They took the Mississippi state qb in the portal while at Washington so I don’t necessarily think the staff thinks he’s ready yet either.
DeBoer gets his first transfer ... and it's a QB. Austin Mack
- Thread starter JessN
- Start date
.
Here's where we differ:
You seem to believe "2023 JM is good enough for him to earn the starter roll in 2024" and picking up the new offense will come easily for him.
I don't think "2023 JM" would have been good enough for the CNS/CTR offense had they stayed, and I certainly don't think it'll be good enough for the CKD/Grubb offense. And, based on his lack of progress in some areas, I'm not nearly as confident as you seem to be that JM will suddenly fix a lot of nagging problems he struggles with.
And, FTR, I've never said I think AM will start in the fall. I simply have posted I think he's got an advantage none of the other QBs have going into next year.
Agreed. I think there are folks who are convinced that DeBoer and Grubb are going to run their system, without any modifications whatsoever, come heck or high water. They could.....but I personally don't think that will be the case. DeBoer has made public comments about working with mobile QBs in some of his previous stops and modifying his offense to suit their strengths, and I think that is the most likely scenario in 2024. Milroe's game still needs some refinement, but there's a lot to be said for having a veteran starter in the SEC.
I realize a lot of folks are concerned about Milroe's ability to execute in the short and midrange passing game, and the new offense places a premium on that. I think you can draw a lot of parallels to Jalen Hurts' situation - he transferred out of our offense and into Lincoln Riley's system, which shares a lot of the Air Raid roots of DeBoer's scheme. Granted, we are talking SEC versus Big XII but the differences are pretty amazing:
Jalen Hurts 2017 Stats:
61% completion percentage / 2,081 passing yards / 17 TDs - 1 INT / 855 rushing yards, 8 TDs
Jalen Hurts 2019 Stats:
70% completion percentage / 3,851 passing yards / 32 TDs - 8 INT / 1,298 rushing yards, 20 TDs
If Milroe can make even modest improvement in the midrange passing game (and he'll be working with some pretty darn good QB developers), I don't think a Hurts-level increase in production is totally out of the question. Milroe has the raw skills to be an absolute terror in this style of offense.
I have no idea what will happen and I'm sure everyone gets a shot, but I personally would be shocked if anyone besides Milroe trots out there for our first offensive snap in September. I think bringing in Mack was most likely a simple case of "we really liked this guy and his potential in Washington, and now he's available in the portal".
Jalen Hurts got benched for his performance. No one here knows the full story but it is widely regarded as true that him getting benched was the best thing for his development, as he was able to work on his fundamentals without the pressure of having to make it work for the next game. He was massively improved in the 2018 SECC game when he came in for Tua. But he had to sit for that to happen.
Also, Hurts’ problem in 2017 was that he could see the passing window but was too worried to pull the trigger. Milroe doesn’t even see the window at the moment. Different issues to work on.
I've posted this more than once. I like JM. He seems like a great kid. He seems to be standing in the gap for the program right now! I think he's a leader! And I think he love Bama.
He also improved a lot last year. He led us to some good wins. We'll never forget 4th and 31! And he played his best game against Georgia and led us to the SECC.
But none of that should matter under the current circumstances. His leadership and time in the program give him good standing with CKD I'm sure.
But when they strap on the helmets this spring, JM ought to be one of four guys on equal ground trying to earn QB#1 for next year's team.
I'm pulling for the guy who can absorb the new offense and execute it closest to the way CKD/Grubb envisions it. I think the system will be extremely fun to watch and lead the Crimson Tide to many good times in the future.
If it's JM I'm behind him. Or if it's TS, DL or AM. Roll Tide!
He also improved a lot last year. He led us to some good wins. We'll never forget 4th and 31! And he played his best game against Georgia and led us to the SECC.
But none of that should matter under the current circumstances. His leadership and time in the program give him good standing with CKD I'm sure.
But when they strap on the helmets this spring, JM ought to be one of four guys on equal ground trying to earn QB#1 for next year's team.
I'm pulling for the guy who can absorb the new offense and execute it closest to the way CKD/Grubb envisions it. I think the system will be extremely fun to watch and lead the Crimson Tide to many good times in the future.
If it's JM I'm behind him. Or if it's TS, DL or AM. Roll Tide!
I think you make some good points, but comparing JM to JH's situation would only work if JM sat a year and worked out his shortcomings.
Can he do that in 6 months? IDK, it would be a great story. I hope he can.
And I agree that CKD/Grubb will probably work the system around the QB's strengths/weakness, but I fully expect they will run "their system."
There's a big difference in running your system and tweaking it to your QB's skill set compared to scrapping your whole offense and running something different in order to cover for the QB's weakness at the expense of the other skill players, which is what we did last year starting the LSU game. I'd be shocked if CKD and Grubb would be willing to do what CNS/CTR did last year.
It was a gamble that worked until it didn't.
Last edited:
I agree with all of the above, and I don't think it's a foregone conclusion that Milroe starts and plays the whole way in 2024. I do think it's the most likely scenario though - because unlike the Hurts situation we don't have a clear Tua Tagovailoa sitting right behind him. Coordinators and schemes/playcalling make a huge difference as well - Hurts clearly regressed in 2017 under Daboll and was more productive with Kiffin as his OC (in 2016 he threw for 2,700 yards and 23 TDs, and had a higher completion %).
Again, it's anyone's guess as to what happens but I wouldn't discount the possibility of DeBoer / Grubb actually doing wonders for Milroe.
Again, it's anyone's guess as to what happens but I wouldn't discount the possibility of DeBoer / Grubb actually doing wonders for Milroe.
I think CKD will adjust the offense to the personnel. But, I don't think it will include scaling the offense back to the degree it was reported Rees did last season. We just cannot consistently be competitive with an offense that eliminates major concepts of the game.
I think Sayin is too small to play as a freshman and didn't expect him to be a starter during his first year at Alabama. I was counting on him to stay with the program and to be a major player in another year or two.
Yes, Hurts racked up the passing yards and percentage with the jet sweep pass that Kiffen called regularly.
While Coach DeBoer does like to modify his offense to suit the strengths of a team, I think you are forgetting that there are at least 2 other QBs on the roster who would start at many other places in the country. What you are suggesting, is something that he would do if he absolutely needed to, but where's the need when you have 2 other guys fully capable of running your offense? GMac has mentioned the possibility as well, but I just don't see it, unless Milroe wins the job first, then they decide to do that. I just find it hard to believe that building your offense around Jalen Milroe is going to be the first option when we have so much talent in the QB room. The best man will win first, and then after that, is when we tailor the offense around the strengths of the QB, not the other way around.
As for the part about DeBoer loving the speed, I don't know about Lonergan, but Simpson I know for sure has some speed. While Milroe is faster, I'm not sure the difference is significant enough to justify the trade off that you would be getting in the passing game. Even with Simpson, Deboer is still getting a more formidable running threat than Penix was (I'm assuming due to injuries), so either way, he's getting an upgrade in the QB running department.
Last edited:
He was also the most consistent quarterback in the fall. Probably the reason he didn’t win was that he was a true freshman and we had a huge talent coming in.
Yeah both from a QB talent evaluation standpoint and 100% he is more plugged in to the Washington program than some beat writer trying to get clicks on JOXBrock Huard has a far more qualified perspective than any beat reporter...
Depends on the reporter.Brock Huard has a far more qualified perspective than any beat reporter...
Huard has been known to lean toward hyperbole. He might end up being right, but he has not seen the kid in college game action either.
Me too. But I seriously doubt Lonergan is basing his future plans on the opinions expressed on this forum.
Dang, do we really think one thought process is not starting the best QB because JS is in this upcoming recruiting class?
The only time Saban started a TF at quarterback was because he was absolutely forced to because the other 3 just were that bad. Lonergan wasn’t facing a bad quarterback room.
Milroe is, indeed, mentally and physically capable. Why would you think otherwise?
Off your topic, but your post made me think: One of my few complaints regarding CNS's approach was an overreliance on physical measurables (I feel like a fool, and probably am, for disagreeing with CNS about anything football-related.) While it has a lot of merit up to a point, sometimes other factors in a specific situation carry enough weight to overturn a decision. Sometimes, great instincts (which can't be measured) or just a "football player" (what does that even mean?) makes up a 1" or 2" or 20 lb difference. I'm sure they did make an exception now and then (like Bryce), but it seemed like Alabama passed on a few "football players" that might have helped over the years. (Can't remember any specific players now, but there were a few over the years.)Crimson glasses for all!!
It's funny how the narrative goes with regard to players transferring. If they are undersized, unknown, or coming from a lesser program, we pick out their qualities, focus on positives, dismiss the negatives, hype their "potential", and recall all the unknowns who became NFL greats. When a highly regarded player leaves, we hear how he wasn't going to help immediately, point out you never know if a 5 star will actually pan out, or focus on the fact he will be missed but is replaceable.
For 17 years we have seen what metrics Saban thought was required at each position. So a lot of what we knew or thought we knew about how to build a team is going to change. We just have to trust that the new coaches know what they are doing.
I'm not going to name someone who I think would have a lead in the QB race, but the new offense, if it's the same as CKD has used everywhere else, requires the QB to make a lot of reads, pre, at and post snap and the post snap reads are FAST and often multiple. It's also requires the QB to very often get the ball out very, very fast. Against UM, Penix had many, many throws against very fast pressures that avoided sacks. The QB also must be able to execute timing routes/passes with precision, hitting receivers in the right windows designed into the multi-depth or multi-read routes.
These skills will be required, or the new offense will very likely sputter and fail, and with the defensive losses we've had, we're going to need the offense to carry the load a bit in 24.
Milroe, so far, hasn't demonstrated the ability to make even simple reads, much less complex multi-read concepts, nor to throw quickly (PFF analyzed all SEC QBs and Milroe was DEAD LAST in time to get the ball out), nor to execute timing routes. He had the opportunity to show these skills last year all of these things were part of the way the offense was supposed to operate, until Rees had to make significant changes based on these limitations. Yes the reads are very likely different as the route combos are different, but our offense did need him to try to make reads. Even after the drastic simplification, there were still supposed to be reads that were not happening. We did have hot routes to alleviate pressure; He didn't get the ball out and took sacks instead. In passing skeleton drills, he's by far the slowest of every QB on the roster from snap to pass, and if you can' go fast in practice like that, you're chances of somehow going faster in a game are exceptionally low. In fact many of the sacks he took against UM, there was an open hot route for the taking. We did have timing routes; he was either consistently late in making the throw, or didn't make the throw at all. Several analysts joked that the TEs and RBs must have been trying to hit on JMs girl because it was almost like no matter how open they were, he wasn't getting the ball to them.
Now JM could fix all that and earn the spot, and if he does truly fix all that, and somehow becomes the best of the QBs at those things, I'll be happy for him, but he made no progress toward those things so far in over 2 years on campus, and only has a couple of months till spring camp. I just want whichever QB has the right skills to execute this new offense with all the multi-read requirements and passing requirements to have the job to give all the other skill players opportunities to be successful.
New Posts
-
-
-
News Article: What was wrong with Ty Simpson? Inside look at Alabama QB's injuries in 2025- Latest: Slowpoke Catracho
Trending content
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Thread 'Orange Bowl CFP Qtr: #4 Texas Tech v #5 Oregon - Rust vs B1G Pride (ESPN Noon ET)'- CajunCrimson
Replies: 286 -
Latest threads
-
-
News Article: What was wrong with Ty Simpson? Inside look at Alabama QB's injuries in 2025
- Started by Slowpoke Catracho
- Replies: 0
-
ESPN: Sources: Ga. Tech hiring Ravens' Godsey as OC
- Started by TideFans Reporter
- Replies: 0
-
ESPN: Golding on status of LSU assistants: Not up to me
- Started by TideFans Reporter
- Replies: 0
-
ESPN: Sources: USF QB Brown sets Auburn, Golesh visit
- Started by TideFans Reporter
- Replies: 0
-
ESPN: NFL draft prospects with a true Round 1 grade: 11 players who are clear first-rounders
- Started by TideFans Reporter
- Replies: 0