Jalen Milroe expresses his excitement to represent Alabama in Iron Bowl
On Saturday, Alabama is set to take on Auburn in the Iron Bowl. For quarterback Jalen Milroe, it will be his first start in this historic rivalry.
Ahead of the game, Milroe explained exactly what it means to him to be playing the Iron Bowl and representing Alabama.
“No matter what state you’re from, you do know about the Iron Bowl,” Jalen Milroe said. “Being from Texas, I know about the Iron Bowl for sure, and I grew up watching. But to be able to experience the Iron Bowl is going to be a great experience, especially going on the road to Auburn.”
The Iron Bowl was first played in 1893 but wasn’t played at all between 1908 and 1947. Alabama holds a 49-37-1 record in the Iron Bowl. In 1989, the Iron Bowl was first played at Auburn. Since then, the Crimson Tide have just a 6-10 record on the road at Auburn.
“So, it’s going to be definitely a big challenge for us, but I do know about the history of the game,” Milroe said. “It’s very exciting going into the week.”
Saturday will be Jalen Milroe’s first Iron Bowl start. However, it’s not going to be the first time he’s been on-hand at Jordan-Hare Stadium for the Iron. The last time, in 2021, he had the opportunity to see then-Alabama quarterback Bryce Young put on a heroic performance to win.
“When you talk about four quarters, you talk about Fourth Quarter Program, you talk about mental toughness, you talk about willing to compete, you talk about grit, it all goes into that game,” Milroe said.
“There’s many areas where you can see how evident that was. So seeing football in different lenses my freshman year, that’s what I saw. It shows nothing but how great of a leader Bryce Young is. His mental toughness, willing to lead the offense through every situation. And then, our whole team as a whole. They showed mental toughness, they showed grit, they showed we can finish. They showed all kind of different areas. We talk about naysayers, we talk about people that doubt Alabama as a team. That was an opportunity for us to sustain throughout a game and then push through all external factors.”
Jalen Milroe says Alabama must ‘see everything as an opportunity’
Alabama has an opportunity to make a push for the College Football Playoff. With that in mind, Jalen Milroe is working to make his and the Crimson Tide’s team mindset that everything is an opportunity.
“We’ve got to see everything as an opportunity,” Milroe said. “Opportunity to grow and then also get the chemistry together as an offense. We’re steadily growing. We’re not a finished product but we’re steadily building.”