As a group of youngsters ran from a drill where they had been working on ball-carrier pursuit, one said excitedly to his buddy: “We’re about to meet Jalen. We’re about to meet the one and only.”
The youngsters were running across the turf at Bayside Academy’s Freedom Field to the spot where they would have their picture taken with former
Alabama
quarterback Jalen Milroe.
“It’s an amazing feeling,” Milroe said of the youngster’s admiration, “because I always live by this: You should seek to be a blessing to other people, and any impact that you have on other people, when you make that impact, it makes them smile, and that’s something that’s very powerful for me, so that’s why I do what I do. That’s why I host camps, that’s why I play football, just to touch people.”
On Sunday afternoon, Milroe and a football field full of youngsters were in Daphne for the Jalen Milroe Flexwork Youth Football Camp.
The camp completed a weekend tour of Alabama for Milroe. He held a camp at Westminster Christian Academy in Huntsville on Friday and another at Hoover High School on Saturday.
“One thing I learned at Alabama was to trust the process, the team camaraderie, an understanding that it takes a team to accomplish all the tasks that we want to accomplish,” Milroe said. “And also about being selfless. That’s a great way to look at life – being selfless and leaning on the people that want the best for you.
“And that’s what I want for these kids. I want the best for them, so they can accomplish all they want to accomplish. That’s important to me.”
After passing for 16 touchdowns and running for 20 more in his second season as Alabama’s No. 1 quarterback in 2024, Milroe joined the Seattle Seahawks in the third round of the NFL Draft on April 25.
Milroe and the rest of the Seattle rookies are scheduled to report for training camp on Tuesday.
“It’s more important for me to be in front of these kids than relaxing,” Milroe said of his weekend trip through Alabama. “I’m going to be out there working hard, but right now I’m focusing my attention on the kids.”
Milroe’s first NFL training camp is set for the Virginia Mason Athletic Center in Renton, Washington.
“It’s going to be a grind, for sure,” Milroe said. “It’s going to be a long process, but just take it day-by-day. I’m going to enjoy every bit of it, especially since it’s my first one, so I’m going to have a lot of fun.”
The Seahawks have three quarterbacks on their training-camp roster. All are new to the team this season, although Drew Lock was with Seattle in 2023 before playing for the New York Giants in 2024. The Seahawks signed Sam Darnold in March as a free agent after he led the Minnesota Vikings to a 15-2 regular-season record in 2024.
With just three quarterbacks and Darnold already secure as the starter, Milroe appears in line for plenty of preseason action. The Seahawks start their three-game preseason schedule on Aug. 7 against the Las Vegas Raiders. Seattle plays the Kansas City Chiefs on Aug. 15 and the Green Bay Packers on Aug. 23 before the Seahawks’ regular season kicks off on Sept. 7 against the San Francisco 49ers.
“I love competing,” Milroe said, “so any opportunity I have to compete, to go against another opponent, I’m going to take advantage of it.”
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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X at
@AMarkG1
.
