Alabama QBs in 2024

[Ole Man Dan]

First post but I gotta ask…why is one of the narratives regarding Milroe is that “he works so hard” or “no one is gonna out work him”. That may be the case but do we really think anyone wanting to be qb1 at Bama isn’t working just as hard? Maybe it’s just that one in particular likes to post about it?

Seems to me that Jalen Milroe is just a more vocal extroverted kind of guy compared to the other qbs on campus, so he grabs most of the attention even before he was named the starter last year. There is nothing wrong with that and Jalen is a class act no doubt, but it just seems for every 1 snippet of info we get about the other quarterbacks we get 10 for Milroe.

Just wish we got a little more than whispers about how the other guys are doing I guess. All I want is the best quarterback for Deboer’s system to win the job whoever that may be. All we hear about is how Milroe’s ceiling is so high even though ALL of these guys were highly sought after recruits out of high school, some higher ranked in fact. The conversation is just incredibly one sided and I don’t understand why that is….

I mean for all the talk about Milroe’s legs he just seems to me to be the least comfortable in the pocket, has a problem with awareness in the pocket and read progression…leading to a ridiculous number of sacks…and even Ty Simpson broke off a longer run than Milroe had all year…though he chose to drop the ball before the goal line…

I’m just not into this “may the most popular guy win” narrative that seems to be in effect sometimes. Who is gonna make this team the best it can be? Who is gonna make this offense dominant again? I don’t want the guy that is gonna be adequate or “be good enough” or “get the job done”. I want consistent dominance…and to get that we need someone who is gonna put these talented receivers to work game in and game out.

Good post. BTW: Welcome to TideFans.

 

[PA Tide Fan]

There's a lot on this board that I won't re-hash, but net was the end decision might not have purely been about on-field ability. There was way to much talk from the coaches about 'winning the team', and also 'be so good that I have no choice but to play you'.

Sure, that's why I don't think he'll rock the boat by changing. If you're the new coach replacing the GOAT it doesn't look so good to demote the QB that had started the prior season and it would also be tough to get players to buy into the new system you're bringing by demoting the QB that apparently the team wants and thus risk losing control of the team before Game 1. Now I'm not saying DeBoer wouldn't have the courage to do it if he felt another guy was head and shoulders better but right now I don't see it since the only guy that may have been head and shoulders better than Milroe is now at Ohio State.

 

[TDBama78]

Deboer gets a mulligan next season,like most coaches do, he goes with Milroe, I think Milroe improves next season, he might surprise us all,, but if not we fall back on the mulligan. Milroe is likely gone at the end of next season then the real QB competition begins.imo

 

[davefrat]

Deboer gets a mulligan next season,like most coaches do, he goes with Milroe, I think Milroe improves next season, he might surprise us all,, but if not we fall back on the mulligan. Milroe is likely gone at the end of next season then the real QB competition begins.imo

Depends on how the season goes.

He won't get a mulligan if the team limps to a 7-5 record...his seat would be flaming hot.

I don't see that happening, but the pitchforks and torches would be out.

 

[BamaInCummingGA]

Sure, that's why I don't think he'll rock the boat by changing. If you're the new coach replacing the GOAT it doesn't look so good to demote the QB that had started the prior season and it would also be tough to get players to buy into the new system you're bringing by demoting the QB that apparently the team wants and thus risk losing control of the team before Game 1. Now I'm not saying DeBoer wouldn't have the courage to do it if he felt another guy was head and shoulders better but right now I don't see it since the only guy that may have been head and shoulders better than Milroe is now at Ohio State.

If you don't rock that boat you won't be the coach for long.
Letting players dictate who plays is akin to asking the fans in the stand what the coach should do/call.

 

[BamaInCummingGA]

Depends on how the season goes.

He won't get a mulligan if the team limps to a 7-5 record...his seat would be flaming hot.

I don't see that happening, but the pitchforks and torches would be out.

You ain't wrong.......

 

[Bamabuzzard]

I don't think CKD can afford, for the sake of the returning players, to play it safe and go with Milroe because he was the QB1 last season. If season one is a mulligan type of season that's when you make these types of decisions if you truly think it's the best. Simpson and Lonergan are the QBs I'm concerned with the most of losing. JM only has one year left then he's gone. We still have to get the post Saban era under firm foundation and the best way to do that is not have QB problems.

 

[mlh]

It's true that CKD is following CNS. But I don't think his mindset is to "follow" CNS in his coaching style or philosophy or player management. Every place where he's coached, he's implemented his offensive system. Sure, he's tweaked it to suit the talent, but he has the talent at Bama to run his full offense. He's not beholden to any player. There's open competition at every position. But he's also smart enough to not alienate anyone right out of the gate. He's saying good things and praising everyone, not just JM. He'll let the competition work its way out on the field. If that means JM is backup to one of the other QBs, so be it. CKD is here to win games and he knows it. He won't handcuff himself, or the team, by not playing the best QB for his offense.

 

[UAH]

It's true that CKD is following CNS. But I don't think his mindset is to "follow" CNS in his coaching style or philosophy or player management. Every place where he's coached, he's implemented his offensive system. Sure, he's tweaked it to suit the talent, but he has the talent at Bama to run his full offense. He's not beholden to any player. There's open competition at every position. But he's also smart enough to not alienate anyone right out of the gate. He's saying good things and praising everyone, not just JM. He'll let the competition work its way out on the field. If that means JM is backup to one of the other QBs, so be it. CKD is here to win games and he knows it. He won't handcuff himself, or the team, by not playing the best QB for his offense.

Again I would hope that by the time the team travels to Wisconsin he has seen what his QB's can do in game situations. If the team struggles against Wisconsin then comes home to face Georgia his grace period will be tested. Then comes the usual SEC trial by fire with trips to Knoxville and Baton Rouge with Oklahoma thrown in late season before Auburn. He doesn't have much breathing space and will need his offense to put points on the board.

 

[CoolBreeze]

I don't think CKD can afford, for the sake of the returning players, to play it safe and go with Milroe because he was the QB1 last season. If season one is a mulligan type of season that's when you make these types of decisions if you truly think it's the best. Simpson and Lonergan are the QBs I'm concerned with the most of losing. JM only has one year left then he's gone. We still have to get the post Saban era under firm foundation and the best way to do that is not have QB problems.

100% on board with that. We have only had a handful of practices and at this point Coach is still trying to feel his way around his new environment. Being friendly with the media and doing the coach speak is part of getting the lay of the land. But this coach came to win games and he hired a top notch coaching staff that is expecting a winning culture to emerge immediately. He will field the players that will get that accomplished come September but he is still getting a grasp on what he actually has in T-Town right now. If Milroe wins the job then I am all for that but I do not believe for one second that Coach would give it to him for any other reason other than he gives us the best chance at winning games.

 

[HighlandOak]

If Milroe starts because he's "won the team," i.e. letting players' emotions dictate rather than the player Coach KDB feels is best, I am done with Alabama, and college, football. Full stop. It sounded like a cop out when Saban said it, and if that's what college football has become, and it very well could be, I can't stomach it any more.

 

[Bamabuzzard]

If Milroe starts because he's "won the team," i.e. letting players' emotions dictate rather than the player Coach KDB feels is best, I am done with Alabama, and college, football. Full stop. It sounded like a cop out when Saban said it, and if that's what college football has become, and it very well could be, I can't stomach it any more.

I'll give Saban a pass because now in hindsight I think he had a strong inclination it was going to be his last year. He knew what the team dynamics were (not good) and my guess is he knew he wasn't going to be able to fix it. So he made the best decision for THAT season, not looking ahead to 2024.

 

[CrimsonTitles]

If Milroe starts because he's "won the team," i.e. letting players' emotions dictate rather than the player Coach KDB feels is best, I am done with Alabama, and college, football. Full stop. It sounded like a cop out when Saban said it, and if that's what college football has become, and it very well could be, I can't stomach it any more.

I don't feel like we have to worry about that. If that happens, then it would be because the competition is a wash like last year. I actually think if the competition is a wash, then it heavily favors Mack (unless he's just nowhere near ready), because he knows the offense already, and DeBoer knows him. DeBoer has already shown that he values familiarity.

 

[BamaMoon]

If JM starts for any other reason than he's the best performing, onfield QB who's capable of running CKD's system then I'll be very disappointed.

It is simply unsustainable to have a team that chooses over the coach.

 

[JohnD]

Senior players and early entries don't want to hear anything about mulligan year or buffer year. They want to win now! I used to think the last thing a new coach wanted to do was create overly high expectations in his first year. I don't think DeBoer thinks that way or he would have stayed in Washington. Expectations are already high here, and the time to win is always now, not next year.

Some of yall are panicking after one week of practice that this staff will not pick the best QB. But we don't know who the best one is, or who will be impacted the most by the new coaches. Let's let it play out.

 

[colbysullivan]

Senior players and early entries don't want to hear anything about mulligan year or buffer year. They want to win now! I used to think the last thing a new coach wanted to do was create overly high expectations in his first year. I don't think DeBoer thinks that way or he would have stayed in Washington. Expectations are already high here, and the time to win is always now, not next year.

Some of yall are panicking after one week of practice that this staff will not pick the best QB. But we don't know who the best one is, or who will be impacted the most by the new coaches. Let's let it play out.

Well what do you expect? We didn’t pick the best QB last year either….

Our faith in college football is waning, we don’t want our faith in the coaching staff to go away too.

 

[HighlandOak]

I'll give Saban a pass because now in hindsight I think he had a strong inclination it was going to be his last year. He knew what the team dynamics were (not good) and my guess is he knew he wasn't going to be able to fix it. So he made the best decision for THAT season, not looking ahead to 2024.

I see what you're saying, but that makes it worse to me.

 

[davefrat]

Whether Milroe was the best option last season or not, does anyone think we would have had a more successful season with anyone else at QB?

I have no idea who was the best, but I think the team achieved about as much as it could all things considered.

 

[colbysullivan]

Whether Milroe was the best option last season or not, does anyone think we would have had a more successful season with anyone else at QB?

I have no idea who was the best, but I think the team achieved about as much as it could all things considered.

We likely would not have won the championship, but we absolutely would be better off in 2024 if someone else had started.

Kinda like in 2019, no one wanted to see Tua get hurt, but the experience Mac got that year was paramount to us winning in 2020.

 

[gtgilbert]

Whether Milroe was the best option last season or not, does anyone think we would have had a more successful season with anyone else at QB?

I have no idea who was the best, but I think the team achieved about as much as it could all things considered.

Well, we don't know what they could have done had they been able to run the full offensive scheme as designed. The reality is that the offense significantly underperformed. They fell way short of expectations on that side of the ball with both the passing output and tail output plummeting. The only reason we had the record we had was a defense that was playing lights out.