Jalen Milroe to Return as Alabama Starting QB over Tyler Buchner, Nick Saban Says

Jalen Milroe is once again Alabama's starting quarterback, and it doesn't look like he's losing the job anytime soon.

Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban named Milroe the starter for Saturday's game against Ole Miss after the redshirt sophomore sat out Saturday's shaky win over South Florida.

"From a quarterback standpoint, this is all I'm gonna say about this: Jalen really showed the leadership that I was looking for during the [USF] game in terms of supporting his teammates and doing the things he needed to do," Saban said Monday. "He's had the opportunity to play; so have the other guys. Jalen played the best of all those guys, and so I think he's earned the opportunity to be the quarterback."

Milroe threw for 449 yards and five touchdowns against two interceptions in Alabama's first two games of the season. Saban benched him in favor of Tyler Buchner for last week's game against USF after Milroe struggled in the Tide's 34-24 loss to Texas.

Buchner wound up faring far worse against lesser competition, completing just five of his 14 passes for 34 yards before being benched. Ty Simpson then replaced Buchner and was solid enough to help lead Alabama to a 17-3 victory but finished with only 73 yards passing.

Milroe's biggest asset above Simpson is his rushing ability, as he accounted for 92 yards and two touchdowns on the ground to start the season.

Alabama's early-season struggles at quarterback are the biggest reason the Tide sit at No. 13 in the Associated Press rankings. It's the first time since Sept. 27, 2015, that Alabama has been outside the Top 10.

Saban is clearly hoping stability under center will result in a turnaround.