Present New England Patriots Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks Coach Bill O’Brien held that very same position for the Alabama Crimson Tide in 2021 and 2022. O’Brien assisted Alabama to a 24-4 record in those 2 seasons, and a look in the 2021 College Football Playoff National Championship, however he likewise stated a minimum of one really dumb thing that he may be sorry for now, offered the chance.
Throughout media looks today for the upcoming College Football Playoff, Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe informed press reporters that O’Brien informed Milroe that he must not be a college quarterback. The Katy, Texas local was a four-star possibility and among the leading dual-threat quarterback hires in the country, however that didn’t appear to matter to O’Brien.
Alabama QB Jalen Milroe states his previous OC and existing Patriots OC Bill O’Brien informed him he must not be a quarterback.
“How would you feel if I informed you that you drew?”
“Look where I’m at today. Who gets the last laugh?”pic.twitter.com/xurEAr61ge
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) December 28, 2023
Milroe’s very first season as a starter was 2023 after Bryce Young left to end up being the No. 1 choice in the NFL draft, He had a hard time because function initially, was benched in Week 3, and after that returned tough. From Week 4 through the SEC Championship video game versus Georgia, Milroe finished 130 of 192 passes for 2,079 backyards, 16 goals, 4 interceptions, and a passer ranking of 122.7. Not that Milroe is a fully-developed starter yet– he’s still putting things together– however the development he’s revealed through his year must have put such ludicrous pronouncements to rest.
The issue with what O’Brien stated, if that’s the method he stated it, is that it made Milroe the most recent in a long line of Black quarterbacks who have actually not been offered the time to grow managed to their white equivalents. Willie Thrower, George Taliaferro, Choo Choo Brackins, Sandy Stephens, Jimmy Raye, Marlin Briscoe, Eldridge Dickey, Warren Moon, and on and on … there was a series of years in the shift from college football to the NFL in which Black quarterbacks were informed to either discover another position, or no chances would be open to them.
Some did. Warren Moon invested 5 years exploding the Canadian Football League before his success was excessive for even the NFL to reject.
Some could not. Briscoe, who set a Denver Broncos novice record in 1968 for goal passes that still stands today, was left out from quarterback conferences by head coach Lou Saban in 1969, and needed to play receiver for the rest of his NFL profession.
Even now, you have six-time NFL Executive of the Year Bill Polian firmly insisting that Lamar Jackson would have been much better off changing to receiver when he came out of Louisville– something Polian has actually needed to excuse in retrospection if he ever desired anymore reliability as an expert. There were those who questioned Justin Fields’ processing speed at Ohio State, neglecting the truth that the Buckeyes’ playbook, loaded with choice paths, required that its quarterback require time for those paths to establish.
To Milroe’s credit, he’s declining a little bit of it.
Alabama QB Jalen Milroe: “Jalen Hurts is my real motivation. Due to the fact that through whatever he constantly kept a smile on his face and a chip on his shoulder. When everyone turned their backs on him, he saw the larger function in his future. And he’s a guy of faith. You can’t beat a guy … pic.twitter.com/hBjAfQZSpy
— Eagles Nation (@PHLEaglesNation) December 28, 2023
Milroe is with the best group, and with the ideal head coach, as Nick Saban has actually totally welcomed designs of offending play he utilized to rail versus. Saban struck the best balance in between letting Milroe understand what he required to do if he desired that task, and assisting him get it.
“Seems like a dream, not constantly an excellent dream, however a dream that I never ever gave up thinking would come true,” Milroe informed ESPN’s Chris Low in November“From where I was, the method I was questioned– and even some individuals in this structure [Alabama’s football complex] questioned me– it genuinely blows my mind to where it’s all caused, and the very best part, where it’s caused for our group.
“I was informed I would never ever be the beginning quarterback at Alabama. I’ve been informed I was not clever adequate to play the position. I’ve been informed whatever. Even when I was called the starter at the start of the season, I do not believe a great deal of individuals believed I would keep it, and if I did, that we were going to have a bad season. Yes, I’ve dealt with a lot of barriers. The main point is the ideal individuals thought in me, here at Alabama and within my household, and I stayed grounded in thinking in who I am.
“That takes you a long method.”
Milroe should have the opportunity he got, and absolutely nothing more. His coaches and individuals who supported him existed to assist, which’s all anyone can request for.
That’s the bright side, The problem is that there are still individuals like Bill O’Brien at high decision-making levels in college and professional football cutting off the supply of chances before they can grow.
“How would you feel if I informed you that you drew?” is what Milroe stated.
Well, there need to be no problem with the concept that Bill O’Brien’s handling of his young quarterback drew, and is a shame to football at any level.