Alabama and South Florida both bring back starters at key positions. Quarterbacks Jalen Milroe and Byrum Brown are two who chose to return.
Milroe is coming off a season in which he led Alabama to the semifinals of the College Football Playoff. Brown enters the 2024 season after throwing for over 3,000 yards and leading his team in rushing in the 2023 campaign.
USF is coming off a 48-3 victory against Bethune-Cookman, a game in which Brown threw for 152 yards and ran for a touchdown. Alabama also enters the meeting with a 1-0 record after trouncing Western Kentucky 63-0. Milroe helped lead the Crimson Tide to the win, throwing for three touchdowns and rushing for a pair as well.
Head coach Kalen DeBoer spoke about wanting Milroe to carry over the decisiveness he developed toward the end of last season. “I think that’s something that he just got more and more accustomed to,” he said. “I felt like that was what he did on Saturday.”
Alabama has faced Brown before, in a game that many Alabama fans will remember as a not-so-easy win. Although the game was close, it was primarily due to the fact that Milroe didn’t play.
Last September, Alabama held Brown to 87 yards and a 50% completion rate, also forcing an interception.
Brown led USF to a 7-6 record last season and capped the season off with a bowl win against Syracuse. He ended the season top 25 in passing yards, with 3,292. He also finished with 809 rushing yards, surpassing then-starting running back Nay’guan Wright by 12 yards.
“He has great command of the offense and understands what the offensive staff is trying to do with their play calls and all the little wrinkles, I think especially in different situations,” DeBoer told AP, noting that the Crimson Tide will need to keep a close eye on Brown.
Before entering this season, Brown was placed on the preseason watch list for five major awards. Three of the awards are for top quarterbacks, and the other two are the Walter Camp and Maxwell player of the year awards.
Milroe has been placed on the preseason watch list for the same awards as Brown. Last year, the Alabama star was a finalist for the Maxwell award and finished No. 6 in the Heisman voting.
After being benched for the USF game, he led the Crimson Tide to a playoff game, along the way beating previously undefeated and No. 1-ranked Georgia in the SEC championship game.
Throughout the season Milroe gave a strong offensive performance, finishing with 2,718 yards passing and 468 rushing. He also led Alabama to a last-minute win against Auburn with a go-ahead touchdown on fourth-and-31.
Fans can see who will come out victorious in the quarterback showdown on Saturday at 6 p.m.
