The 3-2-1 - All about why Jalen Milroe is the complete package; more
THREE THINGS WE LEARNED
1. Jalen Milroe is the complete package at QB, starting with his physical skills …
Put on the highlight tape, or watch a short snippet of video on Twitter, and it doesn’t take long to figure out that Texas quarterback commitment Jalen Milroe is extremely talented. As a thrower of the football, Milroe has all the tools necessary to be successful – arm strength, touch, accuracy, vision. Add in his ability to make plays on the move – with his legs as a runner or while throwing from outside the pocket – and Milroe is tough to contain.
A Rivals100 member who committed to Texas last summer, Milroe’s one of the top overall quarterback prospects in the 2021 recruiting class. As good as he is at the high school level, the Katy Tompkins product is only scratching the surface of his enormous potential. Brad Stanfield knows this as well as anybody.
Stanfield, a renowned quarterback coach who has been working with Milroe dating back to when Jalen was in seventh grade, says Milroe’s growth from a physical perspective has him poised to do big things in the future.
“He's grown so he’s 6-3. He’s 200 pounds and he doesn't try hard for it. When I say that, that he doesn't try hard for it, he just goes out and works out and works hard, but it comes easy for him so he can put on more weight with ease,” Stanfield said. “But muscle definition, twitch, explosiveness, strength – it’s all there.”
Along with Milroe, Stanfield trains players like current UT freshman Hudson Card and Buffalo Bills quarterback Davis Webb. Milroe measures up favorably with any quarterback Stanfield has coached over the years.
“The highest velocity out of any kid I’ve seen at his age,” Stanfield said of Milroe’s arm strength. “I think it's pretty clear if you just watch him throw in person or on video. It’s what you want.
“He can hit the spot over and over just as consistently as any kid I’ve ever had. For me when it comes to arm talent, I think it's really easy to see.”
Not only can Milroe rifle the ball into tight windows or shoot it downfield with relative ease, he’s improved in some of the more delicate areas of the quarterback position. Stanfield routinely has him work on throwing around and over defenders, which has helped round out Milroe’s overall talents.
“I believe his touch has really improved. To be able to throw a fastball – that he can easily do. But ball placement on layered throws, he can do that with control,” Stanfield said.
When Stanfield first started working with Milroe about five years ago, he said it was apparent pretty early that Milroe had some God-given talent. Combine the natural physical skills with what Stanfield said was a strong drive at a young age, and it’s easy to understand why Milroe has grown into one of the nation’s top overall prospects.
“Jalen’s personality, his commitment and discipline, toughness, attention to detail, how much he cared, those things were there at a very early age,” Stanfield said.
2. Milroe also has it from a competitive/leadership perspective
In order to be successful at the quarterback position – more than any other position in the game – a player also has to have “it” from a mental perspective. He has to be able to handle pressure, make quick decisions under fire, understand not only the offensive scheme but defensive tendencies and personnel, and has to have a knack for leadership.
Anyone who has ever spent time talking to Milroe knows he’s about as personable and polite of a teenager as you’re ever going to come across. He’s engaging, he’s respectful of his opponents while also passing off credit for his team’s successes to his teammates, and other recruits are drawn to his magnetic personality. Those are traits that more often than not come naturally to some players and according to Stanfield, those leadership qualities have always been there with Milroe.
“It’s been there since day one. It’s his greatest attribute. Just go spend one or two minutes with him and you’ll see it,” Stanfield said. “He is charismatic, likes to have fun. But that’s because he’s centered in who he is and what it takes.”
In the last two years with Milroe behind center, Katy Tompkins has won 21 games and advanced deep in the state playoffs both seasons. In the four seasons prior, the program won a total of five games. After totaling just over 2,000 yards of offense and 20 touchdowns as a sophomore, Milroe was even better last year, going for just shy of 3,000 combined yards as a passer and a runner while contributing 31 touchdowns. Obviously, it takes more than one player to turn a program around - and Milroe would be the first to tell you that Tompkins’ success stems from coaching and his teammates – but Milroe’s leadership abilities are apparent to anyone watching, even from a distance.
“All you have to do is watch him, how he warms up, how his teammates respond with the little verbiage that he needs, to see how easy it is for people to follow him,” Stanfield said.
Combine the mental make-up with the natural physical strengths, and the sky would seem to be the limit for Milroe as he continues to work through his football career.
“Jalen can go as far as he wants to go,” Stanfield said.
3. Milroe’s character is another strong indicator of future success
Athleticism … check. Arm strength … check. Finesse as a passer when necessary … check. Leadership … check. Milroe has the physical and mental characteristics that are necessary to be successful, but Stanfield’s teachings are not only football-related. He promotes development of character as much as on-field teachings (he commonly uses #DevelopThePerson1st on his social media posts) and stresses toughness, commitment and discipline. Stay consistent in those three areas, Stanfield says, and you’ll have a chance to be successful in just about any field you choose.
“Once a kid has that focus towards everything that he does with his life, on a daily basis to maximize his time with great toughness, commitment, and discipline, he’s putting himself in the best situation to see how good he can be at what he loves to do,” Stanfield said. “That goes with your relationship with God, your school, football, and relationships in life.
“It's a bit extreme but it's how you mold yourself to become your best you on a daily basis. The fun part is who you become. You can enjoy the ride along the way knowing that you did everything you could to make sure that you didn't let anyone down around you.”
On the field, Stanfield uses a program that’s built to improve the key areas of velocity and consistency as a full functional thrower. He targets certain areas for years since his students began in middle school and it has enabled them to be the highest velocity throwers in the country, including Card having the highest velocity at Elite 11 in 2019 by a sizeable margin. Stanfield works with his quarterbacks to be equally adept at throwing from the pocket or on the run and feels it’s essential to be able to throw from varying arm slots. He says he’s not trying to “create robots” in the pocket and feels it’s important for today’s quarterbacks to have some throwing versatility.
“When it comes to using all arm slots, that takes reps and time. It’s not creating robots. I never want to take the gamer and confidence away from the quarterback by trying to be a robot when it comes to the upper-half mechanics,” Stanfield said. “If you're missing lower-half mechanics or principals in your lower half, I can correct those in one day if you're smart and if you're savvy. But it's an art and a talent on the upper half that needs to be treated with respect.
“I think it’s a 100 percent necessity (to use different arm slots). It can be developed. Just watch somebody that’s good throwing on the run. If they’re really good throwing on the run, watch how many different arm slots they use.”
In Milroe’s case specifically, Stanfield said Jalen is able to pick up on anything that’s thrown at him. It’s been coaching players like Milroe and getting close to his students’ families that Stanfield said has been the most rewarding part of his job.
“I think the best thing that’s been enjoyable for me was just the families and how solid they are. His dad, Quentin, his mom, Lola. It's been the families. His entire family, how quality they are, and understanding how Quentin’s raised Jalen, how Jalen is who he is, why he is made up the way he is made up, and then to be a part of that,” Stanfield said. “He can go as far as he wants. His character as a person, his purpose of why he does what he does, working to see how good he can be at what he loves to do for something bigger than himself, it’s all there. His work ethic is there, his talent is there. He can go as far as he wants.”
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TWO QUESTIONS
1. Where does Texas fall in with Ezra Oyetade?
Offensive line recruiting is always a hot topic on OB – especially this year – and center Ezra Oyetade is a player who has been in touch with Texas O-line coach Herb Hand. The Garland Lakeview Centennial product was recently selected to play in the 2021 All-American Bowl and while he doesn’t hold a UT offer, he’s on Hand’s radar.
Oyetade tells OB he’s had “good conversations” with Hand and he’s hopeful an offer could come his way at some point.
“We are building a good relationship,” Oyetade said. “Only time will tell.”
The 6-3, 290-pound Oyetade hasn’t put out a formal list of favorites, but said he plans on doing that soon. With Texas not having offered, I’m not sure the Longhorns will make the cut when it’s released. But if an offer is presented down the road, Oyetade says UT would be “pretty high” on his list.
A teammate of 5-star running back target Camar Wheaton and defensive line offer Ike Iwunnah, I asked Oyetade if the group would like to play together at the next level. It sounds like a case of the trio would be fine if it happened, but they’re not going to force the issue.
“We haven’t really talked about it, but you never know,” Oyetade said.
2. Who are the biggest surprise signees for Texas in the last 10 recruiting classes?
I was thinking the other day about some of the surprise commitments we’ve seen under Tom Herman and his staff and thought I’d take a look back at the biggest surprises in each of the past 10 recruiting classes (note: this year’s class obviously hasn’t signed, and I didn’t include a player if he committed only to later decommit).
2021 - Morice Blackwell – Punter Isaac Pearson would be an obvious choice but I’m thinking we should rule out Aussie punters since they’re always a surprise. In Blackwell, we had a Mother’s Day commitment that was completely unexpected, so much so that my plans to make the wife breakfast turned into more of an early lunch by the time I was done writing a commitment story.
2020 - Troy Omeire – There weren’t a ton of surprises in this group, but the flip from Texas A&M to Texas by Omeire was definitely one that flew under the radar. When he tweeted the news on September 20, I don’t know of a write in either the UT or A&M market that was aware of it coming.
2019 - Bru McCoy – Do I really need to explain this one? You could make a case that others were actually more surprising because we had a pretty good handle on how this one was playing out, but it was still almost surreal to cover.
2018 Cameron Rising – He wound up transferring, but his recruitment was still a bit of a shock. Texas quietly worked on the then-OU commitment behind the scenes and got Rising to flip without a whisper of it leaking out to the media.
2017 Toneil Carter – Carter was committed to Georgia forever but that relationship went south when UGA essentially pulled his scholarship, just before he was about to sign in December and enroll in January. Things quickly trended UT’s way and it was easy to put the pieces together, but this one kind of happened out of the blue.
2016 - Erick Fowler – I don’t know if this one was necessarily a surprise since we “kind of” knew it was coming, but the dust never really settled until National Signing Day, when he officially flipped from LSU. There was some mystery in this one until the very end.
2015 - DaVante Davis – Basically, he’s a guy who never talked so it was tough to get a good read on him, unlike most of the others in his class. There were rumblings just before signing day that he was considering staying close to home and playing for Miami.
2014 - Blake Whiteley – There wasn’t a ton of mystery in this group, but Whitely was a JUCO guy who was still considering Texas and Arkansas very late in the process. Recently-hired Charlie Strong and his assistants had to get him to pick UT over the Razorbacks.
2013 - Desmond Harrison – It’s getting harder and harder to find true surprises. Harrison was a guy who liked Texas for a while and we had a good pulse on his recruitment, but any time Texas signs a JUCO kid out of Cali (especially back then) it was a surprise.
2012 - Torshiro Davis – If you were on OB back in February of 2012, this one wasn’t a complete surprise. But it did take the rest of the recruiting world by storm, so much so that when he picked UT over LSU it had a big hand in crashing the Rivals servers that day. I think Jason Howell is still ticked at me for asking him to drive to Shreveport on NSD Eve to cover Davis’ shocking commitment on the next day.
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ONE PREDICTION – Recruiting official visits aren’t happening in September
This one feels like it’s becoming more and more obvious, but with colleges feeling increasingly likely to push back the start of their seasons and eliminate non-conference games, I just don’t see how recruiting official visits happen anytime soon.
The spring/summer visit season was already cancelled and we could very well be looking at a signing period in December that does not allow for any official visits at all for the 2021 class. As James Brockermeyer mentioned, even if they’re able to do visits in the fall, they’ll probably look radically different than visits in the past, with social distancing measures in place and stadiums mostly empty. I hope I’m wrong, but I don’t see visits happening before October and it won’t shock me at all to see a dead period put in place for the remainder of the calendar year if the season gets pushed back beyond those first few weeks.