The Alabama Crimson Tide have a big matchup this week when they take on the LSU Tigers in a game they have to win to keep their national title hopes alive. It’s a lot of pressure, but it sounds like Alabama head coach Nick Saban has confidence in first-year starter Jalen Milroe.
During his his weekly appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show,” Nick Saban opened up about how Milroe has grown throughout the season and expressed faith in him ahead of this week’s matchup with Alabama.
“From Jalen’s standpoint? He has had a really good week. I think he’s gaining more and more confidence. He’s also gaining the ability to stay focused on the next play and not get frustrated in terms of what happened on the last play,” said Saban. “Staying in the moment is, really, the most important thing you have to do in games like this. You’re not going to play a perfect game, you’re not going to hit every throw. You’ve got to learn from the last play, focus on the next play, do what you have to do to make that play work, and not be affected by it.”
“As soon as you create this expectation for yourself? You’re just setting yourself up to get frustrated if you don’t reach that plateau. Jalen has gotten better and better and better, in my opinion, at being able to play one play at a time and being able to stay focused, even if he has a bad play,” Saban said. “Stay in the right mindset to execute the next play. Don’t think you’ve got to do something crazy because he messed up on the last play. He has gotten better at that. I think that has helped his consistency but I also think his confidence is a lot better as well.”
How Milroe performs on Saturday will obviously play a big role in whether or not Alabama comes away with a victory, but it sounds like he’s ready for the test.
[On3]
