Getty Quarterback Jalen Milroe of Alabama football took some strange compliments from Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh.
Maybe Jim Harbaugh did not mean to take a shot at Alabama‘s Jalen Milroe, the exciting sophomore quarterback who helped turn around what was looking like a wayward Alabama football season. But when asked about Milroe at a press conference on Wednesday, Harbaugh called Milroe a “polished Alex Orji.”
Say what?
As the Alabama football fan site Sidelines-Bama wrote on Twitter/X, “Jim Harbaugh just called Jalen Milroe a ‘polished Alex Orji.’ Says Jalen is a more polished version of his backup quarterback.”
Jim Harbaugh just called Jalen Milroe a “polished Alex Orji.”
Says Jalen is a more polished version of his backup quarterback.
For a guy who sometimes speaks before he thinks things through, that might well be the right viewpoint—Harbaugh is saying that Milroe is on the level of Michigan’s backup quarterback. But he did add some context, saying that a polished Orji is a, “scary thought,” per Zach Shaw of 24/7 Sports. He added that Harbaugh said Orji is Michigan’s, “scariest, most athletic player.”
Sure, Coach, but Milroe just completed a remarkable sophomore campaign that he topped off with an SEC championship game win that saw him throw for two touchdowns in beating Georgia, two of the 35 touchdowns he scored on the season, including his 12 rushing touchdowns.
Orji? Well, he has played in seven games in two years and has attempted one pass in his collegiate career.
Jalen Milroe Had Slow Start for Alabama Football
Granted, it has not been a typical season for Alabama football at quarterback. The Crimson Tide opened the year with Milroe, the logical successor to Bryce Young, at quarterback. But coach Nick Saban quickly underwent a crisis of confidence in Milroe after he went just 14-for-27 with two interceptions in the loss to Texas in the second game of the season. Saban went to Ty Simpson and Tyler Buchner in Week 3, the unimpressive win over a weak South Florida contingent, and finally came back around to where he was to begin with.
Jalen Milroe.
Saban’s patience with Milroe has paid dividends for Alabama football. He got consistently better as Saban got more comfortable allowing Milroe to beat foes with his running ability as much as with his arm. He tallied 468 yards rushing, including 155 yards in a blowout win over 13th-ranked LSU.
And Milroe figures to be a big advantage for Alabama in the Rose Bowl, where they’ll face a Michigan team that has not seen many quarterbacks with Milroe’s speed and ability to find seams, where he can use his big frame—he is 6-foot-2 and 210 pounds—to punish defenses. Other than (ahem) Alex Orji.
Coaches See Trouble for Jim Harbaugh’s D
This week, the Athletic caught up with several unnamed SEC assistant coaches, and all paint a rough picture of Michigan’s hopes of stopping the Tide quarterback. “(Jalen Milroe’s) going to be a big problem for Michigan,” one defensive backs coach told The Athletic. “There is nobody in the Big Ten like him. He’s the best athlete on the field. He can run over your DBs and your linebackers can’t catch him.”
The big advantage that Milroe has is his ability to take broken plays and turn them into positives. As good as Michigan’s defense has been, Milroe can simply make the Wolverines miss.
“I think Michigan is going to struggle to tackle Milroe,” an SEC defensive coordinator told The Athletic. “He’s very dangerous. I was not worried about the QB-designed runs. I was worried about when the pass is not there and he takes off and he has space.”