Jalen Milroe is the biggest what-if heading into Alabama's game vs. Texas

The what-ifs swarm around this week’s matchup between Alabama and Texas. What if Colt McCoy didn’t get hurt in the 2010 BCS National Championship Game? What if the Longhorns’ flirtation with Nick Saban had come to fruition back in 2012? Those questions have been discussed and debated ad nauseam by fans of both teams over the past decade.

Here’s a more immediate hypothetical to chew over before Saturday’s game. What if this week, instead of preparing for first-year Texas starter Quinn Ewers, Alabama was gearing up to face a quarterback currently on its roster?

Had a series of events played out differently, Alabama backup quarterback Jalen Milroe could have been suiting up in burnt orange this weekend. Dig deeper into the proposed scenario, and there’s reason to believe the former four-star recruit could have been the one taking snaps behind center for Texas this season.

That’s a what-if Alabama doesn’t have to worry about Saturday. Instead of prepping for Milroe’s dual-threat abilities, the Crimson Tide can rest easy knowing its quarterback of the future is contently waiting for his turn on the sideline.

Still, in a matchup shrouded in imaginary situations, it’s easy to wonder what might have been had the former Texas commit never flipped to Alabama in August of 2020.

Quentin Milroe and his wife Lola knew there was good news on the way. The couple still laughs about hearing Jalen’s footsteps as he bounded down the family staircase immediately after receiving his Alabama offer in May of 2019.

“Out of all the offers that Jalen got, the first one that made him cry was Alabama,” Quentin told Tide Illustrated. “I remember him telling us, ‘I can be coached by the greatest coach who has ever done it.’ That’s what brought him to tears.”

According to Quentin, Alabama was always his son’s top choice. The Crimson Tide was the first program the two visited following Jalen’s first varsity season of high school.

Born into a military family, Jalen was enamored by the order Saban’s program presented as well as the Crimson Tide’s commitment to excellence. A few weeks after receiving his offer, he camped at Alabama and even publicly named the Crimson Tide as the leader in his recruitment following the trip.

However, his journey to Tuscaloosa featured a few initial roadblocks.

Before Jalen could pull the trigger on the Crimson Tide, he was beaten to the punch by fellow four-star quarterback Drake Maye, who committed to Alabama in July of 2019. While that didn’t totally deter Jalen, it opened the door for other programs in his recruitment.

Texas had already been gaining momentum as head coach Tom Herman and offensive coordinator Tim Beck built up a strong relationship with the Milroes. That combined with Jalen’s desire to play closer to his family in Katy, Texas ultimately saw him commit to the Longhorns four days after Maye’s pledge to the Crimson Tide.

Then the recruiting road really began to wind.

After Texas posted a disappointing 7-5 regular-season record in 2019, Beck was relieved of his offensive coordinator duties that December. A month later, he left the Longhorns to take the offensive coordinator role at North Carolina State.

The departure caused one of the initial cracks in Jalen’s commitment to Texas. However, it was the continued pursuit from Saban and then-Alabama offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian that began to turn the tide in his recruitment. That only heightened following Maye’s flip to North Carolina in March of 2020.

“One of the questions he asked us one day was, ‘Dad, how can I tell Coach Saban no?’’’ Quentin recalled. “It wasn’t telling Coach Saban he didn’t want to go there, it was ‘How can I not go there?’ That was kind of the start of that process toward flipping.”

The timing of what came next created a bit of drama for the Milroes. On August 14, 2020, Texas received a commitment from five-star quarterback Quinn Ewers, then the No. 1 recruit in the 2022 class. Three days later, Jalen flipped to Alabama, crediting his relationship with Sarkisian and the Crimson Tide’s recent history with developing quarterbacks as his deciding factors.

"I needed a school that was better for me, that fit me and would allow me to thrive on and off the field,” Jalen explained to Rivals at the time, “and after hearing about [what it had to offer], I knew Alabama was the school I needed to be at."

Despite his explanation, Jalen faced criticism from Longhorns fans back home who attributed the flip to a fear of competition with Ewers.

“I hate it for my son the way it happened,” Quentin Milroe said. “His decommitment had absolutely nothing to do with Quinn Ewers coming to Texas. At that time, Ewers was in the class below Jalen, so we really didn’t know much about him to make us want to decommit.

“What caused Jalen to wait as long as he did to decommit was the fact that he had a lot of guys who he talked with and was building that class with. Once they got a quarterback, it was like OK, I can make the move now.”

Ewers decommitted from Texas a little more than two months later. He then reclassified to the 2021 class, spending last season on the bench at Ohio State before transferring to Texas in December.

Meanwhile, Herman was fired as Texas’s head coach on Jan. 2, 2021, and was replaced immediately by Sarkisian. Despite his strong relationship with the former Crimson Tide offensive coordinator, Jalen gave no thought to following Sarkisian to Texas, choosing instead to remain at Alabama and develop behind eventual Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young.

Ignore the fact that Jalen’s heart was always set on Alabama and that he never came close to transferring after flipping to the Crimson Tide. Hypotheticals aren’t nearly as fun when the pesky bits of reality come into play. Instead, imagine a scenario where the Rivals100 quarterback remained committed to the Longhorns or perhaps one where he transferred to Texas after Sarkisian took the head coaching job.

What would have happened then?

Texas was far from settled at the quarterback position last season while stumbling to a 5-7 record. The Longhorns began the year with freshman Hudson Card as their starting quarterback but turned to junior Casey Thompson by Week 3 after Card completed just 8 of 15 passes for 61 yards in a blowout loss to Arkansas. Thompson started the next 10 games but was less than spectacular himself, eclipsing the 300-yard mark just three times while finishing the season with 2,113 yards and 24 touchdowns through the air to go with nine interceptions.

Had Jalen been in the fold, it’s possible Sarkisian could have turned his way at some point in the year.

Jalen received limited opportunities as Alabama’s third-string option last season, completing 3 of 7 passes for 41 yards and a touchdown over four appearances. While it’s hard to tell by that sample size how well he would have done leading the Longhorns’ offense, his former quarterback coach, Brad Stanfield, believes he would have been up for the task.

“In my mind, he was ready to go as a freshman if he needed to be,” said Stanfield, who worked with Jalen from the summer before his eighth grade season until he joined Alabama last year. “There was no throw that he couldn’t make. It was more along the lines of being able to pick up protections and fronts, being able to check run plays and get the best situation, all the requirements that come from behind running a system. But, based on how he’s picked up Alabama’s system, I think he would have been ready to go.’”

Thompson transferred to Nebraska leaving Ewers and Card to compete for the starting role at Texas this offseason. Those familiar with Texas’ program believe Jalen would have been firmly in the mix as well had he broken into the Longhorns system last year.

“It would have probably been Jalen and Quinn Ewers battling for the starting job this year,” Orangebloods recruiting editor Jason Suchomel told Tide Illustrated. “Who would have won? I don't know. I mean, you know, Quinn was the hotshot No.1 prospect, but Jalen was no slouch. Jalen would have had another year in the system with Sark. I mean, who knows if Quinn Ewers even transfers here if Milroe is on the roster?”

Based on their Week 1 performances this year, Jalen would have certainly made the competition interesting. After coming in for Young early in the third quarter during Alabama’s blowout win over Utah State, Jalen completed 8 of 10 passes for 76 yards and a touchdown to go with an interception.

Meanwhile, Ewers experienced an up-and-down debut for Texas. The five-star redshirt freshman was intercepted on his first drive against Lousiana-Monroe but rebounded to finish the day 16 of 24 for 225 yards and two touchdowns through the air.

When asked to make a hypothetical prediction on who would have won in a competition between Jalen and Ewers, Suchomel sided with the current Texas starter due to his ability to fit into Sarkisian’s West Coast offense.

Stanfield is a bit more biased but said he wouldn’t bet against his former protégé. That being said, he’s happy with how things turned out.

“Jalen Milroe would have easily been one of the top two guys over there, and he could have definitely taken that starting spot,” Stanfield said. “The thing about Texas though is it doesn’t really matter who the starting quarterback is. Part of the deal with Texas is they’re fronting what they have over there. They couldn’t even have a spring game because they didn’t have enough depth at offensive line. An injury here or there at receiver, and they aren’t too deep there either. I think Jalen made the right decision.”

Upon committing to Alabama, one of the first calls Jalen received was from Young. At the time, the future Heisman winner was the Crimson Tide’s heir to the throne as he waited a season behind starter Mac Jones during the 2020 season. His message to Jalen: “Come on, we’re going to do this together.”

Young and Jalen have formed a strong friendship since then. During last week’s opener, the two were caught on camera taking part in a finger-roll celebration following Young’s second touchdown pass of the game. That type of connection has been common over the past year and a half as the starter has played the role of big brother and mentor.

“I don’t think there’s anybody better in the country for Jalen to come and learn from,” Quentin said. “Bryce is a heck of a kid. He’s so humble in how he presents himself, and he was so welcoming to Jalen. That made it easier for him because he had someone he could learn from and not someone who created any friction. Their relationship is outstanding.”

Despite serving in a limited role during his first season at Alabama, Jalen was able to sponge off of Young, taking note of the starter’s tendencies both on and off the field. Those observations were evident this offseason as the redshirt freshman has drawn plenty of praise for his improvement over the past few months.

“He's a lot more comfortable in the offense now,” Young said of Jalen earlier this week. “A lot more in command, a lot more in control. You just get to see the Saturdays, but throughout the week, he's working really hard. He's understanding things a lot better in the meeting room. You get to hear how he sees things. He's processing things super quickly. So, I'm super excited for him and the development he's had throughout his tenure here."

Jalen will have another year to soak up Alabama’s offense from the sideline as Young plays out what figures to be his final season before making way for the NFL. From there, the Texas native is set to battle Ty Simpson as well as incoming freshmen Eli Holstein and Dylan Lonergan for the starting role behind center.

Predicting how that competition will play out at this point would require a whole new set of hypotheticals. Although, one thing is for sure. Regardless of how things unfold, you’re unlikely to see second-guess from Jalen.

“He's Alabama through and through, man,” Stanfield said. “I mean, you just know, that was a perfect spot for him, a perfect pick for him, a perfect marriage for him.”