MOBILE, Ala. — Georgia wide receiver Arian Smith knew who Jalen Milroe was.
The Alabama football quarterback has “a lot of attributes” Smith said he needs in a signal caller: Milroe can run, throw and makes smart decisions.
“I like him,” Smith told the Tuscaloosa News at the 2025 Senior Bowl. “He’s a great player, great person to be competing with on the team.”
For Milroe, that’s just the product of playing at Alabama.
After four seasons with the Crimson Tide, including two seasons as a starter, Milroe said he’s ready for the NFL because of his time at Alabama. He learned how to lead properly, to learn his strengths and weaknesses, how to leave an impact on whatever team he’s a part of.
Milroe said it’s what is showing up in interviews with NFL teams at the Senior Bowl, speaking authentically about his college journey, where he sees his future and what impact he knows he can make at the next level.
That is the legacy Milroe wants to leave to the rest of the Alabama quarterback room, to Ty Simpson, Austin Mack and Keelon Russell: it’s the secret sauce that allowed him to get to the Senior Bowl in the first place and to be noticed by NFL scouts.
“Never stop learning,” Milroe said. “If you are still playing the game, you have an opportunity to learn and grow. Never get complacent during the journey. Always soak up information from your coaching staff, always pour into the guys around you because those are the guys you play for.”
Milroe knows the stage Simpson, Mack or Russell will take in 2025.
It’s one he held for two seasons, through the highs of fourth-and-31, two Georgia wins and domination against LSU, to the lows of Vanderbilt, Tennessee and Oklahoma. It’s a position with a responsibility, Milroe said, one that holds the weight of an offense, a college football roster and even a state on its shoulders.
“It’s going to be a journey for whoever gets the first snap next season,” Milroe said. “But it’s all about trusting in yourself. Each guy is unique in his own way. They are all special quarterbacks, and I am just looking forward to what’s ahead.”
It’s a responsibility Milroe continues to hold even as the talk of the Senior Bowl, one who seems to be rising up NFL draft boards based on athleticism alone.
But he remains the same Milroe, something others around him have seen.
Riley Leonard, Milroe’s roommate at the Senior Bowl, called the Alabama quarterback “normal,” a person he stays up late with talking about things “completely outside of football,” someone who is a leader, an encourager, unselfish and roots for those around him.
“He just wants to make everybody else around him better,” Leonard said.
To Milroe, that’s what being an Alabama football quarterback looks like, something that doesn’t turn off once he leaves the roster.
“There are so many resources at the University of Alabama,” Milroe said. “If you just stay on track, it will catapult you to where you want to see your future.”
Colin Gay covers Alabama football for The Tuscaloosa News, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at cgay@gannett.com or follow him @_ColinGay on X, formerly known as Twitter.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Jalen Milroe leaves message to Alabama football QB room before reaching NFL
