Jalen Milroe Says He's Returning to Alabama for 2024 Season, Will Forego NFL Draft

Jalen Milroe is coming back to Alabama next season.

The quarterback announced he is returning for his redshirt junior season during an appearance Thursday on The Next Round.

Milroe was not considered by most to be a 2024 NFL draft prospect. He's not listed on many rankings by draft experts, as most were going into the offseason under the assumption Milroe would be returning.

Milroe's 2023 season mirrored that of Alabama, starting out rocky before steadily improving as the year progressed. He threw two interceptions in the Crimson Tide's loss to Texas, leading to a brief benching before he retook the starting job for Sept. 24's win over Ole Miss.

That win helped lock Milroe into the starting job for the rest of the season, and he showed consistent week-over-week improvement. He finished with 2,718 passing yards for 23 touchdowns and six interceptions while also adding 468 yards and 12 more scores on the ground.

Alabama won its final 10 games with Milroe at the helm to sneak into the College Football Playoff as the No. 4 seed. The winning streak was highlighted by a 27-24 win over rival Georgia that saw Milroe throw for 192 yards and two touchdowns.

The Tide's last three primary starting quarterbacks (Tua Tagovailoa, Mac Jones and Bryce Young) have all been first-round picks. It's unlikely Milroe will follow in those footsteps, but he could get himself into the Day 2 conversation for 2025 if he returns with a strong junior campaign.