Alabama's Nick Saban Promised Jalen Milroe, Ty Simpson, Tyler Buchner Chances to Play

With Alabama's quarterback situation being as murky as it's been in a long time, Nick Saban resorted to some unorthodox methods ahead of last week's win against South Florida.

Saban, who benched starter Jalen Milroe following the Crimson Tide's loss to Texas in Week 2, gave opportunities to both of his backups, Tyler Buchner and Ty Simpson, having promised all of the signal-callers playing time at some point this season.

"That was it. Nothing else," Saban said. "I've got confidence in Jalen. I believe in him. The one thing that we've always talked about is you make enough good plays, but you've got to eliminate the devastating plays, the ones that are killers. It happened twice in the Texas game, but I think he's learned from it."

Both backups struggled mightily in the Crimson Tide's 17-3 win over the Bulls, each of them passing for less than 80 yards. Saban announced that Milroe would take over the starting gig once again as Alabama kicks off SEC play against No. 15 Ole Miss.

Saban cited Milroe's leadership and enthusiasm on the sideline against USF as a big factor in the decision.

"This is all I'm going to say about this," Saban said Monday. "Jalen really showed the leadership I was looking for in terms of supporting his teammates."

Milroe, a sophomore, started the Crimson Tide's first two games of the season against Middle Tennessee State and Texas, respectively. He wasn't overly impressive in either game and struggled against the Longhorns, completing 14 passes for 255 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.

This is the first time in a while that Saban has had to deal with uncertainty at quarterback, having dealt with a lineage of Bryce Young, Mac Jones, Tua Tagovailoa and Jalen Hurts dating back to 2016.

While he knows it's a struggle, Saban also know that's just the way things are in college football now.

"It's not just the quarterback," Saban said. "We've had a lot of different assistant coaches, coordinators and others coming and going, but that's part of it. The nature of the beast has changed, too, with the transfer portal. Other people get better quicker, and it also cuts into your depth.

"So it's a little bit different than sort of building and recruiting and developing players. It's all changed, which is why you have to keep changing and evolving."