Nick Saban has said he plans for Alabama’s quarterback competition to continue even after the season begins, but we now know who will start for the Crimson Tide in their first game.
Jalen Milroe will get the nod when Alabama hosts Middle Tennessee State on Saturday, ESPN’s Chris Low reports.
Jalen Milroe will start at QB for @AlabamaFTBL in Saturday’s opener against Middle Tennessee State, sources tell ESPN. Milroe has taken most of the first-team reps this preseason while competing with Notre Dame transfer Tyler Buchner and freshmen Ty Simpson and Dylan Lonergan.
— Chris Low (@ClowESPN) September 1, 2023
Milroe, a redshirt sophomore, has been competing with Ty Simpson and Notre Dame transfer Tyler Buchner this offseason. Buchner has the most overall experience, but Milroe got some key playing time last season when Bryce Young dealt with injuries. Milroe also took the majority of first-team reps in training camp, so the decision is not a shock.
Saban has not publicly named a starter for Alabama’s season opener. He did, however, say on his weekly “Hey Coach” radio show Thursday night that he wants to play multiple quarterbacks on Saturday and the QB that starts will not necessarily be the starter going forward.
“Whoever starts the game, it’s not their job in perpetuity because they have to perform well,” Saban said, via Mike Rodak of Bama247. “Because they don’t have a lot of experience, I think we’re all interested in seeing how they all perform.”
We knew Saban was going to wait until he last second to name a starting quarterback after the awesome update he gave a couple of weeks ago. The approach of having the quarterback competition carry over into the regular season is something Saban has used in the past, and it seems to serve the team well.
