Jalen Milroe, who will lead the Alabama Crimson Tide to the College Football Playoff national semifinals in the Rose Bowl on Monday, said that the school’s former offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien told him he shouldn’t be playing quarterback.
Milroe, a sophomore, completed 171 of 261 passes for 2,718 yards and 23 touchdowns and six interceptions. That’s a 66% completion percentage and he has a passing efficiency rating of 177.5. He has been one of the top college quarterbacks of the season, especially in the second half of this season.
O’Brien was the offensive coordinator at Alabama in the 2021 and 2022 seasons, Milroe’s redshirt and freshman seasons.
Bill O’Brien offered other position choices to Jalen Milroe
Milroe was speaking to members of the press ahead of Monday’s Rose Bowl, where Alabama will take on No. 1 Michigan for a shot at the College Football Championship.
“My own offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien told me I shouldn’t play quarterback,” Milroe said at his press conference. “So there’s a lot of things I can have motivation on, and that’s something I have motivation from.”
When asked by a reporter what his reaction was to what O’Brien said, he responded: “How would you feel if I told you you sucked?” The reporter said he wouldn’t like it. “That’s exactly how I felt.”
Milroe said that he got the opportunity to play quarterback at Alabama and seized it. He beat out more than one highly-recruited player to get the positon.
When asked where O’Brien thought he should play, Milroe said “He told me a bunch of positions that I could’ve switched to. But look where I’m at right now. So who gets the last laugh?’