Tag: Jalen Milroe

5 things Kalen DeBoer must do in his first day as Alabama’s head coach

The five most important acts Kalen DeBoer must complete in his first day as Alabama’s head coach

Replacing [autotag]Nick Saban[/autotag] was going to be an impossible task, but it feels like landing [autotag]Kalen DeBoer[/autotag] is as good as it gets.

DeBoer is a proven winner with a 104-12 head coaching record. He is coming off a national title game appearance in just his second year with the Washington Huskies. He was reportedly athletic director Greg Byrne’s top target and the sides worked hard to get a deal done with almost no leaks.

DeBoer should be celebrated and enjoy the new promotion, but first thing in the morning we gotta get to work. Name, image and likeness licensing and the transfer portal have changed the game and allow you to essentially revamp your roster overnight, but DeBoer will have his work cut out for him. Many of the guys in the Alabama program came here because they wanted to play for Nick Saban, keeping them is going to require a sales pitch and a vision.

DeBoer has coordinator positions to fill, open roster spots and several other issues to attack. He has limited time to do so. Here are the five most important things DeBoer must do on his first day as head coach of the Crimson Tide:

Jalen Milroe shouts, ‘I’m staying’ to Alabama fans as Kalen DeBoer arrives

Jalen Milroe hints he intends to stay at Alabama despite HC change

It has been a whirlwind of a day for Alabama Crimson Tide fans as a new head coach was introduced for the first time in 17 years. Athletic director Greg Byrne requested 72 hours to make a hire, but it didn’t take 48 for him to land Washington Huskies [autotag]Kalen DeBoer[/autotag].

DeBoer has a 104-12 head coaching record and is coming off a national final appearance. DeBoer has been responsible for some of the best offenses in college football over the past few years, and retaining the guys on the current Alabama roster is the most important task he has in the days ahead.

Quarterback Michael Penix became a Heisman Trophy contender and first-round draft pick under DeBoer’s guidance, so there is a great deal of optimism regarding what he can do with Milroe. He has been a specialist at the wide receiver position, which should pique interest from Isaiah Bond and Ryan Williams again.

Nobody truly knows where players’ heads are at and if they want to transfer, but I think DeBoer has some really special qualities. So far, it seems like QB [autotag]Jalen Milroe[/autotag] is committed to staying. He chanted “Roll Tide” and “I’m staying” to Alabama fans as he entered Mal Moore practice facilities ahead of the Tide’s introductory meeting. Granted the situation can change, but it’s a positive sign that the core of the team is interested in staying.

If Milroe can stay with Alabama and help it navigate this through transition, he will have a chance to become a legend in his own right. It is going to be really exciting to see how the next 48 hours plays out.

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WATCH: New Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer arrives in Tuscaloosa to crowd of fans

LOOK: Alabama fans swarm Kalen DeBoer as he arrives in Tuscaloosa

The Alabama Crimson Tide made the biggest hire of this coaching cycle when they landed Washington’s [autotag]Kalen DeBoer[/autotag] to fill the vacancy left by [autotag]Nick Saban[/autotag]. DeBoer has won everywhere he has been and is coming off a national championship appearance with the Huskies.

The fan base has responded incredibly well to DeBoer and seems to be all in on Saban’s successor.

The deal became official Friday afternoon. Within hours, DeBoer left Seattle for Tuscaloosa and arrived at 8:30 p.m. CT to a swarm of Alabama fans at the airport. The Crimson Tide faithful showed out: The crowd looked to be in the thousands. DeBoer spent a quick moment greeting the fans before he and athletic director Greg Byrne headed to Mal Moore Athletic Facility to meet with the team. His first task as the new man of the Crimson Tide will be recruiting and retaining the players currently on the roster

Jalen Milroe was one of the players seen walking into the facility screaming “Roll Tide.” After the meeting, players reportedly were yelling Roll Tide back to the fans with a strong sense of optimism.

Way-too-early ranking of Oklahoma Football’s 2024 opponents

A way-too-early look at how the Oklahoma Sooners 2024 opponents stack up.

For all but two teams, the 2023 college football season has come to a close. That means it’s time to look ahead to the 2024 season.

After making significant improvements on both sides of the ball in 2023, the Sooners jumped from six to 10 wins in Brent Venables’ second season. But now they move to the SEC and are breaking in new coordinators on both sides of the ball.

Additionally, they’ll have a completely new offensive line from the group that started for the majority of the season and a new starting quarterback after [autotag]Dillon Gabriel[/autotag] left for Oregon.

Jackson Arnold takes the reins at quarterback for the Sooners. Despite his Alamo Bowl performance, the ceiling is very high for Arnold and the Sooners offense.

But they’ve got a difficult schedule in 2024, in particular when they get to SEC play. But how would you rank their opponents in 2024? Here’s how we ranked them here at Sooners Wire.

Way-too-early Heisman Trophy odds for 2024 season

Alabama QB Jalen Milroe at the top of FanDuel’s 2024 Heisman Trophy odds

As crazy as it sounds, there will be no clear Heisman Trophy favorite heading into the 2024 season. A large reason for that is a lot of the contenders in 2023 like Bo Nix, Michael Penix, Jordan Travis, Marvin Harrison Jr. and Jayden Daniels will all be playing on Sundays next year.

With J.J. McCarthy likely heading pro, Alabama quarterback, Jalen Milroe, who finished sixth in the 2023 standings was the highest-voted player returning to college in 2024. As of right now, FanDuel has Quinn Ewers, Carson Beck and Jalen Milroe all tied as the favorite to win the award at +750. All three quarterbacks will be playing in the SEC next season.

Coming off of a disappointing Rose Bowl performance, I think Milroe knows there is a lot of room for growth and will get back to the drawing board. It will also help to have a full off-season with Tommy Rees in Tuscaloosa. Backup quarterback Ty Simpson decided to stay in Tuscaloosa and battle it out for the starting job in 2024, so Milroe will have no room to be complacent.

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Way-too-early 2024 Heisman odds: Quinn Ewers opens as favorite to win

Quinn Ewers leads the way as the early favorite to win the 2024 Heisman Trophy.

As the 2023 season comes to a close, betting odds for the 2024 Heisman Trophy have been released. Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers is the early favorite to take home the award. Continue reading “Way-too-early 2024 Heisman odds: Quinn Ewers opens as favorite to win”

ESPN ranks the Top 100 players from the 2023 CFB season

ESPN’s Top 100 Players from the 2023 college football season includes eight members of the Crimson Tide

Next Monday evening Michigan and Washington will square off in the 2024 national championship to conclude another great season of college football. Unfortunately, the Alabama Crimson Tide were unable to secure their 19th national championship this season, but it was still an incredible season regardless. From an insane come back win against Auburn to an emphatic SEC Championship victory over Georgia, there is much to celebrate.

After a Week 2 loss to Texas and Week 3 struggle win against USF it looked as if the Tide were dead in the water, so not enough can be said of the team’s heart and resiliency. Even in the midst of the struggles, Alabama has always been one of the most talented teams in the country and it took some growth and changes from the coaching staff to get there. It’s easy to forget that heading into this season Alabama started the season with two new coordinators and a new starting quarterback who had to replace the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. Eventually, the talent began to show as the Tide rattled off 11 straight wins to get to the Rose Bowl semi-final.

ESPN ranked their Top 100 players from the 2023 college football season which included eight members of the Crimson Tide. Seven of which came in the Top 50, see below for the entire list of Alabama players.

Alabama back-up QB Ty Simpson not expected to transfer

Shocking news as Alabama QB Ty Simpson announces decision to stay with the Tide

The Alabama roster is going to go through a serious purge the next few days as players will begin to enter the transfer portal after an unfortunate Rose Bowl loss. The additions of NIL and transfer portal have greatly changed the game of college football, so these roster purges is becoming an annual thing for the premier programs of the sport. The ball got rolling this morning as center Seth McLaughlin announced his intentions to enter the portal.

However, what everyone is really wanting to know about is what will happen at the quarterback position. The first domino fell when Tyler Buchner announced his decision to transfer back to Notre Dame after the SEC Championship Game. With Milroe set to return in ’24 and Julian Sayin arriving in 2025, the QB room is going to be pretty talented in the foreseeable future.

Despite all of that, QB [autotag]Ty Simpson[/autotag] announced his decision to stay with the Tide and battle it out. It’s an interesting move as Milroe will be the starter next year, so I am guessing he is looking at being the guy after Milroe and before Sayin, almost like the bridge that Mac Jones was between Tua and Bryce.

Granted Simpson wasn’t amazing in his debut against USF, but I think with time he could end up being a really solid player for the Tide. If nothing else, his resiliency to stay and battle for the job has left a lasting impression on me.

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Alabama’s season long offensive issues stand out in Rose Bowl loss to Michigan

Despite their improvements, Alabama’s season long offensive woes stuck out in Rose Bowl loss

A team generally never loses a game because of one player or play, it is an accumulation of plays throughout the contest that determine who wins and who loses.

For Alabama in the Rose Bowl, the same issues that have plagued the Crimson Tide from time to time this season reared their head against Michigan.

You can’t deny the progress and the improvement that [autotag]Jalen Milroe[/autotag] and this Alabama offense made this season, but there were still some glaring weaknesses that were never truly resolved. Those weaknesses manifested themselves on Monday in the Rose Bowl.

It’s really easy to point to play calling in hindsight, but more times than not it comes down to execution and Alabama simply could not execute the little things consistently this season.

For whatever reason, it has been a season-long struggle for center Seth McLaughlin to effectively deliver a shotgun snap to Milroe which has thrown off the timing of the play far too many times. There were several instances in the Rose Bowl where McLaughlin had snapping issues, including the Tide’s final play in overtime.

You can’t place all of the blame on McLaughlin either. Milroe struggled to read defenses pre-snap this season. Whether it was sliding the protection to the right place, knowing his hot read, or sensing where the pressure would be coming from, Milroe struggled with the little things that it takes to be a successful quarterback at the highest level.

For all the improvements that were made this season, it was inevitable that the deficiencies of the Alabama offense would likely cost them, and on Monday they did.

Alabama should be proud of what they were able to accomplish during the season. After the first month, everyone had the Tide written off as a championship contender and all they did was win the SEC and make the College Football Playoff. But if they want to win another national championship, this year’s offensive woes will need to be resolved.

The good news for Tide fans is that all of these issues are correctable and you can bet your bottom dollar that [autotag]Nick Saban[/autotag] and his staff will do their best to ensure they are.

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Report Card: Grading Alabama’s 27-20 loss to Michigan in Rose Bowl

Grading Alabama’s 27-20 overtime loss to Michigan

Alabama’s dreams of another national championship will have to wait another year after the Crimson Tide suffered a heartbreaking defeat to the Michigan Wolverines in the Rose Bowl matchup of the College Football Playoff.

The Crimson Tide held a seven-point lead with around four minutes remaining in the contest but were unable to secure a victory over the No. 1 ranked Wolverines.

Alabama struggled to find consistency throughout the game on both offense and defense and could not make the plays in crunch time and that proved to be the Tide’s downfall.

As the dust settles after the disappointing loss, it is time to reveal the Alabama football report card from the semifinal loss to Michigan.