TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Jalen Milroe was the first quarterback to take the field for Alabama in its season opener against Middle Tennessee on Saturday, and he used the opportunity to make an emphatic statement about why he should be the starter moving forward, scoring five total touchdowns in just three quarters of play.
The fourth-ranked Crimson Tide beat the Blue Raiders 56-7, with Milroe delivering a near-flawless performance with touchdown passes of 48, 47 and 29 yards.
He finished 13-of-18 for 194 yards and no interceptions. The 6-foot-2, 220-pound redshirt sophomore also rushed for 48 yards and two scores.
In doing so, Milroe became the first quarterback in school history to throw for three touchdowns and rush for two scores in a game.
“Jalen did a good job,” Alabama coach Nick Saban said. “I think he’s had a good fall camp. I thought he played well in both scrimmages. I think he’s more confident and doing a good job in the passing game.
“His athleticism helps him. … You know, he’s a threat to pull the ball, which he scored a touchdown on that. And I thought he threw the ball effectively. So I thought they played well.”
Saban said there was one check he wanted Milroe to make at the line of scrimmage that he didn’t, but “as he continues to develop and gain experience, he’s going to play better and better.”
Asked later about how Milroe’s performance will help him in later games, Saban bristled.
“You’re asking me to speculate and answer a question about how some guy’s going to perform in the future?” he said. “I don’t really know. I love him. I think he’s doing well. I know he’s working hard to try to improve. He’s a good competitor. He’ll do everything he can to play his best.”
Saban grabbed a soda sitting atop the podium.
“This is a Coke bottle,” he said, “it’s not a crystal ball. … It’s hard to know.”
Milroe, who was Bryce Young’s backup last season, started Saturday atop the depth chart. But he was listed as the co-starter along with Tyler Buchner, Ty Simpson and Dylan Lonergan.
Buchner, the former Notre Dame quarterback, came on in relief of Milroe and rushed for a 9-yard touchdown. He finished 3-of-5 for 27 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions.
Simpson, a redshirt freshman, had a 1-yard touchdown run. He completed his only pass attempt for 5 yards.
Lonergan, a true freshman and former four-star recruit, did not play.
Milroe took his performance in stride.
“I need to be better overall at what I’m doing,” he said. “I just want to continue to build and be the best version of myself when I take the field. So there’s some things that I’m gonna look at with the coaching staff and with my teammates.”
Isaiah Bond led all Alabama receivers with five catches for 76 yards and a touchdown.
The Crimson Tide rushed for 205 yards and five scores, but no running back had more than 40 yards rushing in the game.
Alabama will host No. 11 Texas on Saturday.
Milroe grew up in Katy, Texas, and has family members who root for the Longhorns. But he said it’s “just another opponent on the schedule.”
“Saturday, our success on that day is gonna come from our preparation throughout the week,” he added. “So no matter what the opponent is, we’re just gonna take it on one day at a time.”
Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani joined David Ortiz as the only players to win four straight Outstanding Designated Hitter awards. Ohtani and the New York Yankees‘ Aaron Judge won Hank Aaron Awards as the outstanding offensive performers in their leagues.
Major League Baseball made the announcements at its All-MLB Awards Show.
Sale, 35, was 18-3 with a 2.38 ERA and 225 strikeouts in 177⅔ innings for the NL’s first pitching triple crown since the Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw in 2011. He earned his eighth All-Star selection and first since 2018.
Sale helped Boston to the 2018 World Series title but made just 56 starts from 2020-23, going 17-18 with a 4.86 ERA, 400 strikeouts and 79 walks over 298⅓ innings. He was acquired by Boston from the White Sox in December 2016 and made nine trips to the injured list with the Red Sox, mostly with shoulder and elbow ailments. He had Tommy John surgery on March 30, 2020, and returned to a big league mound on Aug. 14, 2021.
Sale fractured a rib while pitching in batting practice in February 2022 during the management lockout. On July 17, in his second start back, he broke his left pinkie finger when he was hit by a line drive off the bat of the Yankees’ Aaron Hicks. Sale broke his right wrist while riding a bicycle en route to lunch on Aug. 6, ending his season.
Crochet, 25, was 6-12 with a 3.58 ERA over 32 starts for a White Sox team that set a post-1900 record of 121 losses, becoming a first-time All-Star. He struck out 209 and walked 33 in 146 innings.
He had Tommy John surgery on April 5, 2022, and returned to the major leagues on May 18, 2023. Crochet had a 3.55 ERA in 13 relief appearances in 2023, and then joined the rotation this year.
Sale and Crochet were chosen in voting by MLB.com beat writers.
Clase and Helsley were unanimous picks by a panel that included Hall of Famers Trevor Hoffman, Mariano Rivera, Dennis Eckersley and Rollie Fingers, along with John Franco and Billy Wagner. The AL award is named after Rivera and the NL honor after Hoffman.
A three-time All-Star, Clase was 4-2 with a 0.61 ERA, 66 strikeouts and 10 walks in 74⅓ innings, holding batters to a .154 average. The 26-year-old converted 47 of 50 save chances, including his last 47.
Voting was based on the regular season. Clase was 0-2 with a 9.00 ERA in the playoffs, allowing three home runs, one more than his regular-season total.
Helsley, a two-time All-Star, was 7-4 with a 2.04 ERA and 49 saves in 53 chances. He struck out 79 and walked 23 in 66⅓ innings.
Ohtani became the first player with 50 or more homers and 50 or more stolen bases in a season. A two-way star limited to hitting following elbow surgery, Ohtani batted .310 and led the NL with 54 homers and 130 RBIs while stealing 59 bases.
Ortiz won the DH award five years in a row from 2003-07.
The DH award, named after Edgar Martinez, is picked in voting by team beat writers, broadcasters and public relations departments. MLB.com writers determined the finalists for the Aaron awards, and a fan vote was combined with picks from a panel of Hall of Famers and former winners to determine the selections.
Judge led the major leagues with 58 homers and 144 RBIs while hitting .322.
College football reporter; joined ESPN in 2008. Graduate of Northwestern University.
Boston College quarterback Thomas Castellanos, who lost his starting job earlier this week, will not be returning to the team, he announced Thursday night.
Castellanos, who started 12 games last season and retained the top job under new coach Bill O’Brien, wrote on X that “unfortunately, all good things come to an end, even though it’s sooner than I would like.” He did not mention the transfer portal in his departing message and has not officially entered it. The junior from Waycross, Georgia, started his career at UCF and appeared in five games in 2022.
O’Brien said Tuesday that Grayson James, who replaced Castellanos in last week’s win against Syracuse, will start Saturday when Boston College visits No. 14 SMU. Castellanos “wasn’t real thrilled” with the decision, O’Brien said, adding that the quarterback decided to step away from the team for several days.
Castellanos had 2,248 passing yards and 1,113 rushing yards last season under coach Jeff Hafley, passing for 15 touchdowns and adding 13 on the ground. He had 18 touchdown passes and only five interceptions this season, but his accuracy dipped in recent weeks, and he completed only 2 of 7 passes against Syracuse before being replaced.
In his statement, Castellanos thanked both coaching staffs he played for at Boston College and wrote that he had “some of the best experiences of my life in the Eagles Nest and I will truly cherish these memories forever.”
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida quarterback DJ Lagway is “ready to play,” coach Billy Napier said Thursday on his weekly radio show.
Napier removed Lagway from the team’s injury report and penciled him in to start against No. 21 LSU in the Swamp on Saturday.
Lagway practiced every day this week while progressing from a strained left hamstring. The highly touted freshman was carted off the field against Georgia on Nov. 2. Tests revealed a “less significant” injury than initially feared, and now he’s back in time to face the Tigers.
The Gators (4-5, 2-4 Southeastern Conference) need him. They have to win two of their final three regular-season games to become bowl eligible.
LSU (6-3, 3-2) has struggled mightily against dual-threat QBs, including Alabama’s Jalen Milroe, who ran for 185 yards and four touchdowns last week.
Lagway returns after walk-on and Yale transfer Aidan Warner started in his place against Texas. Warner threw two interceptions and was 12-of-25 passing for 132 yards in a 49-17 loss.