From ‘Horns up’ to ‘Roll Tide’ - Milroe moves commitment to Alabama

By Cole McNanna | Special to the Katy Times
Posted 8/29/20

Jalen Milroe, the Tompkins Falcons’ four-star, dual-threat quarterback, announced in an Aug. 17 tweet that he decided to flip his commitment from the University of Texas at Austin to the …

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From ‘Horns up’ to ‘Roll Tide’ - Milroe moves commitment to Alabama

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Jalen Milroe, the Tompkins Falcons’ four-star, dual-threat quarterback, announced in an Aug. 17 tweet that he decided to flip his commitment from the University of Texas at Austin to the University of Alabama.

“At this time, after taking a lot into consideration, much prayer, and speaking with my parents, I have decided to decommit from UT and commit to another university that shares my vision and aspirations,” Milroe’s tweet says.

That match to the right school was a major point his current head coach, Todd McVey, brought up in an Aug. 25 phone interview.

“That's the one time I tell kids - I hate to say it but - be selfish,” McVey said. “This is a place where you're going to be going for four years. Make sure you check anything and everything. I think that's something that he and his family came to conclusions (about), with lots of thought in what they wanted to do so I'm very happy for him.”

Milroe said in an interview with BamaInsider.com that one of his first recruiting visits was to the Crimson Tide’s campus in Tuscaloosa, Ala. where he started to develop his relationship with offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Steve Sarkisian as well as head coach Nick Saban.

“Going into my junior season, I went down for a visit and also did a camp there,” Milroe said. “I enjoyed the visit when I was down there, I was able to get coached by Coach Sarkisian and Coach Tino (Sunseri), and I enjoyed their coaching style. I sat down and talked to my parents because I was really considering Alabama at the time but I wanted to take other visits and see what they had to offer and wanted to see other programs.”

In the months following the visit to Alabama, Milroe was offered by and eventually committed to the University of Texas at Austin but said he continued to weigh his options with his family.

“I sat down with my parents and talked with them about what would be the best for my future and where I could see myself,” Milroe said. “One thing that we talked about was ‘If you were to wake up at a university could you see yourself there?’ and it came across my mind that Alabama was definitely a school that I can see myself at.”

Many top recruits across the country have the same thought which has led the University of Alabama to earn the top spot in the Rivals.com team recruiting rankings with 15 of 19 recruits landing inside the Rivals250 prospect rankings. However, that high level of competition was another driving factor that led Milroe to sign up and join the Crimson Tide.

“I know that going to Alabama, there's great competition and the best of the best is at Alabama,” he said. “Every single day you're going against the best. That's the greatest thing about going to the University of Alabama because every day you're going to get better, and you have great coaches to top it off.”

McVey thinks Milroe’s work ethic and the extra hours spent in the weight room and on the practice field will help him adjust to one of the nation’s best college programs.

“It's all the work that he's putting in and I think it's kind of like LeBron (James) and Kobe (Bryant) and Michael Jordan all said the same thing, ‘Y'all think this looks easy to just come on the court,’ but they put those thousands of hours of reps in, that's the same thing Jalen does,” McVey said. “They don't see the Saturday morning workouts, or the a.m. workouts or the after-workout workouts and things he does that he worked extremely hard at his craft on.”

The University of Alabama’s 2020 roster features seven quarterbacks but Mac Jones, a redshirt junior, and freshman Bryce Young have risen to the depth chart in the early stages of fall camp.

“Coming into Alabama, there's a dog that's there right now, a five-star quarterback in Bryce Young, he's great quarterback,” Milroe said. “I had a chance to talk to him after I committed, we talked and he's a great dude. … As far as the quarterback room, they're all great quarterbacks and I'm just excited to meet those guys and learn and grow in the program.”

Cole McNanna, Jalen Milroe, Tompkins Falcons, Alabama, UT Austin, University of Alabama, Roll Tide, Longhorns, McVey, Milroe