This fall, quarterback Jalen Milroe will enter his fourth season with Alabama and first under new head coach Kalen DeBoer. Prior to DeBoer becoming Alabama's head coach, Milroe spent three seasons under Nick Saban.
During his three years playing for the legendary coach, Milroe received plenty of advice and wisdom, but one lesson still sticks with him to this day.
Thursday morning on ESPN's "Get Up," Milroe revealed the most important lesson he learned from Saban.
.@JalenMilroe shares the most important piece of advice he received from coach Nick Saban 👏 pic.twitter.com/X6CTmCwSAl
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) July 25, 2024
"If I was to choose one, I'd say trust the process," Milroe told the host. "Every process is different when it comes to trusting your journey. As a guy that came in from Texas and being acclimated to a new environment at Alabama and how you push every single day to accomplish any goal you want to achieve ... there's adversity that comes along with the process. There goes times of self-doubt. There goes times where you have to push through hard circumstances. Throughout that time, never waiver from that. It comes from a leader in Coach Saban pushing you each and every day to be the best you, and that's very important. Just kind of go 1-0 each and every day and just try to attack the day at hand. It's all about trusting the process."
Heading into the season, Milroe is considered one of the top contenders to win the Heisman Trophy, but only because he trusted the process.
Milroe's journey through the Alabama program has been far from easy. He has endured many trials and tribulations to get to where he is today.
His career began as a backup for two years behind Heisman Trophy-winning and 2023 NFL Draft first-overall pick Bryce Young. Milroe waited his turn patiently behind Young and earned a chance to compete for the starting job once Young left for the NFL.
Milroe earned the starting position for the first two games of the season. After suffering a 34-24 home loss to Texas, Milroe was benched the third game of the season against South Florida. With Milroe on the bench, the Crimson Tide limped to a 17-3 victory over South Florida, a game tied 3-3 late in the third quarter.
The benching was frustrating for Milroe, but he used the emotions as motivation and trusted the process that Saban placed before him. Milroe regained the starting position as he improved every game as the season progressed, leading the Crimson Tide to an SEC Championship win over Georgia and a spot in the College Football Playoffs.
With Saban now retired, Milroe will turn another page in his process under his new head coach.
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