Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer questions Jalen Milroe’s effort during the pick-six against Oklahoma. Here’s the full story.

Despite facing criticism throughout his career, Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe has generally been praised for his effort. However, after a costly play against the Oklahoma Sooners, where Milroe missed a tackle, what started as a bad interception turned into an even worse situation. His coaches, particularly head coach Kalen DeBoer, were not pleased with the missed tackle.

DeBoer expressed his disappointment: “He’s got to find a way to get him out,” he said, referring to Milroe’s missed opportunity to prevent the pick-six. “He’s a good enough athlete where he should be able to use the sideline or force a cutback. It’s not something we practice a lot, but it’s not his usual position. He’s got to find a way to get the player out of bounds. I trust Jalen to do a lot of things, and I trust he can make that play. He just needs to find a way to limit the damage and hold them to a field goal.”

Kalen DeBoer continued, emphasizing that while such situations aren’t often practiced—especially for quarterbacks who aren’t typically in tackling scenarios—there was still an expectation for Milroe to find a way to make the play. “Those are things we want to try to do,” DeBoer said. “I blow the whistle every time in practice because I don’t want quarterbacks tackling each other, but in that situation, he needs to find a way to make a play.”

Awful throw, but rate this Jalen Milroe tackle attempt on a 1-10 scale when he’s the only guy who can stop the pick six. pic.twitter.com/HhQtezWPkb

— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) November 24, 2024

The missed tackle capped off a rough performance for Milroe, which marked one of his worst outings at Alabama. Known for his hard work and discipline, his failure to make the stop was surprising, especially with over 22 minutes of playtime remaining.

Offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan reflected on the play: “The number one priority when you turn the ball over is to get the guy down. There are fundamentals you teach players, like trying to force the ball to change direction and help the pursuit. But we didn’t do a good enough job in that moment.”

Looking ahead, the hope is that Milroe and the team can move past this misstep and focus on the upcoming Iron Bowl, where they’ll aim to secure a win and preserve their slim chances at the College Football Playoff.