Nick Saban says anxiety factored into Jalen Milroe's iffy start vs Texas A&M

Freshman quarterback Jalen Milroe got the win against Texas A&M. At Alabama, the win is the most important thing, and the Crimson Tide have been doing plenty of that in the Nick Saban era. 

Speaking of Saban, though, there's a long body of work and interviews that would suggest he's quite the perfectionist. "Good enough" is not good enough for Saban, so it's no surprise that he had a few words of critique for his freshman quarterback after Alabama's 24-20 win over the Aggies.

“I just think Jalen played with a lot of anxiety,” Saban said on Monday, via AL.com, “and I don’t think he allowed himself to let his training guide him and trust and believe in it so he could have success in executing plays. You can’t turn the ball over and not execute plays the way they’re designed relative to the read of what you should and shouldn’t do.”

Milroe did complete 12-of-19 passes for 11 yards and three touchdowns. He also rushed 17 times for 83 yards.

The issue? The rookie quarterback also fumbled twice and gave the rock away a third time via interception.

"I don't think he allowed himself to let his training sort of guide him and trust and believe in it so he can have success in executing plays," Saban continued. "You can't turn the ball over and not execute plays like they're designed. ... So those things are all things that we definitely need to improve on."

Though Alabama is still 6-0, the narrow win over the Aggies plus big wins from Georgia and Ohio State bumped the Crimson Tide from No. 1 in the College Football Rankings to No. 3.

Alabama is definitely in the midst of some adversity with a road game against undefeated and No. 6 ranked Tennessee up next on the schedule, but Saban is hoping that Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young could make it back from his shoulder injury in time to play the Volunteers.

"Hopefully we're going to try to get him ready to play this week," Saban said of Youg, via ESPN. "But this is something nobody can predict how quickly he'll get an opportunity to do what he needs to do."

If Young can't go, Milroe will get his second start of the season against Tennessee.