FAYETTEVILLE, Ala. — Players built like Jalen Milroe aren’t supposed to be as fast as him. Redshirt freshmen who haven’t taken a meaningful snap in their college football careers aren’t supposed to be able to stand up to pressure in front of a sea of screaming road fans.
When No. 2 Alabama needed him most during Saturday’s 49-26 victory over No. 20 Arkansas, Milroe proved he’s built a little differently.
Clinging to a five-point lead early in the fourth quarter, the Crimson Tide found itself facing a crucial third-and-15 from its own 20-yard line. Starting quarterback Bryce Young had been knocked out of the game in the first half with a shoulder injury, and the offense was sputtering. Meanwhile, Arkansas was threatening to erase a 28-point lead, stringing together 23 unanswered points in front of a charged home crowd.
Alabama appeared to be a dead team walking, not only losing its grip on the game but also the SEC West. Then Milroe made a play.
Stepping up in the pocket, the dual-threat quarterback saw a hole in the Razorback defense and made his move, tucking the ball before churning downfield. After racing past the first-down marker at the 35-yard line, he put the moves on a defender at the 40. From there, he was gone, flying down the right sideline for a 77-yard gain to the Arkansas 3-yard line.
Running back Jase McClellan ran in a touchdown two plays later to give Alabama a 35-23 lead with 14:09 remaining. Just like that, the Crimson Tide regained control of the game.
"It stopped the bleeding for sure," Nick Saban said of Milroe's scramble. "That was third-and-long in bad field position. And if we don't make a first down, they're going to get the ball back and they're down by five with all the momentum in the game.
"So that was a huge momentum swing in the game, in my opinion. After that, we played better. After that, I didn't think they played as well."
As for what Milroe was thinking, he had just one thing on his mind.
“The biggest thing was just looking at the chains, see the best thing I could do for the team and I was able to use my legs on that play,” he said. “But if it wasn’t for the offensive line to make a hole for me, it wouldn’t have been possible. It all came down to the offense as a whole, all 11 guys stepping up, allowing that play to happen.”
Following Saturday’s game, Saban said Alabama is going to take a “day-by-day” approach with Young, who suffered an AC sprain on his right shoulder. However, Milroe’s scramble shows how deadly of a weapon he can regardless of the starter’s status moving forward.
The most impressive part of Milroe’s run is that Arkansas was ready for it. The Razorbacks even used linebacker Bumper Pool, their best tackler, to spy the quarterback on the play. That did them little good as Milroe sped past the defender with ease en route to picking up the first down.
“Jalen might be one of the fastest guys on the team,” Alabama left tackle Tyler Steen said. “You might not be able to tell, but we’ve seen him in practice. He’s a guy who can fly, so that’s expected.”
Alabama might expect it, but it’s rare to see a 6-foot-2, 212-pound quarterback get down the field as quickly as Milroe did.
“He knows how to make big plays happen,” running back Jahmyr Gibbs said. “With Jalen, any big play can happen at any time.”
Milroe wasn’t perfect Saturday, but he made the plays he needed to make. He finished the game completing 4 of 9 passes for 65 yards and a touchdown while adding 91 yards and a touchdown on the ground. More importantly, he recorded a crucial win for Alabama, piloting it through a disastrous situation while keeping its perfect record intact.
“The biggest thing, I just try to do what I can do,” Milroe said. “Whatever play that they try to do, try to make the most of it.”
