Jalen Milroe did not have to play hero ball for Alabama football Saturday afternoon.
The Crimson Tide redshirt junior did his part, finishing with 215 passing yards, 50 rushing yards and a 9-yard touchdown run.
But the hinges of Alabama 's offensive success were not Milroe's alone to carry. Instead, he handed the ball off and let Jam Miller and Justice Haynes carry the load.
"It just sparks confidence amongst everybody — our offensive line, our receivers — when we have running backs doing what they do," Milroe said. "As a quarterback, that's awesome. And I trust them."
Milroe had not been able to do that as of late.
In Alabama's past four games, Miller and Haynes have combined to average 3.9 yards per touch, scoring four touchdowns combined. In Saturday's 34-0 win against Missouri, Miller and Haynes combined for 127 yards on 19 carries, finishing with three of Alabama's four touchdowns.
As a unit, the Alabama run game finished with 271 rushing yards and four touchdowns with backs averaging 7.3 yards per touch.
Milroe didn't need to be an all-world passer for Alabama to beat Missouri Saturday afternoon.
Against the Tigers , Milroe had 37 touches — either pass attempts or carries. It's the lowest he's had since Alabama's loss to Vanderbilt, where the offense had 17:52 of possession.
One week ago, against Tennessee , Milroe had 59 touches, including 45 pass attempts.
Milroe nearly had to carry the offensive weight alone against Tennessee, something the quarterback should not have to do, Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer said after the Missouri game.
While there are plenty of more scenarios where DeBoer said Milroe could be helped offensively — especially in terms of penalties keeping the offense off schedule — the Alabama coach said the offense is "really close" to what he wants it to be.
"Finding that level of being in sync, you know, at the elite level, is still not there yet," DeBoer said. "But I do feel like we did some things taking a step forward. We've got to continue to take the pressure off him to where every play is on him run or pass."
That is all Milroe is looking for.
"Having great running backs that do their job," Milroe said, "as an offense, that's the best thing."
Colin Gay covers Alabama football for The Tuscaloosa News, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at cgay@gannett.com or follow him @_ColinGay on X, formerly known as Twitter.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Balanced offense 'sparks confidence' for Alabama football QB Jalen Milroe
