Nick Saban on Jalen Milroe: 'From Our Team Standpoint, He's Certainly a Heisman Candidate'

The finalists for the 2023 Heisman trophy will be announced on Monday, and Alabama head coach Nick Saban thinks his quarterback should be one of them. 

"Jalen's done a fantastic job for us," Saban said. "His transition and improvement as a player has certainly been a huge factor on the success of our team. I don't get the opportunity to watch all these other guys on a consistent basis. So it's not fair for me to make a comparison but from our team standpoint, he's certainly a Heisman candidate in terms of what he's done to help our team be successful."

Milroe has helped lead No. 4 Alabama to a 12-1 record with an SEC championship and spot in the College Football Playoff. This season, he has thrown for 2,718 yards and 26 touchdowns with another 468 yards and 12 touchdowns on the ground. 

After throwing two interceptions in the loss to Texas, Milroe only had four interceptions in his remaining 10 starts. 

Alabama will be taking on Michigan in the Rose Bowl CFP semifinal, and Wolverine head coach Jim Harbaugh had high praise for Milroe. 

"He's playing at an elite level," Harbaugh said. "And you can see the improvement throughout the season. It really seemed like he hit an inflection point there around right before the halfway mark."

LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels is the odds-on favorite to take up the trophy with Oregon's Bo Nix and Washington's Michael Penix also projected as finalists. Milroe currently has the fourth best odds according to BetMGM. 

Since 2009, Alabama has won four Heisman trophies (Mark Ingram, Derrick Henry, Devonta Smith and Bryce Young) with at least one finalist in eight of the last 14 years.