed to beat defenders to the edge as well as the arm strength to punish the defense downfield when it begins to creep in.

“They both allow you to open up the offense,” DeBoer told Tide Illustrated. “When you have a quarterback who can move like that, you have an extra weapon back there. When the defense drops down, you are able to push the ball downfield, which both of those quarterbacks can do. Or if the defense is playing back, then you have more room for designed runs and reads. We were able to do a lot of things with Zo. That’s what we’ve been doing, I think that’s what Jalen’s capable of doing this season.”

While DeBoer works to put his quarterbacks in the best possible positions, he has to make sure to leave room for a little magic when things break down. For Brown, that included a final step to each one of his progressions.

“We’d break down the reads, what the ones twos and threes were and everything,” Brown said. “And then, at the end of the day, if none of that was open, he’d tell me to let my God-given ability take over and make a play. He knew I had that ace up my sleeve where I could just take off with my legs and make something happen.”

Throughout his time at Alabama, Milroe has thrived under chaos, using his feet to make plays when the pocket breaks down. In those situations, expect DeBoer to extend a similar green light to the one he gave Brown.

“You can never create a play for the intangibles,” Riggs said. “That’s the one thing I think Kalen will work through with Jalen is, ‘Hey, sometimes you just got to take over. Sometimes there’s going to be mistakes made because of it, and sometimes there’s spectacular plays. You got to be willing to accept both those as a coach.”

Unlike his predecessor at Alabama, DeBoer refrains from swearing. You won’t catch him throwing his headset or berating his players on the sideline either. Still, there’s a distinct tell when the head coach is about to boil over.

“When DeBoer gets fired up, he really doesn’t cuss, but he gets this kinda screechy voice when he yells,” Brown said giving his best imitation of his former head coach.

Brown heard that voice from the sideline during a game early in his first season at USF. The struggling quarterback had failed to hit a string of passes before letting a third-and-6 throw sail over the head of a receiver on the flats.

“Zo! He’s wide-ass open,” a frustrated DeBoer barked angrily toward his quarterback.

“It was like, ‘Coach, I know he’s open,” Brown shot back. “You don’t think I want to hit the completion?”

The mild flare-up was short-lived, as Brown felt a hand on his shoulder five minutes later.

“He actually came over and apologized for getting me going,” Brown said. “From there, he just kinda calmed me down and told me, ‘Hey, I know you’re capable of hitting these balls. We’re going to go as you go, so just relax, calm down and take it one play at a time each drive. Let’s get back to playing like you know how to play.’ That gave me the confidence I needed to shake things off and play better in the second half.”

There haven’t been any documented sideline spiffs this offseason, but it’s hard to imagine DeBoer and Milroe didn’t encounter a few frustrating moments while breaking a new offense at Alabama. Still, the head coach’s calming persona has created a positive environment for his quarterback’s growth

"He of course strives for perfection, but he acknowledges that it’s a work in progress so it’s always critique in private, praise in public," Milroe said earlier this week. "And that’s something that he does a really good job at."

Milroe went on to say that “football is fun,” under DeBoer, crediting the head coach’s upbeat attitude for spreading confidence and positivity throughout the team during camp. While that’s helped Alabama sustain its momentum heading into the season, DeBoer’s caring personality can also be a steadying force during tough times.

Brown learned of his grandfather’s passing just six days before USF’s national semifinal game against Saint Xavier in 2009. Heartbroken and alone, the Bristol, Connecticut native was left to grieve the news roughly 1,500 miles away from his family back home.

“DeBoer was one of the first people to call,” Brown said. “He talked to me and said a prayer for me. He told me he was there for me whether I wanted to go home or stay and play the game. Football was an afterthought. The only thing he cared about was how I was doing emotionally and what I needed at that moment.”

The thought of skipping the game never crossed Brown’s mind. Instead, he put together one of his best performances of the season, completing 13 of 20 passes for 204 yards and three touchdowns while adding 147 yards and another score on the ground in a 48-6 victory.

“I went out and had the game of my life and left everything out there on the field,” Brown said. “After the game, he was one of the first people I went and hugged. I was crying in his arms, and he just told me that my grandfather would be very proud of the performance I had today. Then he told me he loved me and he was proud of me.

“Moments like that stick into a young man’s mind. I’m 37 right now, and I still remember it like it was yesterday. When you know someone’s got your back like that, it feels like you can do anything.”

Brown can’t tell you how Milroe will perform on Saturday when he takes the field for his first game under DeBoer. He has a better idea of the feeling the Alabama quarterback will have when he steps into the huddle.

“I can tell you he’s going to be ready for anything,” Brown said. “The preparation and DeBoer’s game plan are unmatched. We’d already know what the defenses’ weaknesses were, and we’d attack them. It wouldn’t matter what they threw at us. Whatever they were the worst at, we would find it and make sure we would attack that.”

That assessment was backed up this week by Milroe, who said he has been able to play comfortably and confidently under DeBoer’s guidance this offseason.

“At the end of the day, when a player’s on the field he needs to play fast, free fearless,” Milroe said. “So with that, it comes with play calls, it comes with being familiar with the scheme, being prepared, taking notes when you’re in the film room so that when you get on the field you can play fast. The biggest thing as a player is you don’t want to be overthinking when you’re on the field.”

Throughout camp, DeBoer has taken a hands-on approach with Milroe, quizzing him on plays between series during practice. During his debut radio show Wednesday night, the head coach spoke glowingly about the redshirt junior’s progression, stating he’s been able to articulate feedback while using the offense’s new verbiage.

“He's done a great job of really taking it to the next level,” DeBoer said, “whether it's learning our offense or actually becoming more of a student of the game and learning defenses as well."

Milroe’s development will be put on display Saturday as No. 5 Alabama opens its season against Western Kentucky at 6 p.m. CT inside Bryant-Denny Stadium. As DeBoer’s newest protégé steps back into the spotlight, his progenitor is rooting for him to put on a show.

“Jalen will be all right,” Brown said. “I know DeBoer and the staff are going to have him ready to go. I know first-hand how exciting this offense can be. I’m excited to see what DeBoer can do with him at Alabama. It’s going to be fun to watch.”