Jalen Milroe of Alabama moves from being a spectator to a standout in the rematch with South Florida.
Last season, Jalen Milroe stood on the sidelines while Alabama’s offense faltered against South Florida. At Washington, Kalen DeBoer was the head coach. Additionally, Ryan Williams was a junior in high school at the time.
These days, they play a key role in attempting to prevent the offense of the fourth-ranked Crimson Tide from experiencing similar difficulties when the Bulls (1-0) come to town on Saturday night.
Rewind: Following two interceptions in a Texas defeat, Milroe was benched. He watched as Alabama (1-0) struggled to a 17-3 victory over South Florida, allaying no one’s fears, and two backups failed to deliver a touchdown in the first half.
After taking back the starting position, Milroe completed the transformation from sideline to star by leading Alabama to ten straight victories and a Southeastern Conference title.
“I believe there is something they likely recall, but I didn’t have that experience with them,” stated DeBoer, who took over the Tide this season following Nick Saban’s retirement. Thus, it’s not as though I’m genuinely referencing that or reminding them that the game was closer. And that is consistent with one of our program’s tenets, which is to respect everyone and have no fear.
“So, for the past week, there was that respect component. This week, it will be present once more.”
During Alabama’s 63-0 rout of Western Kentucky last week, Milroe and Williams, his rookie receiver, connected on two long touchdown passes.
In Bryant-Denny Stadium, Alabama will formally rename it Nick Saban Field in honor of Saban. During a pre-game ceremony, the school will unveil the new stadium sign. At halftime, Saban, who guided the Tide to six national titles, will also receive recognition.
“It´s gonna be an awesome night, having the field named in honor of Coach,” DeBoer remarked. “That´s really, really something special.”
Fans of Alabama got to see the quick freshman Williams in a Tide uniform for the second time. Hard to top the first one, that one. In his collegiate debut, Williams—a five-star prospect—caught two passes for scores of 84 and 55 yards. Among FBS freshman, it was a high receiving yards mark for the week.
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